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The Evolution of Quality Management Systems: From Medieval Craftsmanship to Cloud QMS

The evolution of quality management systems (QMS)—from early craftsmanship and industrial inspection to modern cloud-based QMS software.

The Evolution of Quality Management Systems: From Medieval Craftsmanship to Cloud QMS
Image courtesy of Getty Images.

By Shelly St.Hill  

October 27, 2025

History of the Quality Management System

When asked about the birth of today’s quality management system (QMS), the Toyota Production System (TPS) and lean are probably the first thoughts that come to mind. Although these manufacturing approaches have contributed significantly to process improvement and quality management, there’s a lot more history behind how QMS got its start.

Here we travel back in time to explore the true origin of QMS and how it has evolved in recent years to become a widely adopted cloud-based enterprise solution that helps highly regulated companies achieve new product development and introduction (NPDI) success.

Learn more here!

 
 

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