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Tallus Packaging Limited Case Study
Louis A. Windsor
School of Business, Liberty University
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Abstract
Manufacturers face a myriad of challenges when competing in today’s global marketplace. The
non-stop demand for quality goods and services continues to grow exponentially, and producers
must continually find ways to maintain their place in the market. Inflation, supply chain
challenges, emerging markets, and a demand for a sustainability focus are just some of the trials
that manufacturers navigate routinely to maintain the balance between profitability and market
share. One way for manufacturers to differentiate themselves from their competition is through
their dedication to producing quality products to meet and exceed the expectations of their
customers. Many organizations utilize some variety of quality plan to ensure their products
achieve their desired level of excellence. Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma, LEAN,
and the Toyota Production System (TPS), are types of quality management programs that
companies use to maintain a very necessary focus on quality standards. This case study will
examine the quality issues experienced by Tallus Packaging Limited and provide suggestions to
overcome some of their quality issues.
Key words: Quality, Manufacturers, TQM, Six Sigma, Quality Management
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Tallus Packaging Limited Case Study
Introduction
Tallus Packaging Limited, established in 2010, is a producer of flexible packaging
products in Nigeria. The industry is Tallus had enjoyed moderate success in a very competitive
industry until recent sales figures indicated a sharp drop in earnings. This dip in sales numbers
has been traced to the recent run of poor-quality products, attributable to very little attention
being given to quality by the firm (Farlik, 2020). Margins are very tight for Tallus, and if the
company wishes to survive in the market, a thorough review the operational environment, work
flow, and supply chain, must be accomplished, along with the implementation of a quality
management plan to re-focus efforts on the production of quality goods. The application of a
quality management program would help the Managing Director, Mr. Okeke, and production
staff find the quality gaps, reduce defects, improve processes, and provide for a continual quality
focus over time (Permana et al., 2021).
Identifying the Quality Problem
The quality problem that Mr. Okeke is facing stems from the overall quality of the bags
being produced in the company’s value chain. The quality of the bags has eroded to the point
that customers have lost confidence in Tallus as a supplier, and the reputation damage has caused
a severe economic downturn (Farlik, 2020). Careful examination of the manufacturing process
has isolated the causes for the decline in quality. Cost pressures have caused Tallus to ‘adjust’
the product specifications to lower standards to reduce costs, but never to the extent that the
product’s quality suffered, however, the current quality concerns can be attributed to several
operational and human factors. The manufacturing process consists of six steps: blending of the
raw materials, extrusion of the resin to produce rolls of film, cutting to size and sealing the bats,
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punching the bags to make the handles, packing of the bags into bundles, and storage of the
bundled bags (Farlik, 2020). There is an impactful occurrence at each manufacturing step that
leads to some type of quality issue or defect, starting with the blending process. The blending of
recycled materials for extrusion is a manual process and very labor intensive and not easily
accomplished correctly by the machine operators. During the extrusion process, the machines
require constant monitoring to ensure the proper size and thickness of the bag, and the majority
of film size and strength issues occur during this process step (Farlik, 2020). The cutting and
sealing process accounts for 80% of the product defects of the most recently produced product.
During the packing process the bags are weighed to ensure they meet size and weight
specifications, and it has been noted that underweight, and thus poor quality, bags are passed
through the quality checks and put into storage. The process is replete with poor quality
practices, and this is well known by Mr. Okeke. Recent attempts to instill a focus on quality has
failed, and there doesn’t seem to be any commitment from the employees to view quality as a
necessary part of their manufacturing program (Farlik, 2020).
Where are the Quality Gaps?
The service gap model is a framework used to analyze customer satisfaction. It provides
a comparison between what a customer expects from a good or service and the good or service
they actually receive. The model is used to highlight the areas where a company’s service
delivery falls short of customer expectations (Mrabet et al., 2022).
The understanding gap addresses the discrepancy between management’s perception of
customer expectation and the customer’s actual expectation. This gap usually exists when market
research hasn’t been accomplished or there is a lack of customer engagement (A’aqoulah et al.
2022). Mr. Okeke is experiencing an understanding gap because he has recently come to realize
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that the quality of his products has been declining, while his expectation that his customers were
happy with the quality was unchanged (Farlik, 2020).
The design gap addresses the discrepancy between the customer’s product design
expectations and the design specifications established by the producer. This gap can exist
because the producer doesn’t have a firm understanding of the customer’s needs, and will
diminish overall quality of a good or service (Sridevi, 2020, Essaoudi & Lotfi, 2021). Mr.
