What is the new paradigm in product quality?

The current product quality paradigm is founded upon a customer-focused product development process, in which the functionality and behaviour of a product are designed to fulfil the needs of customers, and technological innovation is used to expand the capability and enhance the performance of the product. However, this view of product quality does not reflect the current practices of today's leading manufacturers, who now offer "total solutions" based upon an integrated package of products and services with well defined characteristics tailored to individual needs. Concepts such as globalisation, mass customisation, product branding, e-commerce, and sustainability suggest that a new product quality paradigm is evolving. This paper will discuss our current understanding of product quality issues and outline our vision of the new quality paradigm for product developers

Ecological Labelling and the World Trade Organization

Ökologische Kennzeichen gehören zu den marktorientierten Instrumenten der Umweltpolitik und finden international zunehmend Anwendung. Sie enthalten Kriterien über die Herstellungsweise von Produkten, welche bei einer Anwendung auf ausländische Produkte zu Konflikten mit Exportländern führen können. Der Beitrag zeigt auf, worin die Probleme von freiwilligen Kennzeichnungsprogrammen im internationalen Handel liegen. Im Mittelpunkt steht der Vorschlag der Europäischen Kommission, die derzeitige Stellung der ökologischen Kennzeichen gegenüber dem Regelwerk der WTO in einer neuen WTO-Verhandlungsrunde zu klären. Es wird aufgezeigt, wie die in Kennzeichnungsprogrammen gesetzten Standards über Produktionsprozesse zu WTO-Regeln im Verhältnis stehen. Um künftig Konflikte aufgrund von ökologischen Kennzeichen zu vermeiden, sollten die Kennzeichnungsorganisationen bei der Festlegung von Kriterien miteinander international kooperieren und darüber hinaus sollte ein Austausch zwischen der WTO und diesen Organisationen erfolgen. Ecological labels are a market-oriented environmental policy instrument which is applied in a rising number of countries. Products have to meet several criteria in order to qualify for a label. Criteria on production processes of goods can potentially conflict with international trade rules. This article focuses on the current relationship between ecological labels and the WTO legal system. The European Union suggested that this relationship should be more clearly identified and thus be negotiated during a new round of WTO trade talks. We discuss the EU approach and argue that standards on processes and production methods used in eco-labelling schemes are not part of the current WTO legal regime. There is no need, however, to amend the WTO text to comprise eco-labels. Rather, there should be more international co-ordination of standards used in eco-labelling programmes and more cooperation between labelling initiatives and WTO institutions.Ecological Labelling, World Trade Organization, International Environmental Policy, International Trade

National Climate Change Policy: Are the New German Energy Policy Initiatives in Conflict with WTO Law?

This paper addresses German energy policy instruments and their compatibility with WTO rules. Germany and the EU are forerunners in international climate change policy and driving forces behind the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. German energy policy includes approaches to foster electricity generation from renewable resources. Our major question is whether both the policy tools currently applied (standards, taxes and subsidies) and those under consideration (labels, green certificates and border tax adjustment) are compatible with WTO rules. Our findings are that currently neither the design nor the application of the policy instruments are in conflict with WTO rules. However, the setting of production standards for electricity supply is the crucial issue in this debate and if trade in electricity increases, so will the potential for conflict. Rejecting imports because of the way electricity was produced could lead to disputes and to a need for settlements by the WTO legal system. Moreover, when introducing tools like green certificates or border tax adjustments, it is important to find the balance between effectively fostering the reduction of global emissions and eligibility under WTO law.Energy policy; World Trade Organization; global environmental policy; processes and production methods; labels; green certificates; taxes; border tax adjustment; subsidies.

