THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY MANAGEMENT WITHIN A ROAD FREIGHT TRANSPORT ORGANIZATION

Throughout time, it has been proven that the quality management approach has been one of the main drivers of organisational success. Numerous studies showcase how it can be applied within various fields, yet most are focused on production instead of services. Even if there are a few studies focusing on total quality transportation (TQT), there is not enough literature available in order to support the importance of this approach and to facilitate its implementation within this field. This study will focus on assessing quality management practices and how they can be applied within the chosen industry. In order to accomplish the purpose of this paper, the principles of total quality management will be applied on business models used within the transport industry. It is of utmost importance to understand how the transport industry operates and what are the weakest spots within such organisations. The highlighted issues should be analysed through the lens of total quality management, to provide solutions that can easily be applied by practitioners. Therefore, research will be focused on both theory and practice, to showcase similarities and differences and highlight issues that may not have previously been taken into consideration. This paper aims to provide an analysis of the quality management and quality assurance framework and its application on the transport industry.