Okeke does have a design gap because the specifications of the company’s products have
changed so significantly that the customers no longer purchase the bags because of their poor
quality (Farlik, 2020).
The process gap refers to misalignment between the designed product specifications and
the actual specifications of a produced product. This discrepancy is directly linked to poor
operational processes or lack of adherence to established manufacturing guidelines (Chen et al.,
2021). This issue is rectified by instituting quality training programs, manufacturing process
training programs, and robust quality assurance protocols to ensure that the products are
produced to the proper specifications and meet customer expectations (Noya et al., 2023). Tallus
also suffers from a process gap because their manufacturing process utilizes old and outdated
equipment, requires constant observation during manufacturing operations, and some steps in the
manufacturing process are routinely circumvented by the staff (Farlik, 2020).
The operations gap exists when there is a difference between the product delivered and
the perception of the product the customer received. This gap can exist when there is poor
employee performance, the production environment is inadequate, and due to lack of customer
engagement. To overcome the operations gap, the organization must enhance employee training,
streamline their processes for efficiency, and create a culture of quality (Saka et al., 2021).
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Tallus is also experiencing an operations gap in quality due to the lack of quality commitment
from the production staff, the laze faire attitude of managers when it comes to adherence to
production guidelines and specifications (Farlik, 2020).
The final quality gap is the perception gap. This gap represents a disparity between the
customers expectation of a good or service received versus the actual perception of the good or
service received. This is a critical gap because it is directly related to customer satisfaction and
loyalty. When overall satisfaction declines, loyalty declines, and a loss of business is not far
behind (Kamalasanan et al, 2020, Firdaus et al., 2020). Tallus has experienced a perception gap
as witnessed by some of their long-standing customers abandoning them as their product quality
diminished (Farlik, 2020).
Redesign of the Production Process
The Tallus production work flow would benefit from the systematic analysis of a quality
management program such as Six Sigma, a data driven methodology that concentrates efforts to
reduce defects. In Six Sigma, defects are defined as deviations from the norm, and the primary
focus of the methodology is to eliminate causes of variability to improve product quality and
customer satisfaction (Permana et al., 2021). Six Sigma utilizes DMAIC (Design, Measure,
Analyze, Improve, Control) framework to isolate root causes of quality issues and build a clear
roadmap for an organization to follow when trying to improve quality. The implementation of
Six Sigma can also lead to substantial reductions in cost by reducing the need to perform re-work
and eliminating waste (Lagamayo et al., 2023).
Utilizing Six Sigma methodologies, the Define phase would is the initial step used
identify all of the project goals and customer requirements. This phase also involves the
identification of the specific areas in need of improvement and sets the specific objectives for
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success, which essentially becomes the project scope (Adeodu et al., 2021). For Tallus Ltd., the
quality of bags leaving the production process would be identified as the area that needs
improvement.
The Measure phase of the DMAIC process is where the performance in the problem area
is quantified. Relevant data is collected and analyzed to understand how the production
processes operate and to identify the extent of the problem and establish a baseline for
production performance (Maheshwari et al., 2021). During the Measure phase the blending area
(improper raw materials mixing) extrusion (inconsistent thickness of film) cutting and sealing
(improper sealing of bags) and packing (underweight bag packs ignored) areas would all be
identified as problem areas where performance would need to be measured and baselined (Farlik,
2020).
The Analyze phase is the step in the DMAIC process where the root causes for defects
are isolated and focused on. A Six Sigma Black Belt would utilize analysis tools such as Pareto
charts and scatter plots to find and isolate the issue or issues causing the problem. This phase is
critical since it ensures that the improvement to be made are sustainable and actually address the
problems experienced (Alblooshi et al., 2020). Tallus obviously has a quality issue with the bags
they are producing, and the material blending, extrusion, cutting and sealing, and packing areas
of the production flow have been identified as areas that can or are causing quality problems
(Farlik, 2020).
During the Improve phase, solutions to the problems are designed and implemented to
address the root cause of the quality defects. This could involve the introduction of new
technology, redesign of a process, or modification of existing procedures, with the goal to
enhance production performance and improve quality (Tissir et al., 2022). Tallus Ltd would see
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dramatic improvement through the redesign and modification of the production process and the
production work flow by rearranging work stations to to better align with the work steps required
to accomplish the tasks of producing bags more efficiently.