论单边NPR-PPMs措施与WTO环境议题

当环境保护与可持续发展成为世界范围的热点问题时,世界贸易组织(简称WTO)的成员方能否为保护全球公域环境而基于本国与产品无关的生产过程和生产方法(non-product-related Processes and Production Methods,简称NPR-PPMs)标准采取贸易措施(以下简称单边NPR-PPMs措施)成为WTO体制内环境和贸易问题争论的焦点。本文分析了将单边NPR-PPMs措施纳入WTO环境议题的必要性、可行性,提出了明确单边NPR-PPMs措施在WTO体制内的应有地位以及通过立法途径完善对单边NPR-PPMs措施规范的建议

A case study: maturity assessment of product lifecycle management (PLM) implementation in Malaysia automotive components manufacturing company

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) adoption is very important for companies to sustain and stay competitive in market particularly to the organizations that involving from design to manufacturing. However many companies struggle with implementing PLM because PLM is rather a concept than a system, as its main purpose is to increase product collaboration for effective product innovation with integrated streamline business processes across all functional departments to achieve operational excellence. In order to improve these challenges, maturity assessment for PLM is carried out prior to the actual implementation permitted to define the effective PLM strategic roadmap in according to the current environment condition. In this paper, case study and maturity assessment for local automotive components manufacturing company was conducted. The results are discussed in the theoretical and empirical aspects. The finding showed the importance and practicality of the PLM readiness to the companies. The assessment required to be comprehensive to cover the readiness of (1) data readiness, (2) process readiness and (3) people, culture and IT infrastructure. In general, the PLM maturity assessment is a useful and beneficial tool in the implementation and development of PLM framework

Towards a Greenhouse Gas Labeling Regime for Food

This paper proposes that the federal government implement greenhouse gas labeling standards for food and food products sold within the United States. A labeling regime of this sort would shift consumer purchasing from “high emission” to “low emission” foods and encourage consumer awareness that food, like any other commodity, has a GHG “price.

Product Lifecycle Engineering and Management a Life Line for SMEs in Nigeria: An Appraisal

In this 21st century and beyond characterized with rapid development change in technology and innovations, organizations must relentlessly improve their product processes and systems, if they hope to outperform their competitors and maintain relevancy. Invariably, every product has 'life', starting with the design/development, followed by resource extraction, production, use/consumption, and end-of-life activities. However,, Product Lifecycle Engineering and Management (PLM), represents a very important approach for achieving a more sustainable paradigm of work and life, a more sustainable product development, manufacturing, use and dismissal. It is remarkable to note that SMEs account for 97% of all businesses in Nigeria, employs 50% of Nigeria's workforce, and produce 50% of Nigeria's industrial output, but most of these companies (SMEs) are short-lived. The sustainability of these companies and their products' lifecycle has become imperative in order to increase their contributions towards economic, social, political, environmental, and technological development of the Nigeria nation. This paper therefore, shows that effective and efficient PLM will inevitably play a vital and unprecedented role in creating sustainable product environment for SMEs in Africa and most especially fast growing economy like Nigeria. Keywords: Lifecycle, Management, Sustainability, SMEs, ICT Solution, Product Life, Developmen

Collective valuation of common good through consumption : What is (un)lawful in mandatory country-of-origin labelling of non-food products?

Abstract This chapter aims to assess whether the concept of sustainable consumption would support a reinterpretation of relevant trade law—namely EU and WTO rules—to allow robust and harmonious country-of-origin (COO) labelling. Some—but only some—consumers have a bias towards goods and services produced locally, which relatively recent opinion polling confirms. Nevertheless, 40 percent of the EU population, when polled, signals a willingness to pay more for goods ‘produced under certain social and environmental standards’, and roughly a fifth claim that the origin of products affects their everyday purchase decisions. A product’s COO arguably works as a proxy for social and environmental standards in its production. COO is also material product information in itself, especially in light of product safety statistics. EU case law on the (discriminatory) requirements of COO indication has traditionally been interpreted as holding mandatory COO requirements to be ‘obviously illegal’. To uphold national COO labelling measures, defences based on consumer protection and the fairness of commercial transactions have been rejected as ‘equally applicable in form only’. This is despite the fact that a duty to disclose COO arguably already exists in EU law and the European Commission continues to pursue harmonised mandatory COO labelling rules for non-food products. Under WTO law, mandatory COO labelling—understood as information on processes and production methods (PPMs)—is a suspect category of trade barrier. Assessment of its lawfulness may fall under Article XX GATT and Article 2 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). Hence the legality of mandatory COO labelling under both EU and WTO law remains unclearPeer reviewe