Assessing a customer complaint indicator: a case study in the automotive sector

Introduction – Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are used in many organizations to facilitate decisions and actions. A KPI life cycle is composed of four phases: design, implementation, use, and review. In the review phase, indicators may eventually be deleted, included, or replaced. The literature lacks analyses of the real improvement caused by the implementation and use of revised KPIs.

Purpose – This paper presents a real case of a reviewed KPI that was implemented in a leading company in the automotive electronics industry.

Methodology – The Methodology adopted was the Case Study.

Findings – The KPI that went through the review is related to customer complaints. Despite having overcome the limitation that triggered its creation, new shortcomings were perceived by management during the use phase. Three situations are presented to exemplify the limitations of previous and current indicators, concluding that the most critical drawback is present in both: the lack of a clear purpose. Therefore, assuming certain purposes, suggestions for improvement are proposed.

Paper type: Case Study.

Customer Complaint; Performance Indicator; Quality Management System.