Quality is the foundation of customer trust, reputation, and long-term growth. This is a central tenet for the premium furniture brand SUNPAN, which services quality-focused interior designers, furniture retailers and the hospitality sector.
SUNPAN develops trend-forward designs that blend mixed materials, artisanal craftsmanship, and durability. With over 200 employees across Canada, the United States, Vietnam, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China, operations are truly global.
The company’s focus on functionality, durability, and sustainability were central reasons for integrating Qarma. Today, the company uses Qarma as the foundation for quality standards and supplier-led quality control (QC).
Bringing consistency to a global supplier base
SUNPAN’s production spans many countries and suppliers, each with unique capabilities and materials. This diversity is part of the company's appeal, but it also demands rigorous and adaptable quality processes to maintain consistent standards.
Recognizing opportunities to strengthen its quality processes, SUNPAN sought a tool to support its established commitment to excellence.
Qarma became the tool of choice to enhance standards and QC processes. Functions like unified checklists and automated reporting have led to clearer-defined quality baselines and easier sharing of quality standards.
"Qarma is a way of enhancing communication about quality that goes far beyond the findings and reports," Sundeep Bagga, President and CEO of SUNPAN, says.
.jpg)
Empowering factories to lead the QC processes
SUNPAN operates with a dedicated quality team at its headquarters in Toronto. The team collaborates with over sixty manufacturing sites around the world. Manufacturers are empowered as on-site QC leaders and undertake QC processes through Qarma’s mobile, real-time platform.
One of the unique challenges is collaborating with highly skilled craftspeople who, in some cases, create unique, handmade pieces of furniture.
The combination of high-quality materials and workmanship in such products is impossible to replicate, which is part of their charm. However, one-of-a-kind products must also undergo uniform, streamlined QC, packaging, and compliance.
"We are looking to be consistently inconsistent. The products are unique, but all must meet our stringent quality and compliance standards. This process was way more challenging without Qarma," Sundeep Bagga explains.
A shared language for quality
For suppliers, the benefits of adopting Qarma often become clear almost immediately.
In one case, a manufacturer was initially reluctant to adopt Qarma for QC processes, preferring to stick with the more manual but familiar combination of presentations and spreadsheets.
SUNPAN invited them to try Qarma with a brief walkthrough. By comparing their old presentations and spreadsheets with Qarma’s tools, reluctance turned to enthusiasm and preferring to do independent inspections through Qarma within days.
"For us, Qarma is not just about quality control - it is a tool for collaboration. Suppliers discover this once they try it," Zafar Khan, Quality Assurance Manager at SUNPAN, explains.
Smarter QC with real-time data & insights
Zafar Khan and his team have used Qarma to enhance the company's quality setup.
For example, any irregularities can be traced back to production and delivery times with a single click. The team has analyzed the data, identified trends and enabled better recognition and proactive addressing of quality risks.
"Qarma has helped streamline every aspect of our QC controls," Zafar Khan says.
Core functionality includes Qarma’s intuitive and user-friendly setup, complemented by its safeguards. Photos, videos, and comments are all captured in real-time and stored in a centralized, searchable system. Inspectors cannot bypass the system, which increases accountability.
Quality starts when choosing suppliers
Before SUNPAN begins working with a manufacturer, it provides two key documents: an onboarding guide and a quality manual. These documents set the tone for quality, clarity, and consistency.
Sundeep Bagga explains that the company works with around 60 manufacturers. Building a business relationship is an investment of time and money for both parties.
Qarma plays a central role in translating those expectations into shared practices. From the first inspection to ongoing delivery, Qarma helps SUNPAN maintain high standards across a global supplier base.
"You need clarity and commitment because we have high quality expectations, and Qarma helps create that," Sundeep Bagga says
Shared corrective actions to enhance quality
Zafar Khan adds that the company's next steps include further improvements to quality and follow-up effectiveness by integrating shared corrective actions.
This can include on-site inspectors using structured action plans to document and share problems, solutions, and results processes. The action plans will also document whether the actions taken were effective in remedying the issues.
"We want to ensure that suppliers are committed and understand how to improve their, and our, results through self-QC and remedial actions that help keep costs low for everyone," Zafar Khan says.
.svg)