Finally, the Control step of he DMAIC process is where the sustainability of the
improvements is ensured. This will involve the establishment of monitoring systems that track
performance as well as control plans to maintain the achieved improvements. Statistical Process
Control (SPC) tools are used to monitor ongoing process performance and spot deviations from
the desired outcomes (Rebull et al., 2020). Tallus could benefit from the hiring of a Quality
Manager that is dedicated to measuring the quality of produced bangs and ensuring that quality
standards are met through each step of the production process.
What Should Change and What Should Stay the Same
Tallus needs sweeping organizational transformation to change the corporate culture.
Mr. Okeke must determine what his quality and service vision is for the company, then
passionately share it with his employees so that they understand the purpose and goals that are
being implemented (Najihah, 2024) and foster increased engagement and willingness to adapt to
the new processes and practices (Rijal, 2023). Mr. Okeke must become a transformational
leader, focus on his core business, and inspire and encourage his employees to change.
Mr. Okeke must focus on improving quality and re-establishing the trust that was lost
from his customers. This can be accomplished in several different ways. Through his
transformational change initiatives, Mr. Okeke can begin to instill a focus on quality company
wide. Using Total Quality Management (TQM) or Lean Management practices will can
establish the comprehensive frameworks necessary for the organization to ensure that their
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product quality meets the needs of their customers and their quality practices become continuous
and iterative (Jarrell & Kirby, 2024).
To improve the performance of his production processes, Mr. Okeke should institute a
periodic maintenance program for the equipment used in his manufacturing process. Preventive
and periodic maintenance programs are aimed at preventing equipment failures before they
happen as well as damage to produced goods during the manufacturing processes. Regular
inspection, maintenance, and replacement of parts that wear out can increase the service life of
equipment and reduce downtime and maintenance costs (Darestani et al., 2020, Suresh &
Dharunanand, 2021). Providing technical training to the operations staff will ensure that the
employees have the requisite skills necessary to perform their tasks efficiently. Research has
shown that organizations that have well trained maintenance personnel experience less
equipment downtime and failures, along with improved operational performance (Sing &
Awoke, 2023). Encouraging employee involvement and promoting a culture of ownership and
accountability through training will also lead to early detection of potential problems with
equipment and processes. Employee empowerment in a culture of improvement promotes
efficiencies and waste reduction and leads to higher profits and enhanced production (Crosby &
Badurdeen, 2022).
Embracing technology will improve quality during the manufacturing processes. Using
non-destructive measuring tools such as ultrasonic thickness measurement or optical
measurement techniques provides continual monitoring of material thickness during the
extrusion process. Capacitive measuring technology uses electrodes on either side of the plastic
film to continually monitor for changes in capacitance of the material which indicates a change
in thickness (Dana et al., 2020, Ren et al., 2023).
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Sourcing better equipment can improve the quality of materials used in the manufacturing
process and improve efficiency. Purchasing a new mixer for the virgin materials will provide an
additional mixer that can be used to mix the recycled materials. This will improve the quality of
both the virgin mix and the recycled mix going into the extrusion process and reduce mixing
time and labor (Farlik, 2020).
Mr. Okeke can offset some of the expenses of investing in new equipment by taking
advantage of extended credit offered by materials suppliers and recycle his defective stock to
build up his materials reserves to ensure his capacity doesn’t decline as he institutes his changes.
Conclusion
Tallus Packaging Limited has a critical quality problem that stems from a poorly
supervised process and an apathetic staff. Mr. Okeke must address the quality concerns of his
customers by taking a more active role as a quality manager and transforming his business
practices to better produce quality products. By instilling a focus on quality and obtaining buy-in
from his staff, Mr. Okeke can build a culture that embraces quality practices and rebuild the
company’s reputation as a provider of quality bags. Upgrading and modernizing the equipment
will improve the quality of the bags and improve efficiency of production. Organizational
transformation is desperately needed, and Mr. Okeke must become a transformational leader to
ensure that the transformation is successful. Joshua 1:9 encourages us to “Have I not
commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord our
God is with you wherever you go” (New American Standard Bible, 1971/2020, Joshua 1:9).
Leaders that wish to inspire change must show courage when making difficult decisions, even in
the face of uncertainty. Transforming a business for near ruin will require courage and
leadership if Mr. Okeke wishes to see his efforts succeed.
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