Who Should Implement ISO 9001?    

Companies in North America tend to certify to the ISO 9001 Standard for contractual purposes. As a condition of continued business some customers require certification of all suppliers. Unfortunately, this is the worst reason for complying with the standard. Forcing companies to certify has created the impression that ISO 9001 is a necessary evil without any real tangible benefits, aside from continuing your relationship with your customers. Before discussing the benefits of implementing ISO 9001, it is necessary to outline who should consider implementing the program and then certify to the standard.        

Although ISO is seen as primarily for the manufacturing industry, anyone can implement an ISO 9001 quality management system. There are trucking companies, personnel agencies, distribution centers, software developers, and hardware manufactures all certified to ISO 9001. The following is a checklist of potential candidates for registration:

• Your biggest customer requires ISO 9001 of all suppliers
• Customers demand you demonstrate quality assurance
• Your customers are government agencies
• Your customers are international
• Your customers are the big three auto makers or supply to them -- you are a second or third tier supplier
• Your company wants to expand into the European market, the automotive industry or supply services and products to a government body
• You need a better supplier management program
• Your company is losing business due to poor quality
• The same tasks are performed differently by different people resulting in inconsistent output
• Your major competitor has adopted ISO 9001
• You want to implement a quality management program but do not know how

If you answered YES to any of these you should strongly consider implementing a Quality Management System.