“Come on, let’s not paint nightmare scenarios. Crisis averted. That’s what matters.” The company director leaned back in his chair and looked calmly and observantly around the table as if searching for the culprit. “It’s better to understand the causes of the problem. Then we can find a solution.”

“I agree.” The head of sales immediately straightened up, as if he had been waiting for those words. “We must find out who is responsible…”

About a dozen people sitting around the table, in synchronicity, turned to where the production manager and the warehouse manager were sitting. Eka felt the blood rush to her face and her cheeks heat up in sympathy toward them.

The production manager wiped his mouth and downed the water from his plastic cup.

“My team spent the whole day trying to figure that out. We reviewed the night shift records—everything was done according to process. The lab checked and confirmed it too during the night. Whatever happened at the warehouse is not on us…” He raised his eyebrows and glanced sideways at the warehouse manager.

The warehouse manager, Dato, was silent. He sat with his head bowed, his shoulders hunched. He couldn’t say anything. The fact was, someone had forgotten to check the temperature at night.

“How could we not prevent such a mistake from happening? That’s what I actually wanna know.” The director looked at Naniko, the head of the quality department.

At first glance, Naniko seemed calm. She was leaning on the table with her elbows, her fingers interlaced. When asked, she quickly raised her head and looked straight at the director.

“We double-checked, and the last sample taken to the lab was very much fine. Whatever happened to the product until the next morning, the lab cannot shoulder that.”

The director leaned toward the table and raised his voice slightly, frowning.

“If the product got damaged, it’s not the lab’s fault, of course. But the quality department should make sure that the final product is of high quality in any case! The mistake slipped, that’s a fact, and it’s your responsibility to protect us against such mistakes!”

Naniko didn’t change her posture, though her cheeks flushed. She swallowed noticeably and coughed.

“This was a mistake, definitely,” she began as calmly as possible, “and we’ll inevitably make more mistakes if we don’t change something. We have only one team in the whole company responsible for quality, hygiene, sanitation, writing standards, and checking them. That’s why we can no longer keep up. I have only three people on the team. How do you imagine completing such a huge task perfectly? How are we supposed to control every aspect?”

“Then you should say, Naniko, what is necessary…” The director wouldn’t let it go. “If we fail at such elementary things, what kind of development can we even aspire to? We just opened the new factory, and clients keep giving us orders. What answer should we give for these kinds of mistakes?”

Naniko’s expression grew more grim. She clenched her fingers together tightly. She opened her mouth to respond, but the production planning manager interrupted. The gazes around the table shifted accordingly.

“Well, I have to say one thing: if you had planned your sales orders properly, the chances of this kind of error would be much lower. When plans are unstable and we have to produce too much, it’s no wonder something slips through. The factory can’t handle this kind of overload.”

“How can we refuse a client’s order? Especially a long-term client. I know it’s not easy, but that’s how business works.” The sales manager didn’t back down.

“Is dead cattle better than that?” Naniko perked up a little. She unclenched her trembling fingers and straightened up. “Especially when I have to take on such a huge responsibility alone…”

“It is your responsibility to make sure the food is of the highest quality. That’s your task,” the director insisted. “If you can’t, then say so—and we’ll solve it differently. The system must ensure that all orders are fulfilled perfectly!”

Eka was listening to this discussion with eyes wide open and was squirming on the spot. She wished they would just skip this discussion and move on to the presentation because the answers they were looking for were right there on these slides. Giorgi, as if reading her thoughts, immediately intervened for a smooth pivot.

“I understand the situation is critical, but it’s better to focus on solving the problem than looking for someone to blame. I don’t think now is the time for that.”

“Then tell us what to do. We started this project in the name of quality…” The director was now clenching a plastic cup irritably. “The fact is, the team isn’t functioning as well as it should.”

They turned to Naniko again, who sat with her head bowed and lips tightly pressed.

“What do you say, Naniko?” Giorgi smiled sympathetically.

Naniko’s face briefly flushed up again. She sighed loudly and looked up.

“I was the one who asked to start this project in the first place—because of this very problem. No one knows better than I do how many issues we have. How can a three-person team handle everything? To take responsibility for the quality of two separate enterprises, check every point, and even manage the risks? We’ve talked about this so many times. If we don’t change something—if we don’t strengthen the team—It’s inevitable, we’ll make more mistakes. This incident is a direct result of that.”

