A leading tire manufacturer was having trouble tracking and addressing quality issues within its production process. Despite having a quality assurance protocol in place (which included sign-offs at various production stages), the company struggled to pinpoint the exact location and timing of quality problems. It needed to minimize customer complaints and enhance overall product quality.

The manufacturer’s distributor partner worked with Wise to take a deeper look. Upon close examination, Wise identified a crucial gap in the quality form accompanying each order. The form the manufacturer was using lacked the ability to specify when (i.e., during which shift) a quality problem occurred.

Wise proposed having the customer use their existing barcode readers and add a barcode that could be scanned by the operator at key stages: upon receiving a job, during its execution, and upon completion within a specific department. This simple addition would provide a granular timestamp for each quality check, enabling a more precise identification of when issues occurred.

The addition of barcodes now allows the tire manufacturer to trace the exact shift and operator responsible for a specific defect. This, in turn, enables the company to initiate targeted employee improvement plans and document refined processes for all staff members involved.

The tangible outcomes have been impressive:

• The company reduced its level of defects by more than 10%.
• The distributor secured the order for their services across more than 60 distribution centers.