How does ISO 9001 Certification Aid Startups?

by Isabel Blamey Professional writer

If you have just given birth to a business, you need to learn how ISO 9001 certification can help your startup. Go through this article to explore the benefits a startup can gain from this ISO certification.

Over the last ten years, the Australian startup network has been booming. Every year the statistics are increasing. Notably, most of the startups belong to fintech industry.

If you look back five years ago, you would find:

1. VC funds were $155million

2. Only three active funds were there in the Australian trade market

3. Only four accelerators were there

Now, let’s have a look at the latest report based on the market condition in 2018:

1. VC funds have raised over $1.5 billion in last two years (2017-18) including funds covering almost $200 million

2. In 2018, the number of active funds is five

3. In 2018, the number of accelerators was 25 in Australia

These stats are giving one message- this is a golden age for the startups in Australia. However, since the industry is booming, competition is rapidly increasing. Competitors are always breathing on the neck of a startup business. In such a scenario, the startups need to put necessary efforts in securing the longevity of their newly born business venture. An entrepreneur can follow many ways of ensuring their existence in the market. One of them is the implementation of the ISO 9001 standard- the ISO Quality Management Standard.

What is ISO Quality Management Standard?

It is an invention of the International Organisation for Standardization or ISO. This international standard specifies the requirements for developing a quality management system of QMS. Any organisation can adapt this ISO standard. For gaining ISO Quality Management Certification, a startup needs to demonstrate its consistency in offering products or services that meet customer satisfaction.

How ISO Quality Management Standard can benefit startups?

No matter what the business is offering, multi-beneficiary ISO certification has sound solutions for every business. What’s the main reason behind implementing a Quality Management System or QMS? It lets quality permeate throughout the business management system. This is an essential day-to-day affair that enhances the outcome of the offered products or services. Compliance with a quality management system enables a startup to reduce and limit the number of mistakes made by the business. Moreover, QMS effectively improves the general performance of an organisation.

A startup mainly requires six things, such as:

1. Customer

2. Product/ service

3. Timing

4. Competition

5. Finance

6. An effective team

We all know that building a strong customer base is the main requirement of a company that is only in its beginning days. In other words, a startup needs anything that can help them attract their customers and convince them about their credibility. This credibility helps the startup engage potential human resources as well.

Sometimes, startups need to collaborate with other firms to avail certain benefits. Many businesses prefer to collaborate only with ISO-certified startups. Hence, a partnership with potential stakeholders can also be influenced by ISO 9001 certification. However, these stakeholders are a great source of finance for the startups.

Apart from these, a startup can enjoy many other benefits just like an established business. Such benefits are:

• Recognition in the domestic market

• A wide scope of further development and expansion

• High-quality products or services

• Continuous improvement

A Final Takeaway

See! A new business can also enjoy a lot of benefits out of ISO Quality Management Certification. In this context, it is important to note that a startup should be well aware of the ISO 9001:2015 fundamentals and vocabulary is a companion standard to ISO Quality Management Standard. The new business should understand the content stated in the ISO guideline. Listed below are the documents, which are the basic requirements of this standard:

• Quality manual

• Quality policy

• Quality objectives

• Quality records

• Documentation of six procedures including:

I. Control of documents

II. Control or records

III. Internal audit

IV. Control of nonconforming product

V. Corrective actions

VI. Preventive actions

In conclusion, it is safe to state that no matter what is the size, nature, and the offering, a startup can go for the quality management certification. Some startup owners believe that the Quality Management System is designed only for the big names. However, this far from the reality. This standard helps the startups gain recognition in the local market, which is the basic requirement for maintaining the existence of a startup in this aggressively competitive market.

Author Bio

Damon Anderson is an ISO consultant who is associated with an ISO 9001 certification consultancy. He takes a keen interest in marketing and his keenness in marketing has driven him to pursue a career in ISO standard. His blogs are a powerhouse of knowledge about ISO certification. In many blogs, he has beautifully explained how ISO standard can help an entrepreneur promote the business in his respective market.