United Intelligence Certification Company continuously promotes quality improvement for small and micro enterprises, helping businesses implement the art of management into system operations.

　　Tianmen Youcheng Garment Co., Ltd. is one of the important service clients of United Intelligence Certification Company. In 2022, during the "Small and Micro Enterprise Quality Management System Certification Improvement Action" by the Hubei Provincial Market Supervision Administration, United Intelligence Certification Company actively fulfilled its social responsibility and leveraged its institutional capabilities to carry out special improvements and assistance for the enterprise, ultimately helping the company successfully obtain certification and promoting high-quality development.

　　No need to panic in the face of the pandemic

　　Tianmen Youcheng Garment Co., Ltd. was established in June 2018, located in Shijiahe Town, Tianmen City, mainly producing various casual menswear. The company primarily serves clothing merchants on Hanzheng Street.

　　The company is equipped with 9 JIT computer-automated sewing production lines and more than 10 stuffing machines; newly introduced 8 embroidery and laser machines. Annual garment production exceeds 2 million pieces (over 500,000 cotton-padded clothes, over 400,000 jackets, and over 1 million pants). Adhering to the entrepreneurial philosophy of "Creating a Chinese brand and building a national clothing benchmark enterprise," the company provides high-quality services to various merchants, establishing stable cooperative relationships and smooth sales channels.

　　Quality management issues urgently needing resolution by the enterprise

　　To improve production efficiency and product quality, the company has hired professionals at high salaries over the years to implement single-piece flow; however, employees could not adapt to the workflow pressure brought by single-piece flow, rendering it gradually ineffective and ultimately leading to its cancellation.

　　To effectively improve garment production turnover, continuously enhance production output and quality, and meet the growing demands of the market and customers, the company hopes to introduce the ISO 9001 standard system to effectively solve management problems.

　　Main approaches of the improvement action

　　(1) Analyze the current situation of the company and identify the main breakthrough points

　　According to ISO9001:2015 standard 4.4 Quality Management System and its process requirement 4.1.1: "The organization shall establish, implement, maintain, and continually improve the quality management system, including the necessary processes and their interactions," the company analyzed the currently implemented system documents and related records, quantitatively identifying gaps and improvement directions between the company's established management system and the 9001 system. The results showed that the existing management system basically meets requirements in personnel, equipment, process control, materials, technology, environment, and other elements. The key issue is the lack of effective communication between departments; middle management to frontline employees cannot smoothly or fully understand customer and market demands, leading to resistance to the strict requirements of the 9001 standard system, considering it "too much work." Additionally, the general manager is frequently on business trips, and multiple departments, positions, and personnel contact the general manager directly, causing management instructions to be confused, difficulty integrating the standard system, mutual shirking among staff, and low management efficiency.

　　(2) Clarify responsibility positioning, making employees understand that meeting customer needs is the basis for enterprise survival

　　The "7-day quick response" business model is the "standard configuration" used by most Hanzheng Street clothing merchants. The six-in-one full garment industry chain of R&D, design, pattern making, production, display, and sales has basically formed within the Hubei "1+8" city circle, establishing the characteristic "quick response model" of Hanzheng Street. Youcheng Garment, located in Tianmen City within the Wuhan metropolitan area, mainly sells products to Hanzheng Street, which determines that Youcheng Garment should adhere to the "7-day quick response" business model, striving to shorten the cycle from customer sample submission to garment delivery, accurately positioning the enterprise audience and model to ensure customer needs are met. Accordingly, the company uses a market backward approach to assign responsibilities and duties to departments and positions according to the 9001 standard, enabling employees to understand how to work and consciously perform well.

　　(3) Streamline the flat management network and coordinate production and sales activities

　　The general manager is frequently on business trips and not present in the company. The production director, logistics management manager, and other key personnel are outstanding managers in their respective fields and technical experts in the industry, but they are weak in handling customer demands and coordinating employee relations. For example, they lack risk prevention awareness when facing emergencies on the production floor and are often caught off guard. Coordination skills and the ability to organize cross-department participation in related activities are not problematic, but their positions do not grant corresponding management authority, resulting in poor communication of company directives and weak execution.

　　Enterprise quality improvement results

　　The general manager selected and appointed Administrative Manager Xue Zhangyuan as the management representative, authorizing him to be fully responsible for the daily management of Youcheng Garment, overseeing overall scheduling and coordination. This gave the enterprise a central manager, provided clear problem feedback channels for relevant middle and lower-level managers, and realized a streamlined management process.

　　A flat management network was established in the enterprise, fundamentally changing employees' "perfunctory" attitude to an "ownership" mindset through one-on-one and daily meetings. The attitude shifted from "I have to do it" to "I want to do it," gradually increasing recognition among management and employees. Meeting the market and customer demands for "short, flat, and fast," timely supply gained a competitive advantage, satisfying customer needs and benefiting both the enterprise and individuals greatly.

　　Management improvements yielded tangible results: order turnover rate increased by 5%, product first-pass qualification rate improved by 2%, and entered a virtuous cycle with continued growth.

　　Expert commentary

　　By carrying out the quality management system improvement activities for small and micro enterprises, the company defined the quality functions and authorities of the general manager, management representative, key leaders, departments, and employees, fundamentally solving issues such as multiple instructions and problems without responsible persons. Training and good communication helped employees understand the enterprise vision and goals, recognize the importance of actively and quickly responding to market demands and customer concerns, shorten production cycles, and achieve truly "short, flat, and fast." Leadership attention, full participation, clear responsibilities, and good communication are the cornerstones for successfully implementing the 9001 standard.