Sika Footwear has been producing high-quality safety shoes for decades, ensuring that their products deliver the durability, comfort, and protection needed to meet strict safety regulations. Morten Berthelsen, Sourcing Manager at Sika Footwear, has been in the footwear industry for nearly 30 years, managing quality assurance and certifications.
Over the years, quality inspections at Sika Footwear were handled manually using spreadsheets and documents, and photos stored in different locations. As they work with QC across inline, final, container, and warehouse inspections, having a streamlined and effective quality control process has always been essential. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and travel restrictions prevented on-site inspections, Sika Footwear had to rethink its approach. Besides, Sika Footwear were seeking for a QC process that would bring them closer to the factories. This led them to Qarma.
Don’t break up with your suppliers – break it up
Before onboarding Qarma, the processes were fragmented and missed structure. The team needed an intuitive solution that could centralize their data and improve collaboration with suppliers. Morten and his team were looking for a way to make onboarding new suppliers and their employees easier while ensuring that QC processes were conducted consistently in the way they would like to have it done.
“We needed a more structured system where all data could be stored in one place and accessed intuitively. Additionally, onboarding new suppliers and their employees also had to be simpler,” Morten explains.
The goal was not to break up with their suppliers but rather to break up the process and rebuild it in a more structured and data-driven way. This has led to a closer relation with the suppliers and a more collaborative QC approach.
One source of truth
Getting on board with Qarma has given Sika Footwear one source of truth for their QC data. The system allows for seamless communication between the headquarters and the production site, ensuring that all findings and corrective actions are documented and easy to access.
“Before, communication was messy – it was unclear who had to respond to issues. Now, everything runs much more smoothly, and it’s easy to send comments back and forth within Qarma,” says Morten.
By integrating Qarma with Power BI, Sika Footwear can analyze inspection data and detect patterns over time. This has been key in adjusting QC measures, especially when comparing production-site data with in-house measurements in Denmark. For example, environmental factors like humidity and temperature can affect the hardness of a shoe sole, and having accurate data allows Sika Footwear to make necessary adjustments early in the process.
“By identifying any deviations between the measurements taken at the production site and in our environment in Denmark, we can adjust the measurement points at the factory to ensure we meet the quality standards set for our market.”
A data-driven approach to quality
With a highly data-driven approach, Morten consider structured data as key to consistent quality. “Feelings and emotions about a product are one thing, but data never lies,” he emphasizes. With Qarma, Sika Footwear collects detailed inspection data, including images and videos, which makes it easier to verify compliance with their quality standards.
“One of the best features is the ability to take pictures and videos, highlight issues directly in the images, and add comments instantly.”
Qarma has made it easier to empower suppliers by setting clear quality expectations.
“The quality output starts in the production. So, if you don’t have the monitoring of the production going on, then you can’t see what will come out in the other end”.
This continuous monitoring ensures that issues are caught early, preventing costly defects from reaching the final QC stage.
Results Since Onboarding Qarma
Since partnering with Qarma, Sika Footwear has seen significant improvements in their QC processes. Customer claims have been reduced through early defect detection.
“After we started using Qarma, we definitely saw a drop in customer claims. The ability to monitor production from an early stage has helped us catch defects before they reach the warehouse in Europe.”
Inspections have become much simpler, eliminating the need for inspectors to use notebooks or separate cameras since everything is now captured and stored in Qarma. Supplier collaboration has improved because checklists can be customized for each producer, ensuring inspections align with specific production methods. Efficient data usage through Power BI allows Sika Footwear to track trends and continuously refine quality standards.
As a final comment, Morten emphasizes the importance of taking a data-driven approach and how Qarma has made it easier to monitor and act on the data. Morten offers a simple but valuable piece of advice to others working with QC: “Always stick to the data”.