Tsing Tao has noticed how markets overseas have developed a taste for its product and is eager to quench this thirst by growing its export capabilities.
Tsing Tao beer is by far the most famous beer in China and is probably the only Chinese beer with a strong international brand. As the company has proved through 100 years of growth, it takes more than a popular product and great taste to succeed. Consistent, hard and systematic work with all aspects of the operations forms the foundation for a strong brand both in China and abroad.
The Tsing Tao group started off with an ISO 9001 certificate for its management systems in 1995. Soon it expanded the scope both in terms of number of factories and branches to be certified and in terms of going for both environmental and safety management systems certification.
"By integrating all these standards, Tsing Tao has been able to use them more efficiently in the systematic work to improve the operations on all levels," says Xiang Hong Qiao, director of the Management Enhancement Department. "It has been a gradual process. Of course we did puruse comprehensive quality improvement work before adopting the ISO standards in 1995, but by using one standard, we could start streamlining and standardising all our operating procedures and practises. And through the integrated certification scheme, this process has been developed further."
Continuous improvement
"When we first started with certification, the focus was very much on the non-conformities," says Qiao. "At first, our employees feared this would only create a potential for blame and more work. But soon we all experienced that this had nothing to do with blame, but improving our processes. And the way visible improvements have come about, it demonstrates that certification helps everyone in the company do their job better, rather than point the finger at the person who doesn't."
"By adapting the ISO 9001:2000 standard, service became one of the things we concentrated on in our improvement work. And in the period from 2001 to 2003, our customer satisfaction score increased by 11 points, from 71 per cent to 82 per cent as a direct consequence," she explains.
"We have been very satisfied by the work of DNV auditors. So much that we want more from DNV. We want the DNV auditors to continually improve their competence so that the certification process itself is continually improved. And we would like to see DNV using its international network and experience to facilitate seminars and conferences where big companies can come together and share experiences and best practices.
Beyond the ISO standards
Hua Li is technical director at Tsing Tao: "There were tremendous changes in terms of the way we worked. The transition to the 2000 version of ISO 9001 provided a different approach to our practises. And the DNV auditors also brought with them a sense of fresh air. We appreciate the DNV auditors' competence and broad insight into management skills and best practices. This will become increasingly important as we want to move beyond the ISO standards."
At present, the company's primary objective is to increase export to Taiwan, and to achieve this goal, Tsing Tao beer has setup a factory in Taiwan. Then Tsing Tao beer will gradually expand export to other parts of Asia while maintaining its established market shares in Europe and the US.
"The escalating competitiveness in the international markets is matched by the increasing interest shown by non-Chinese companies for Tsing Tao's domestic market. This means that continuous improvement at all levels will play a vital role in our success. And certification that can push a company beyond mere compliance with standards is what can give Tsing Tao the edge," concludes Madame Qiao.