We have quality QUALITY ASSURANCE leaders 

Similar to our Market Intelligence post of last week about demand for Planning staff primarily in CPG, we wanted to highlight another area that’s seeing quite a bit of activity in Argentus’ recruitment practice: Quality Assurance. We’re seeing a number of new Quality Assurance roles specifically at the Manager and Director level. This might be owing to increased production due to a brighter economic outlook for 2014, a response to the News’ emphasis on Supply Chain quality control issues, or simply a shuffling of Quality Assurance Professionals. But one thing we know for certain: it’s no coincidence. Companies are beefing up their Quality Assurance teams for 2014.

Quality Assurance (QA) is a vitally important part of the manufacturing link in the Supply Chain, as well as in Procurement of finished goods from overseas. Adherence to strict high-quality standards is what keeps companies’ Supply Chains out of the news. In addition to product availability, product quality and safety is one of the biggest ways in which Supply Chains are visible to consumers. It’s a big part of how Supply Chain contributes to an overall brand identity.

QA is a source of competitive advantage, but also a source of major headaches if it falls short and leads to dreaded product recalls.Think back to March of last year, when a product Quality issue (remember the see-through pants debacle?) led Lululemon Athletica to recall 17% of its popular yoga pants. This led to a big hit to the company’s stock price, the firing of a top executive, and an entire year spent in damage-control mode. It’s no wonder that some of the biggest CPG companies are tapping Argentus to help them fill their TQM (Total Quality Management) needs.

Compliance and auditing of international Supply Chains is a big issue particularly in the industries of Food Production, Consumer Goods, Consumer Electronics and Apparel. And we’re getting a lot of demand for that expertise from our clients across North America. We’re seeing a new focus on compliance and Supply Chain transparency particularly after the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh. That unfortunate and devastating event highlighted flaws in some Canadian Companies’ international Supply Chains. Customers are demanding more transparency in their products’ Supply Chains. More than ever, they want to know where products were sourced and the labour conditions surrounding their production. And companies are stepping up to the plate to make sure that happens. But that talent isn’t easy to find.

At Argentus, we have a developed network of Quality Assurance professionals at several levels. For example, just this week we placed a Quality Assurance Director for a well-known organic food producer in British Columbia. If you have any needs for your QA operations, please feel free to reach out! Our network is deep and we can supply contract or direct hire possibilities for your organisation.

Over and Out

Bronwen

bhann@argentus.com