Eka remembered Naniko’s words during their first interview—word for word. She had honestly admitted the team’s limitations. It was the first time someone had assessed their capabilities so objectively. She hadn’t tried to hide anything and wasn’t afraid to ask for help.

Perhaps that’s why Eka and Giorgi had taken her case so much to heart—and had done their best to find the most appropriate solution.

Giorgi rubbed his forehead, and after a moment of thought, looked up:

“We believe that properly distributing tasks related to quality—and establishing control points at the company level—would solve this problem. If we create a system like this and work on it, we’ll gradually start seeing results.”

“How exactly? What points do you mean?” The director leaned forward.

“How should that system be created?” The sales manager asked.

Naniko sat with furrowed brows, gazing at Giorgi with interest.

“Let me explain.” She smiled at Giorgi and looked at Eka. “Eka, open the presentation.”

Eka opened the presentation they had prepared for today’s meeting. She turned on the projector and displayed the slides on the screen.

“This part of the quality policy was developed based on the individual interviews we conducted with each of you,” Giorgi said, pointing to the screen. “This section specifically addresses quality control.”

“That’s exactly what we need,” the director leaned in, squinting at the text.

“As you’ll see, there are several key issues that need to be addressed at the policy level,” Giorgi continued. “Controlling production processes alone will not be enough; it is also necessary to control the quality and storage conditions of raw materials and finished products; in addition, control of transportation, how the product is stored with customers and in the store…”

“Why should we control transportation? Or how do clients store the products?” The warehouse manager, Dato, raised his head and asked in a muffled voice.

“That’s what we want, for sure!” said the sales manager, pointing to the screen. “Sometimes the product spoils during transportation or gets clumped up because the dealer stored it the wrong way. If we control that, we’ll be insured.”

“Exactly!” Giorgi smiled, encouraged. “The more control points there are, the more likely we are to catch defects in time. Right now, all the pressure is on the production process alone, but that’s not enough.”

“I think it should be mandatory to double- and triple-check the product before release. So we’re not relying on one person’s goodwill.” The production planning manager added.

Giorgi nodded with satisfaction and glanced at Eka to take note. Others around the table nodded as they read through the slides.

“What do you say, Naniko?” Giorgi asked again.

“That would make things even harder for me and my team. I don’t know how we’d manage with such limited resources…” She sighed and shook her head slightly.

Giorgi looked at Eka. She immediately understood—this was the idea they had discussed the night before. For the first time, she had come up with the solution herself.

“Eka, explain it to us,” Giorgi said, shifting the attention to her.

Suddenly, as if struck by lightning, Eka stood up and widened her eyes. Giorgi smiled and nodded, as if to say, You’ve got this.

She tried to focus. Everyone was watching.

“We thought…” she swallowed, “What would you say to separate quality control into a separate unit? That is, it would work independently from Naniko’s department, focusing solely on detecting errors—and reporting directly to the director?”

“Wait…” Naniko interrupted, “So they wouldn’t be on my team?”

Eka shook her head.

“No. We thought it would work better if they could correct mistakes quickly and independently.”

“And the standards? Who writes those? Where will the guidelines come from?”

“You and your team will develop the standards,” Giorgi stepped in. “That will be your main role—to look at everything globally and create the most effective processes, from raw material purchase to final delivery. Including what temperature it should be stored in.” He smiled, “The separate quality control unit will ensure that no product violating those standards reaches the consumer. From neither point!”

“And… if my team makes a mistake in the standards?” Naniko asked, still skeptical.

“Good point. They’ll control that too. This unit will be obligated to doubt even the standards if they need to be doubted. They’ll work with all departments—even the lab. The idea is to catch deviations early and hold the right people accountable.”

Naniko stared at the screen for a moment, then slowly relaxed her facial muscles.

“Well then… I think it’s a good option. At least we’ll finally be able to focus on what’s really our job.”

“Exactly!” Giorgi’s eyes lit up. He turned to the rest of the room. “What do you guys think?”

“I think it could be a good thing,” the sales manager nodded.

“So…” The recruitment manager raised her hand and looked cautiously at the director. “We’re hiring someone for the quality control position?”

“Let’s begin the search. It could be a worthy investment,” the director said. “Oh, right, a thank you note would be nice for the lab employee, by the way…”