Cost of Quality (COQ)  -  Worth Every Cent in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

QxP founder Crystal Mersh makes her views “Crystal Clear” in her recent Pharmaceutical Online article: ”Cost of Quality (COQ) - Worth Every Cent in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing.”  

This excerpt gives you a sense of what to expect when you read it: 

“During my career as an executive in pharmaceutical manufacturing quality assurance, I have heard the term ‘Cost of Quality,’ or ‘COQ’ for short, over and over when advocating for budget and resources. In many cases, management has viewed budget items for improving systems, equipment, learner education, and qualifying secondary suppliers and their materials, as ‘nice to haves’ instead of necessities. As a result, these quality system areas were not invested in as much as is necessary to ensure optimal bottom-line results.  

Decisions not to invest adequately in these and other important quality areas often do not take into consideration the realities of the risk and likelihood of failure, which lead to a higher Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ). In effect, these decisions allow for providing poor quality products and services and increasing the risk of financial loss and reputational damage. The COPQ must be built into the equation to determine COQ, and when it is, you will see that the Cost of Poor Quality is too high for any pharmaceutical manufacturer to endure.” 

Yes, it is worth a close read. Here is the link: www.qualityexecutivepartners.com/press/cost-of-quality

The bottom line is this: When your company is assessing the cost of quality, make sure it considers the entire equation: COQ = PC+AC +IFC +EFC.  

PC:  Prevention Costs 

AC:  Appraisal Costs 

IFC: Internal Failure Costs 

EFC: External Failure Costs 

Quality Executive Partners has engaged in partnering with industry over the 10 years. During our engagements with you, we have developed many case studies proving that the COQ is so worth it. When you sit down and think about this equation more, you will find that the cost of quality is worth every penny and the COPQ is too much for your company to endure. 

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QxP Founder and CEO Crystal Mersh’s career in pharma quality has spanned three decades and huge companies. Prior to founding QxP in 2012, Crystal has worked in leadership roles at Mylan, Novartis, Watson Pharmaceuticals, and Sanofi. 

Click here to read Crystal’s article about why “Controls Are Not Enough.”

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