Integrating Total Quality Management and Supply Chain Management : Similarities and Benefits

Total Quality Management (TQM) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) have been considered to be the two most important strategic approaches for the organizations like manufacturing, services and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). They have become the prerequisite for success and competitive advantage in the global market. This paper compares and contrasts the issues of TQM and SCM related to their similarities, and identifies the potential benefits by integrating them through an extant review of literature. The paper adopted an extensive literature survey methodology on the concepts and themes of TQM and SCM to explore how definitions, origin, goals, practices, development stages, focus area, tools used and scope could benefit in their integration. Some potential benefits of TQM and SCM are also identified from the extant literature review and are listed. The literature review suggested that TQM and SCM strengthen the organizational competitiveness and improve customer satisfaction. Also, TQM is more focused on continuous quality improvement and participation while SCM emphasizes on supplier relationship and management, and timely delivery of products and services. This paper revealed eight potential benefits of TQM and SCM and are discussed in detail. The literature review further showed that there are many researches taken on TQM and SCM individually, dealing with different aspects and themes but a comparative study of present type are still in its nascent stage that integrates the two concepts. This paper could therefore, bring out some opportunities for managers and practitioners to integrate and implement TQM and SCM in their organizations more effectively to achieve maximum benefits