Five Tips to Make Quality Everyone's Responsibility in FMCG

Technology is essential to ensure Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies can operate effectively. From systems focusing on manufacturing to logistics, technology that works as intended can help FMCG companies to improve efficiency, productivity, provide cost savings and improve client experience.

Software quality is critical for FMCG companies. But what is meant by the term ‘software quality’? We believe technology should work properly, the first time around. To achieve this quality needs to be built into a software solution from the beginning, not looked for at the end of the development process by means of a separate testing function (as has been traditionally done for years). After all, if you look for quality at the end of a project, but didn’t build it in from the start, it won’t be there anyway. As John Ruskin said – “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent efforts.”

Ignoring quality will result in poorly designed or implemented software systems that can lead to errors, delays, costs, reputational damage and even legal liability – and that’s if these low-quality solutions even see the light of day! Often IT projects are abandoned at a cost of millions due to solutions not being of the correct quality. Mckinsey famously stated that 70% of IT projects fail to deliver what they promised. That figure is absolutely astounding. That's why it's important for everyone to be aware of the importance of buildingquality into software solutions from the very start.

Traditionally, software quality has been the responsibility of IT and technical teams. However, in today's interconnected, technology-led world, software quality needs to be everyone's responsibility. This is especially true when thinking about the pivotal role software plays in the FMCG industry. So, when considering quality as a wider issue that affects everyone, how can we break this down in terms of the roles and responsibilities each team needs to contribute to:

The technical teams are responsible for designing, developing and testing software to meet the needs of FMCG organisations. Involving these specialists as early as possible and collaborating with the wider business and all end users (often in manufacturing) is key to producing high-quality, high-functioningtechnology solutions.  

The internal legal team  is responsible for ensuring that software complies with all applicable laws and regulations. This includes laws governing data privacy and ensuring manufacturing processes meet the required standards. The internal legal team should also be involved in discussions from the get-go and in phases of testing to help ensure that the solutions created meet the FMCG companies' requirements and are of the required quality.

The leadership team is responsible for ensuring all necessary software and tools meet the needs of the business. This includes understanding the FMCGs’ workflows, processes, and goals. The leadership team should understand and buy into development projects that solve business challenges and to champion for those solutions to be of the highest possible quality. This includes instilling collaborative and open workplacepractices and fostering an environment where people feel empowered to call things out if they are not going to plan. Appointing a senior stakeholder who is actively involved and has regular input throughout the SDLC will help ensure the solution is high quality and meets the FMCGs’ business requirements.

The end user team are typically those involved in the research, design, production and distribution of the FMCG’s products and are likely to use the software on a daily basis. They are the ones who will ultimately be affected by the quality of the software. That's why it's important for end users to be involved from the earliest opportunity providing requirements, validation, insight and design expectations. What’s more, they should be actively involved in the development process to create shared ownership of the solution and shared responsibility for achieving a high level of quality.

Five top tips

In a practical sense, there are five top tips FMCGs can take to improve software quality. These include:

• Establishing clear software quality standards that define what "good" software looks like. These standards should be based on the needs of the business and its legal requirements.
  

• Train all teams within the FMCG company to understand the importance of shared responsibility regarding quality and how to identify and report problems – creating an open, one-team mentality.
  

• Involving the right people in the software development process. It should involve all stakeholders who will be affected by the software, including the legal team, the leadership team, and the end users.
  

• Monitoring software performance. Once the software is deployed, it's important to monitor its performance to ensure that it continues to meet the business’ requirements.
  

• Leveraging a Quality Engineering skillset throughout. The team should be supported by experienced quality and test professionals who can challenge, advise, train, mentor and provide technical skills (for functional, non-functional, and automated testing) to ensure solutions meet the FMCG company’s quality standards.

There are other more technical considerations to be made regarding methodology, process, tech stack etc. However,ensuringthe whole organisationunderstands the importance of quality is a crucial first step.Everyone in the FMCG business must recognise that quality is everyone’s responsibilityotherwise time and money spent on introducing new tools and new ways of working will likely not add the value FMCG organisations are hoping for.