Nearly every product that reaches the consumer represents the collaborative effort of many interconnected business relationships. The development of complex supply chains consisting of the customer, their procurement, contract manufacturers, material vendors, joint venture partners, distribution channels, etc., truly exemplify what some describe as the "virtual corporation" or the "extended enterprise."

Ever since economic globalization and outsourcing of products and services began occurring in the early 1990s, manufacturing technology has been moving toward unprecedented levels of connectivity and intersystem integration to improve the customer's ability to work cooperatively with supply chain partners. Yet inaccurate or incomplete supplier data still ranks as one of the most insurmountable problems contributing to poor quality. Sound like a perfect opportunity to launch into a Six Sigma initiative? Not necessarily.

Tried-and-true Statistical Process Control (SPC) has the tools, techniques and data-driven approach supply chain participants need to address quality, cost reduction, continuous improvement and consumer satisfaction without the rigid hierarchy, radical culture change and massive investment dictated by Six Sigma.

Zontec's Synergy 3000™ has emerged as the breakthrough Supply Chain SPC System to give customers top-down coordination and centralized control they need to prevent production problems from getting passed on to the next link in the supply chain. This is the most appropriate way to ensure that suppliers are all on the same page.

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