The opening line on the Systematic QMS website is “Welcome to Systematic Quality Management Systems Inc. Where Service Is Our Passion!” 

The warm tone and promise to provide excellent, tailored customer service while delivering a very technical cloud-based quality management system is refreshing to those of us who are newer to the world of quality. For those to whom quality is the backbone of their manufacturing, aerospace, or medical products and services, this isn’t just refreshing but absolutely vital. Systematic QMS delivers in several crucial areas: affordability, adaptability, simplicity, customer service, and ease of use. This is, in part, due to its roots as a consulting firm.

Speaking at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago this year with James Lozos, Systematic’s president, while Gina Berry, Systematic’s vice president, stood nearby to greet visitors at their booth, it was clear that the promise to provide clear and ongoing support while adapting to myriad core processes and industries is no ruse. Rather, it’s what makes Systematic QMS stand out in a sea of possible solutions mostly designed to make people’s businesses work better, and to make that work easier.

The company’s cloud-based packages are aligned with various standards, including ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 17025, ISO 27001, AS 9100, AS 9110, AS 9120, IATF 16949, and NQA-1. But Lozos is quick to point out that this comprehensive range and compatibility doesn’t make them any less affordable.

Making necessary tools affordable and accessible

“With sqms.net, we offer a baseline package with just a couple of modules,” Lozos says. “Maybe you don’t need document control, but you need the smallest level of tools possible. These are best practice tools, they’re available to your organization for just over $2,000 a year, and that’s up to 10 users, so you can get into the application for a very bare-bones price.”

That includes customer service, from installation and setup to education and training.

But let’s back up a bit to discuss the basics. For people looking at their current ISO-based QMS or wondering how to go about putting a Quality Management System in place, what aspects of Systematic QMS are, to put it bluntly, any different from similar systems out there?

A QMS company with consulting roots

“We’re first and foremost a consulting firm,” Lozos says. “We’ve been in business over 15 years. We started at the kitchen table, and from there we’ve grown over those years to the amazing team we have today. Lots and lots of deep expertise in quality management systems is in our wheelhouse, so we bring that to the table: How to do it correctly, how to not overdo it, and how to keep it simple, as well as user and audit friendly.”

Headquartered in Texas, the consulting firm grew steadily. As Lozos says, that start in consulting benefited Systematic and its customers in a few key ways. “We grew with a lot of our customers and went through a lot of their challenges, so we brought all those lessons learned into an application. It’s been on the market since 2020, and people really, really love it.”

What aspects do customers love?

Adaptability

“We’ve learned a lot in a decade of consulting, and we bake that knowledge into our cloud-based application. This system has all of those tips and tricks and user friendliness in it. All of our tools are simple, easy to use, and highly configurable, so we can customize things for lots of organizations, because they have very specific ways of doing things inside our framework.”

Besides the ability to conform to various organizations and purposes, sqms.net is easily integrated—making setup and use a breeze (or at the very least, easier than one might imagine).

Simplicity

Simple, in the world of quality, is a word that often makes people’s ears perk up. Making quality checks, audits, and assurance tasks simple? That’s a surefire way to get attention. But backing it up with methodology and evidence is another matter.

“Our approach is that we’re a service-based organization, a knowledge-based organization, and [we have tools] that lots of people need,” says Lozos. “We see our market as being smaller organizations, 50 employees or [fewer]. We’re in such a unique spot price-wise and service-wise.”

While there are other organizations that sell similar software and quality management systems, he explains, they often price themselves out of a lot of business—and prevent their products from being accessible.

With Systematic’s lower price point and a customizable product, smaller shops can afford the tools needed to get the job done, analyze necessary components, and document everything accurately and efficiently. Customers can also submit support tickets and get help from experts.

“We integrate our service team directly into the application, so it’s not just an app that you have to go figure out how to use; there’s a whole team of experts behind you,” says Lozos.

It’s a straightforward process to tailor an application for company-specific elements like metrics, methods, inspection, or quality.

“Typically, we’ve been able to build modules for things like production planning and inspecting those products on the fly,” says Lozos.

Use across industries

The simplicity and adaptability has paid off, and Lozos shares that their product is used by companies of various industries—but primarily manufacturing.

“We understand manufacturing—my background is manufacturing—so we know what those struggles are. We’ve already solved some of those problems.”

Lozos notes that about 65% of Systematic’s customers are in the aerospace industry. Others range from automotive, energy, oil and gas, electronics, military, medical, nuclear, and more.

But all this means nothing if the QMS is too much hassle to set up and implement. Lozos assures me that’s not the case with Systematic.

Fast and easy setup

“Is it very easy to deploy?” Lozos asks, then answers. “We’ve got instances where we’re up and running certainly within two weeks, from the time you say, ‘Let’s get going,’ to the time all your users are in the system. Two weeks.”

For those without a quality management system in place, Systematic staff will “draft you one from scratch,” says Lozos.

Once it’s installed, it’s easy for remote and deskless operators to access while wandering around a plant or traveling.

“[Being cloud based], it works on any browser,” says Lozos. “It works on any tablet or mobile phone, and there are apps for both Android and IOS. It’s as simple as anything else; you just log in with your user name and password, and you have access to the application.”

This ties back to Systematic’s consulting background. Do you need more information? Do you need your tools to be more adaptable to processes already in place? That’s what the company’s QMS specializes in.

“We’re a great resource for companies that are trying to focus on pushing product out the door instead of pushing paperwork,” Lozos says.

Productivity over paperwork is something true quality professionals are quick to get behind.