Total quality management and supply chain management: similarities and differences

The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively review, contrast and compare the differences and similarities between total quality management (TQM) and supply chain management (SCM).

An extensive overview of the core concepts of TQM and SCM are examined from the literature and are then compared to explore how the philosophical perspectives, goals, evolution, and integration of these concepts could be further developed.

TQM and SCM have different starting points and primary goals, which can complicate an integrated implementation. However, they have evolved in similar ways to reach the same ultimate goal: customer satisfaction. TQM emphasizes internal (employee) participation and SCM focuses on external (business partners) partnerships but there is a need to emphasize both internal and external partnerships to further strengthen the emphasis on “total” TQM and the entire supply chain in SCM.

This paper is one of the first to discuss comparisons between TQM and SCM. Although both are critical to organizational competitiveness, research so far has tended to focus on either one or the other. A comparative understanding of the philosophies, goals, evolution, and integration of both approaches therefore could improve opportunities for integrated implementation and further research. Thus, this paper can be used as a basis for future empirical studies.