IFS Quality Management (QMS) Module Overview

What Can the IFS QMS Module Do?

The IFS Quality Management module brings a full quality toolkit into IFS Cloud. Each capability below is designed to work with live operational data, so quality actions are triggered, recorded, and closed against the same objects your teams already use.

Quality Control: In IFS Quality Management, quality control goes beyond basic pass/fail monitoring. It captures inspection results against defined characteristics and applies statistical process control (SPC) techniques to detect trends and predict future performance before a batch drifts out of tolerance. Because inspections are tied to production and receiving transactions, a control failure can automatically block stock, hold a lot, or raise a non-conformance — turning quality control into a proactive gate rather than an after-the-fact report.

Non-Conformance Tracking: This feature records where products, materials, or processes fail to meet the required standard. Users log non-conformances, categorise them by severity, and link each one to the specific part, batch, work order, or supplier involved. The structured data that accumulates highlights recurring problem areas, feeds Pareto analysis, and gives quality managers an evidence base for reducing scrap, rework, and waste over time.

Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA): The CAPA workflow guides teams through the full closed-loop process. Once a non-conformance is raised, staff record it, investigate the root cause, define an action plan with owners and due dates, and then verify effectiveness. Because CAPA lives inside the ERP, actions can reference the exact transaction, asset, or document that failed — and the system tracks results over time to confirm the fix held and the problem did not recur.

Audit Management: The audit tools simplify internal, supplier, and certification audits by supporting reusable audit plans and checklists, scheduling, and structured recording of findings. Each finding can spawn a linked non-conformance or CAPA, and follow-up tasks are tracked to closure — so an ISO 9001 or IATF surveillance audit becomes a repeatable process rather than a spreadsheet scramble.

Risk Management: Risk-based thinking is a core requirement of modern quality standards. The module lets organisations identify potential quality risks, assess their likelihood and severity, and record mitigation strategies. Those risks can be reviewed on a schedule and reassessed as processes change, giving auditors clear evidence that risk is being actively managed rather than assumed away.

Compliance Management: Regulated manufacturers must map their operations to standards such as ISO 9001, IATF 16949, AS9100, and FDA requirements. IFS Quality Management helps track those regulatory obligations, document compliance activities, and assemble the evidence auditors ask for — reducing the manual effort of proving conformance during an inspection.

Change Management: Any change to a product, process, or specification can introduce quality risk. The change-management capability lets users document a proposed change, assess its impact, route it for approval, and control its implementation — ensuring engineering and process changes are made in a controlled, traceable way rather than informally on the shop floor.

Training Management: Competence is a quality requirement in its own right. The module supports planning and scheduling training, tracking employee participation, and recording competencies — so organisations can demonstrate that the people performing critical operations are qualified to do so, a common audit checkpoint.

For a vendor-neutral view of how these capabilities appear across the market, see our full guide to quality management in ERP.

Does IFS Have a Document Management System?

Yes. IFS Quality Management includes an integrated document management system that stores quality-related documents — procedures, work instructions, specifications, certificates, and forms — inside IFS Cloud with version control and access permissions. Version control ensures employees always retrieve the current, approved revision rather than an out-of-date copy, and audit trails record who changed a document and when. Because documents can be attached directly to parts, work orders, inspections, and CAPA records, the right procedure or certificate surfaces exactly where the work happens, and controlled documents stay linked to the transactions they govern.

This matters well beyond convenience. In regulated sectors, electronic document and record controls are a compliance requirement — for example, the U.S. FDA's 21 CFR Part 11 governs electronic records and signatures for life sciences. Keeping controlled documents inside the same system as the operational data they describe removes the version-mismatch and broken-link risks common to standalone document repositories.

Supplier Quality Management (SQM): Product quality often depends on incoming component quality. IFS Supplier Quality Management provides tools to score and rate suppliers on performance, track supplier-related non-conformances, manage supplier corrective action requests (SCARs), and collaborate with suppliers on improvement. Because supplier quality data is tied to purchase orders and receiving inspections, poor performers are flagged against real transaction history rather than anecdote — supporting objective sourcing and approved-vendor decisions.

Comparing IFS quality management against other ERP QMS options? Use our ERP comparison tool to line IFS Cloud up against alternatives, or build a scored, vendor-ready requirements list with the free requirements wizard.

IFS Quality Management vs Standard ERP-Embedded QMS

Most ERP platforms offer some quality functionality, but depth and integration vary widely. The table below contrasts the IFS Cloud QMS approach with a typical bolt-on or lightly embedded ERP quality module. For a full multi-vendor comparison, see our quality management ERP guide.

The practical advantage of the IFS approach is traceability: because quality is embedded rather than integrated, there is a single, auditable chain from a customer complaint back through the CAPA, the non-conformance, the inspection, the batch, and the supplier — without stitching data across systems.

What Does IFS Quality Management Cost?

IFS does not publish fixed public pricing for the Quality Management module. IFS Cloud is typically licensed by subscription based on the components deployed and the number and type of users, and quality management is generally acquired as part of a broader IFS Cloud footprint rather than as a standalone purchase. Your total cost depends on which modules you deploy, user counts, deployment model (IFS-managed cloud, other cloud, or on-premise), and implementation scope.

Because those variables move the number significantly, the most reliable way to size a budget is to define your requirements first and then request tailored pricing. Tell us how many users you need and we will be in touch to provide a quick, hassle-free IFS ERP cost estimate and arrange a personalised demonstration.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is IFS Quality Management?

IFS Quality Management (QMS) is the quality module of IFS Cloud. It embeds quality control, non-conformance tracking, corrective and preventive action (CAPA), audit management, document control, and supplier quality into the core ERP, so quality data is tied directly to production, procurement, and maintenance transactions rather than held in a separate system.

Does IFS have a document management system?

Yes. IFS Quality Management includes an integrated document management system with version control, access permissions, and audit trails. Controlled documents such as procedures, specifications, and certificates can be attached to parts, work orders, inspections, and CAPA records, so the current approved revision surfaces where the work is done.

What is IFS Supplier Quality Management (SQM)?

IFS Supplier Quality Management is the part of the QMS module that manages incoming and supplier-related quality. It scores suppliers on performance, tracks supplier non-conformances, manages supplier corrective action requests (SCARs), and links this data to purchase orders and receiving inspections — supporting objective approved-vendor and sourcing decisions.

Is IFS Quality Management ISO 9001 compliant?

IFS Quality Management provides the capabilities organisations use to operate an ISO 9001-aligned quality management system — including document control, non-conformance and CAPA workflows, internal audits, risk management, and training records. The certification itself is granted to the organisation by an accredited body; the software provides the controls and audit evidence to support it. The module is also used to support standards such as IATF 16949, AS9100, and FDA-regulated environments.

How does IFS handle non-conformance and CAPA?

When a defect or deviation is detected, users raise a non-conformance, categorise it by severity, and link it to the affected part, batch, work order, or supplier. That non-conformance can trigger a CAPA, where teams record the root cause, assign an action plan with owners and due dates, and then verify effectiveness. The system tracks outcomes over time to confirm the corrective action prevented recurrence.

How much does the IFS Quality Management module cost?

IFS does not publish fixed public pricing for the Quality Management module. It is generally licensed by subscription as part of a wider IFS Cloud deployment, priced on the components and users involved. The best way to get an accurate figure is to define your requirements and request a tailored IFS ERP cost estimate and demonstration.