Purpose – This paper is based on a benchmarking exercise involving some 164 QFD practitioners within Ford Motor Company and 27 selected external QFD companies. The predominant response “cell” was from Vehicle Centre 1, Power‐Train Systems Engineering, although there was both a US and...

Quick response to customer needs is an important dimension on which a company may compete. However, quick response in and by itself does not achieve much of a competitive advantage unless timeliness is integrated with quality, flexibility and cost efficiency. Discusses the meaning and origins of...

Purpose – This paper presents the concepts and principles of quality function deployment (QFD) as they have been implemented by Ford company. The paper illustrates the essential linkages between external and internal customers to suppliers (i.e. “Voice‐Quality‐Satisfaction” Chains)....