On March 30th and 31st, Sparta Systems, A Honeywell company, was a proud platinum sponsor of the 5th Annual European Medical Device and Diagnostic Supplier Quality Management (SQM) conference in Brussels, Belgium.

The conference brought together professionals in the areas of product and supplier quality management.  Attendees were given the opportunity to learn best practices and techniques in both areas.

The Sparta team had two of its experts on hand to present their knowledge in both quality and supplier management as well as to host two of the roundtable workshops.

Let’s look into the presentations of both Sparta’s Product Advisor QA/RA Life Sciences, Zillery Fortner, and Fabrizio Maniglio, Senior Solutions Engineer.

Strength in Numbers: How Digital Collaboration is the Key to Supply Chain Visibility and Continuity

Zillery Fortner’s goal was to provide attendees with the knowledge and resources they need to either start, continue or review their supplier quality system and to leave each attendee with an a-ha! moment on the best ways to improve their supplier quality system.

During this session, Fortner discussed the downfalls of taking a traditional approach to supplier management, or in the mindset that often comes with it: “we have always done it this way.” Additionally, a one-size-fits all approach is not conducive to an effective supplier management process. Challenges to effective supplier management include a lack of visibility, technological gaps and organizational culture, among others.

Session attendees learned how to mitigate these challenges, understand supplier gaps and conduct an effective supplier qualification process.

Capitalizing on the Perfect Storm for Digital Quality Transformation in Medical Device

Disruption is becoming more frequent and severe. During his session, Fabrizio Maniglio provided attendees with insight into how to plan for rare—or black swan—events. Attendees learned why embracing and adopting new technologies and ways of working can make the difference between success and failure.

Maniglio discussed how increasing complexity has affected how risk management is conducted, particularly for rare events that carry large consequences. Tools like quality risk management can help organizations prepare for those unknown, unpredictable events.

Attendees were also given insight into the role of innovative technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and how these cutting-edge technologies are key to successfully weathering the storm.

Join Sparta at Upcoming Industry Events

If you missed us at this event, Sparta’s experts will be at other industry conferences throughout the year and will be presenting topics like these and others. For more information about our upcoming events and to access the latest insights into supplier management, quality management and more, visit our resource center.

We’d also like to invite you to download our supplier questionnaire tool to help guide you in identifying the best suppliers for your organization.