For many in quality management, the difference between a defective part and costly recalls or returns is often whether or not someone reads their email at the right time. Depending on the industry, anywhere from 50–70% of companies still use manual processes for quality tracking. That means issues, training and other quality processes are being kept in spreadsheets, disparate data storage systems, email inboxes and paper.
The difference between a defect and costly recalls/returns is often whether or not someone reads their email at the right time.
Percentage of quality processes that are still manual
- Manufacturing – 70%
- Automotive – 55%
- Pharmaceutical/Life Sciences – 60%
These systems persist because they’ve worked and still do. After all, if profits are good, why introduce potential changes? But as we’ve seen before, the hidden costs of manual quality processes pile up in slow processes, limited traceability and missed opportunities to prevent issues. What’s more, the cost of poor quality (COPQ) often costs 10-20% of revenue.
By contrast, ETQ Reliance delivers an average three-year ROI of 330% and generates annual benefits of $665k or more.
So we decided to create a process-by-process comparison of manual quality management (pen and paper, spreadsheets, SharePoint and more) vs. ETQ Reliance, with data points and benchmarks that highlight the measurable ROI of moving to a modern QMS.
Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) Management
Main benefit: ETQ customers report up to a 50% reduction in CAPA cycle time, with fewer repeat issues and improved audit readiness.
Manual CAPA systems built on spreadsheets, emails or paper forms do get the job done, but they’re slow, inconsistent and vulnerable to errors. Even if the information is accurate, it takes time for that information to get to the people who need to see it. While that’s happening, products can ship with defects.
ETQ Reliance replaces those hand-offs with automated, risk-based workflows that integrate root cause analysis, escalation and compliance tracking. You can get faster closure, stronger traceability and deliver long-term reductions in cost of quality.
| Manual Processes | ETQ Reliance Benefit | ETQ Product/Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Email/Excel handoffs stall actions and hide risk context | Automated, workflow-driven CAPA that routes tasks, scores risk and escalates issues | CAPA Workflow Engine |
| Weak traceability for FDA/ISO expectations | Linked to audits, complaints and NCRs for full visibility | Integrated Quality Suite |
| Delays from manual root cause analysis | Built-in RCA toolkits standardize and accelerate investigations | Root Cause Analysis Toolkit |
| High chance of repeat issues | Preventive actions tied directly to CAPA records | Preventive Action Management |
| Poor visibility for leadership | Dashboards and analytics trend CAPA data in real time | ETQ Insights |
Customer Examples
Polaris Laboratories saw a 50% faster CAPA resolution and 40% faster document revision.
Read their story
Audit Management
Main benefit: ETQ customers cut audit administration time by up to 80% and supplier audit time by up to 70%, while reducing ISO audit findings by nearly 50%.
Anyone who’s been through an audit or inspection knows how time-consuming they can be. Teams can spend weeks preparing documentation, only to scramble when an auditor asks for evidence that lives in a different system or filing cabinet. Missed steps or late follow-ups aren’t uncommon, and each one increases compliance risk and piles on administrative burden.
ETQ Reliance consolidates everything into a single, automated workflow. Organizations stay “always audit-ready” by consolidating audit components in one centralized location. Audits can be planned, scheduled, executed and reported in one place, with findings linked directly to CAPAs. Auditors and teams can manage audits from any device, including mobile and offline modes
| Manual Processes | ETQ Reliance Benefit | ETQ Product/Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks of prep with binders, spreadsheets and scattered files | Centralized planning, scheduling, execution and reporting | Audit Management |
| Missed steps and duplicate entries during audits | Mobile audit execution with offline support | Mobile Audit App |
| Findings tracked separately from corrective actions | Launch CAPAs directly from audit findings | CAPA Integration |
| High administrative burden to prepare for inspections | Audit-ready records available on demand | Audit Dashboard |
| Inconsistent execution across sites | Standardized workflows aligned to ISO, FDA and industry standards | Configurable Audit Templates |
Customer Examples
Cooper Tire spent 80% less time administering audits after centralizing audit activity in ETQ Reliance.
Read their story
Document Control
Main benefit: ETQ customers cut document revision time by up to 40% and maintain audit-ready records with complete traceability.
In a manual environment, outdated documents circulate freely. One person may be working from a printed SOP, another from a local file copy, and another from an email attachment — all while the official version lives elsewhere. This confusion not only slows down work but also creates compliance risk when auditors ask to see the right version.
