A closer look at quality 

Quality is a funny word, because there are no absolutes. Quality is about perception. It involves somebody’s point of view. A recent survey conducted by Stora Enso captured the points of view of both merchants and printers. What is quality in their relationships with paper suppliers and what quality factors do they find important?

The Perceived Quality Survey covered both service quality and the technical quality of products, and more than 250 professionals were interviewed. 

The survey was conducted in the form of personal interviews, meaning that response was qualitative rather than quantitative. It was understood that the intention of the survey was not to evaluate the quality performance of Stora Enso, but to explore how customers think about quality and quality factors in a more general sense.

The top five critical factors

For a preview of the results before the survey is published, the five most critical service quality factors were, in order of rating:

1. Reliability (deliveries, company, organisation and people)
2. Availability (products)
3. Accessibility (people, services and information)
4. Efficient deliveries (on-time, the right amounts, undamaged)
5. Problem solving capabilities (competence and skills)

Ensuring higher quality levels

The results confirm that we have got our priorities right, that we are pulling in the right direction. But rest assure that we will keep on improving even more.