important for products that have expensive maintenance. Serviceability is defined by speed, courtesy, competence and ease of repair." Customers want products that are quickly and easily serviceable. Perceived quality, which may be affected by the high price or the good aesthetics of a product. Product components The quality of a product depends almost entirely on the quality of its raw material. Suppliers and manufacturers must work together to eliminate defects and achieve higher quality. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should discuss with their suppliers how quality improvements can affect the overall performance of the supply chain. Quality assurance can reduce testing, scrapping, reworks, and production costs. Consequences of poor quality Business loss: Poor quality results in unsatisfied customers and business loss, especially where customers can easily switch to a competitor. Reduced productivity: Poor-quality products must often be reworked or scrapped entirely, which diminishes usable output. Higher operating costs: Harrington argued that poor quality affects costs. Counterintuitively, higher costs are attached to offering lower-quality products and services. A reduction of cost and scheduling problems is achievable by avoiding the production of poor quality goods and services. Costs The biggest costs in most businesses are the four basic types of manufacturing costs: Raw materials Direct labour Variable overhead – production costs that increase or decrease depending on the quantity produced. For example, electricity is a variable overhead. If a company increases production, it will also increase the usage of equipment, which will result in a higher electricity bill. Fixed overhead In addition, there are business costs stay the same, regardless of the production output. Business costs include: Salaries for employees that do not work directly on the production line (e.g. security guards or safety inspectors.) Depreciation costs Occupancy costs (e.g., property taxes and building insurance) Businesses desire to reduce costs to increase their revenue. Cost reduction strategies include: Minimizing supplier costs Adopting lean manufacturing Eliminating waste Delivery Logistics are an essential part in providing good customer service on time. Logistics customer service can be separated into three elements: Pre-transaction elements (before delivery) Transaction elements (during delivery) Post-transaction elements (after delivery) Benefits QCD offers a method of measuring both simple and complicated business processes. It also represents a basis for comparing businesses: for example, a business measuring a supplier's delivery performance may compare its findings with the business's own performance. Flexibility The "quality, cost, delivery, and flexibility" (QCDF) approach, includes flexibility as the