
The ROI (Return On Investment) of a quality management system is calculated differently by many companies: Some evaluate audit preparation, maintenance effort, or process errors. Others define the benefit of a management system through criteria such as employee acceptance, search times, or submitted improvement suggestions. It's true, the ROI of a management system depends on the individual company: on its size, process landscape, number of locations, and the maturity of its quality management. And on how knowledge is distributed within it – meaning how much effort is required to keep it current, understandable, and usable.

Quality management exists in every company, always: Wherever products are created, services are rendered, customer requirements are met, and processes are designed, quality is managed. Consciously or unconsciously, systematically or incidentally. The difference, therefore, is not whether a company practices quality management – but how quality management is understood, organized, and lived.