Customers, Stakeholders and Interested Parties

In the context of a business supply chain – whether relating to the manufacturing or service sectors – it is usual to define three types of Customer:

  • External customers
  •  Internal customers
  •  Stakeholders or Interested Parties

External customers

These can be defined as the people outside our organization who receive our goods or services – but do bear in mind there may be a “chain” of customer/supplier relationships (first/second/third tier etc.

Examples where we see this might be within the automotive component supply chain or within the retail sector, where the final customer or consumer is a member of the general public.

Internal customers

In order to deliver a quality product or service to our end or external customer, it is clearly essential that all the links within the organization work well. We can consider these internal links as suppliers and customers to one another – the internal customer/supplier quality chain.

For this to work, it is important that:

  • The internal customer communicates the quality requirement clearly to the internal supplier
  • The internal supplier monitors quality performance to the internal customer. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link!

Stakeholders and interested parties

External customers are not the only group of people who look for satisfaction from an organization.

Typical Stakeholders or Interested Parties of an organization include:

  • Customers
  •  Owners/Shareholders
  •  Employees
  •  Suppliers and Partners
  •  Society and the Environment

Stakeholders can affect or be affected by the organisation’s actions, objectives and policies. Some examples of key stakeholders are creditors, directors, employees, government (and its agencies), owners (shareholders), suppliers, unions, and the community from which the business draws its resources.

Not all stakeholders are equal. A company’s customers are entitled to fair trading practices but they are not entitled to the same consideration as the company’s employees.

An example of a negative impact on stakeholders is when a company needs to cut costs and plans a round of layoffs. This negatively affects the community of workers in the area and therefore the local economy.

Ways to communicate quality strategy can include:

  • Employee suggestion schemes
  •  Departmental team briefs
  •  Induction and vocational training
  •  Poster campaigns
  •  Point-of-work reminders
  •  Competitions
  •  Prizes and presentations
  •  Exhibitions
  •  In-house newsletters and magazines
  •  Opinion and attitude surveys

An improved communication strategy

Clearly this will be different and unique for each organisation, but here are a few key points which might be helpful:

  • training for all employees on the importance of quality
  • quality induction training for new employees
  • notice boards and visual displays in working areas highlighting quality matters
  • regular briefing sessions on quality-related issues
  • setting up quality improvement teams (Kaizen) or quality circles
  • a system for encouraging quality improvement suggestions to be put forward
  • a clear quality policy which confirms the organisation’s commitment to quality
  • specific and measurable quality objectives against which progress can be monitored

Action planning – setting objectives

When embarking on any communication plan, it is essential to determine the desired outcome or effects of the communication. Whoever you are communicating with and whatever the message, there is likely to be an intended consequence, and quite possibly an unintended consequence of that action.

Communication objectives should always be SMART:

  • S pecific
  • M easurable
  • A chievable
  • R ealistic
  • T ime-bound

First establish the drivers behind the communication plan. These could include:

  • Obtaining customer feedback
  • Establishing a measure of customer satisfaction
  •  Communicating a new product or service to customers
  •  Informing stakeholders of financial forecasts
  •  Meeting legal, regulatory or standards requirements
  •  Initiating a product recall
  •  Communicating requirements to a supplier
  •  Communicating policies and processes to employees

Next, establish the most appropriate method of communication, which could include:

  • Face-to-face meetings
  •  Telephone calls or surveys
  •  Questionnaires
  •  Email
  •  Electronic marketing or online advertising
  •  TV or radio advertising
  •  Poster campaigns

Then select the audience, this could be:

• Customers
• Prospective customers
• Suppliers
• Regulatory bodies
• Employees
• Stakeholders – e.g. investors/shareholders, Board of Directors

Next determine the desired outcome (again using the SMART approach) this could be:

  • Increased sales or repeat business
  •  Quantitative data in respect of customer feedback
  •  Compliance with legislation, regulation and/or standards
  •  Recall a faulty or suspect product
  •  Improve supplier compliance or quality of goods inwards
  •  Improve employee knowledge and skill
  •  Reduce waste and re-work

Set the timescale for the communication, including:

  • When it will go out
  •  How long it will continue or be repeated for each time
  •  Whether the communication is to be repeated at intervals in the future
  •  When and how the results will be evaluated
  •  What the follow up communication will consist of (go through all these steps again)

Carry out the communication as per the plan and then evaluate the results to ascertain whether or not the action achieved the desired outcomes.