ETQ Reliance centralizes everything with version control, approvals, automated training triggers and a complete audit trail. It even integrates with Google Docs and supports paperless or hybrid routing for approvals. Employees always work from the latest SOPs, and compliance teams stay confident that the right evidence is on hand.
| Manual Processes | ETQ Reliance Benefit | ETQ Product/Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Version confusion and outdated documents | Centralized, version-controlled repository with full audit trail | Document Control |
| Manual approvals slow revisions | Electronic workflows streamline approvals | Approval Workflow Engine |
| Hard to prove compliance during audits | Always audit-ready with evidence at hand | Compliance Dashboard |
| Updates not linked to training | Automatic training assignments triggered by document changes | Training Integration |
| File shares/SharePoint lack validated workflows | Secure, validated and role-based system | ETQ Reliance Document Module |
Customer Examples
Manitoba Harvest automated review, revision and storage with ETQ Reliance Document Control.
Read their story
Change Management
Main benefit: ETQ customers reduce compliance gaps and improve launch success by using controlled, impact-assessed change processes.
In manual systems, change requests are often handled through forms or emails, with little connection to training, risk or CAPA. That creates blind spots where important updates slip through the cracks, especially in highly regulated industries.
ETQ Reliance links every change request to related processes, performs impact analysis and ensures approvals are in place before rollout. Configured workflows and approvals guarantee compliant rollout with full traceability.
| Manual Processes | ETQ Reliance Benefit | ETQ Product/Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Email/forms without context | Controlled changes with audit trail | Change Management |
| No links to risk, CAPA or training | Integrated with risk assessments and CAPA | Cross-Process Integration |
| Gaps create compliance drift | Approvals ensure compliance before rollout | Approval Workflows |
| Hard to track downstream effects | Impact analysis highlights required updates | Impact Analysis Engine |
| Manual updates slow product launches | Streamlined workflows speed time to market | ETQ Change Module |
Customer Examples
Trane (Ingersoll Rand, at the time) reduced scrap and rework 32% and reduced overall warranty costs by 70% and tens of millions of dollars.
Read their story
Suppliers, Materials & Chemicals
Main benefit: ETQ customers cut supplier audit time by up to 70% and reduce incoming defects by linking SCARs, PPAP, and inspections into one system of record.
Manual approaches to supplier quality management and supplier defect tracking rely on spreadsheets and emails, which lag, stall, and create blind spots. Without analytics or integration, it’s difficult to spot performance trends, enforce accountability, or prevent defects from slipping downstream.
ETQ Reliance unifies supplier ratings, PPAP approvals, SCAR workflows, and defect tracking into one connected module. A collaborative supplier portal enables joint visibility and accountability, while PPAP submission, review and compliance tracking strengthen supplier programs.
| Manual Processes | ETQ Reliance Benefit | ETQ Product/Feature |
|---|---|---|
| SCAR spreadsheets with no analytics | Automated SCAR workflows with reminders and trending | SCAR Management |
| Weak escalation and accountability | Supplier-facing portals and workflows | Supplier Portal |
| No single source of truth for defects | Centralized supplier quality data | Supplier Quality Module |
| Delayed PPAP approvals | Automated PPAP submission and review | PPAP Workflow |
| Hard to track performance by site or part | Trend analysis by site, part, and supplier | Analytics Dashboard |
Customer Examples
Illumina strengthened supplier relationships plus streamlined SCARs, supplier audits and investigations using ETQ’s SMC module.
Read their story
Risk Assessment
Main benefit: ETQ customers achieve faster risk prioritization and stronger cross-process visibility, leading to proactive mitigation instead of reactive firefighting.
Manual risk registers usually live in scattered spreadsheets, making it difficult, if not impossible, to trend risks over time or see connections across departments. Without a central view, issues escalate before they’re spotted, and decisions often come too late.
ETQ Reliance provides a centralized Risk Register with scoring, monitoring and trending tools. Teams can measure, calculate and track risk, then link results to CAPAs and controls for long-term mitigation.
| Manual Processes | ETQ Reliance Benefit | ETQ Product/Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Scattered spreadsheets hinder trending | Centralized risk register consolidates data | Risk Management Module |
| No clear way to score or prioritize | Risk scoring and weighting tools | Risk Scoring Engine |
| Risks disconnected from corrective actions | Link risks to CAPAs, controls and actions | CAPA Integration |
| Hard to monitor changes over time | Automated monitoring and trending | Risk Dashboard |
| Limited visibility across departments | Enterprise-wide visibility into risk status | ETQ Insights |
Customer Examples
AMD implemented ETQ Insights (dashboards + quality data lake) and a supplier portal to elevate cross-process visibility and decision-making.
Read their story
Release Management
Main benefit: ETQ customers reduce scrap, rework and compliance risk by standardizing how they manage deviations, nonconformances, complaints and recalls.
In manual environments, each process is siloed:
- Deviations & nonconformance handling lives in separate logs or spreadsheets.
- Complaint handling depends on email or paper intake.
- Recall management often relies on late or incomplete traceability.
