Cut the cost of poor quality (CoPQ) automating SCAR for real-time issue resolution

Scrambling to manage line-down situations and customer complaints keeps your team under constant pressure. Yet, this reactive firefighting is more than just stressful: it’s incredibly expensive. While many quality leaders track obvious expenses like scrap and rework, they often overlook the hidden financial drain caused by fragmented Supplier Corrective Action Request (SCAR) processes.

More than simply flagging a defect, a SCAR is a formal, high-level demand for a supplier to eliminate the root cause of systemic failures. When this critical workflow is disjointed, it becomes the primary driver behind the rising Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ).

Learn how to shift focus from reactive problem management to real-time resolution and turn data into a competitive advantage using modern SCAR software, in this article. 

How manual SCAR management inflates the CoPQ 

For quality managers, manual SCARs lead to a critical lack of visibility and control that translates into avoidable costs. When SCAR data is fragmented and siloed, engineers have to waste valuable time chasing supplier statuses and manually compiling reports instead of solving problems and innovating. This administrative drag elevates the CoPQ.

Still, the real problem is delayed resolution: the lag time between issue discovery, supplier notification, and verified corrective action is where costs multiply exponentially. Every hour of delay can mean manufacturing more costly rework and scrap. Furthermore, production can be delayed and shipments held while waiting for a supplier response that’s buried in an inbox. The ultimate price is paid in warranty claims when the issue reaches the end-customer, a failure that risks eroding trust and profits.

A 2020 McKinsey report found that, without real-time transparency, an issue’s impact usually snowballs throughout the supply chain. For example, one industrial manufacturer with a lack of robust, real-time tracking accumulated nearly $1 million in additional backlog per month on an assembly line that produced $4 million per month.

From reactive firefighting to real-time resolution 

Reactive firefighting is the result of a vicious cycle: problem-patch-repeat. This consumes your team’s time and prevents them from performing high-value work, such as root cause analysis or supplier management. Meanwhile, directors manage in the rear-view mirror due to a lack of real-time data —by the time the period’s report is compiled, the information is already outdated and opportunities for strategic intervention are long gone. 

Kiuey’s SCAR software breaks this pattern. The moment a non-conformance is raised, automated workflows and notifications instantly route it to the respective stakeholders. Deadline reminders ensure accountability, and centralized SCAR communication (from submissions to reports) enables faster containment and corrective action. This drives the shift from passive waiting to active management and real-time issue resolution.

Using SCAR automation to identify systemic issues and prevent recurrence

Your SCAR data is a strategic goldmine, but with a manual system it’s trapped. Through automation, SCAR software provides real-time dashboards that reveal the bigger picture and allow you to unlock continuous improvement. This way, you can finally leverage data analysis to find the systemic issues that manual tracking misses:

• Identify trends: For example, you can instantly see that one supplier is linked to 30% of your defects or that a specific component fails every winter.
• Drive accountability: This data enriches your supplier conversations. You shift from “Your quality is slipping” to “We’ve logged four identical issues from your facility in six weeks. Let’s discuss a permanent fix.”
• Ensure closed-loop correction: SCAR software tracks effectiveness, closing the loop and ensuring the problem remains fixed. This breaks the cycle of issue recurrence and guarantees that systemic issues do not happen again.

Stop paying the price for poor quality

Don’t let reactive firefighting dictate your bottom line and inflate your cost of poor quality. Discover how Kiuey’s SCAR Manager software provides the real-time visibility and smart automation features you need to fix systemic issues for good. 

Schedule a free demo session today and take back control of your SCAR process.