To develop its own products, every manufacturing company follows its own set of rules. Products are manufactured using raw materials, outsourced components, and equipment. Different products often have a different level of quality. For several reasons, sometimes there may be a few defective products among perfectly functioning ones.
When the level of defective products shipped to customers is too high, there can be a severe negative impact on brand image and reputation. This in turn can reduce future sales. It is therefore in the best interest of the manufacturer to pay close attention to the number of defective products that are manufactured.
There are several ways to reduce defects. These strategies can be divided into early-stage strategies and late-stage strategies. Early-stage strategies are focused on removing defects before the manufacturing process starts. Late-stage strategies generally involve using scientific methods to reduce manufacturing defects during the process of production.