This fragmentation causes slow dispositions, missed regulatory timelines, and repeated quality issues.
Release Management provides a closed-loop workflow to manage deviations, NCRs, complaints and recalls in one place. Deviations and NCRs flow into CAPAs, complaints connect directly to root cause and regulatory reporting (like eMDR), and recalls are executed with complete traceability.
| Manual Processes | ETQ Reliance Benefit | ETQ Produce/Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Siloed logs for deviations and NCRs | Standardized workflow across sites | NCR/Deviation Management |
| Paper/email complaint intake risks missed deadlines | Centralized intake with automated regulatory reporting (e.g., eMDR) | Complaint Handling Module |
| Gaps in recall traceability | Full traceability across complaints, CAPAs, and suppliers | Recalls Management |
| Delayed dispositions and resolutions | Automated routing, escalation, and integration to CAPA | Workflow Engine + CAPA Integration |
| Limited ability to trend performance | Analytics for frequency, cost, and regulatory outcomes | ETQ Insights |
Customer Examples
Avanos streamlined complaint handling and eMDR reporting by replacing paper with ETQ Reliance, contributing to a 315% ROI.
Read their story
Predictive Quality Analytics (PQA)
Main benefit: ETQ customers reduce defects and speed root cause analysis through AI-powered early warnings.
Manual systems don’t provide predictive alerts and issues only surface after scrap, rework or warranty claims. By then, costs have already multiplied.
ETQ Reliance, through its partnership with Acerta LinePulse, uses industrial AI to predict defects, accelerate RCA and improve yield. This helps manufacturers move from reactive to proactive, real-time prevention. Predictive Quality Analytics sits within ETQ’s Quality 4.0 vision, supported by a four-stage maturity model (Automate, Accelerate, Expand, Transform).
| Manual Processes | ETQ Reliance Benefit | ETQ Produce/Feature |
|---|---|---|
| No predictive alerts | AI/ML-driven early warnings | Predictive Quality Analytics |
| Problems found only after scrap/rework | Defect prediction and prevention | AI-Powered Analytics |
| Slow root cause investigations | Faster RCA through pattern recognition | RCA Acceleration |
| Disconnected from CAPA/change | Closed loop to corrective and preventive action | Closed Loop Quality |
| Quality issues repeat over time | Continuous learning and trending | ETQ Insights |
Customer Examples
Wabtec saw a 75% improvement in defect visibility when shop-floor SPC (QDAS) data was integrated with ETQ. ETQ later launched PQA with Acerta LinePulse.
Read their story
Closed Loop Quality
Main benefit: ETQ customers eliminate repeated issues by creating a continuous improvement cycle that connects events across the product lifecycle.
Manual quality tools leave islands of data that’s never used or never used in a timely manner. Customer complaints don’t link to supplier defects, and shop floor inspections don’t connect back to training or risk management. The result is slow detection, poor traceability and repeated issues.
ETQ Reliance connects signals from design, operations, customers and suppliers into one system. These signals flow into a continuous improvement cycle, supported by ETQ Insights dashboards that trend issues across the lifecycle.
| Manual Processes | ETQ Reliance Benefit | ETQ Produce/Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Islands of data across processes | Unified system connects all quality processes | Closed Loop Quality |
| Slow detection of recurring issues | Events automatically feed continuous improvement cycle | Event Management |
| Complaints and NCRs not linked | Complaints feed directly into CAPA and change | Complaint Integration |
| Supplier issues disconnected from training | Supplier data linked to training updates | Supplier–Training Linkage |
| Weak trend visibility | End-to-end analytics across lifecycle | ETQ Insights |
Customer Examples
A medical device manufacturer unified eight quality processes in one ETQ system to boost compliance and adoption.
Connected Worker
Main benefit: ETQ customers achieve up to a 20–30% productivity lift by digitizing frontline tasks and extending QMS workflows to the shop floor.
Paper SOPs and verbal handoffs slow down onboarding and hide critical shop floor signals. Operators struggle to follow evolving procedures consistently, and quality events often go unreported until they escalate.
ETQ Reliance equips workers with digital work instructions, guided tasks and real-time capture of issues, extending QMS workflows directly to the frontline.
| Manual Processes | ETQ Reliance Benefit | ETQ Produce/Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Paper SOPs and work instructions | Digital, mobile work instructions | Connected Worker |
| Verbal handoffs create inconsistency | Guided tasks standardize execution | Task Guidance |
| Shop floor signals lost or delayed | Real-time capture into QMS | Mobile Reporting |
| Training and onboarding slow | Shorter ramp times with digital tools | Training Integration |
| Limited visibility into operator issues | Shop floor data linked to quality system | QMS Extension |
Customer Examples
The Connected Worker programs through ETQ and Augmentir typically deliver 20–30% productivity boosts.
