Why ISO 9001 Certification is an Imperative Tool for Small Business

Small and medium businesses need a feasible and all-encompassing tools fo administering their processes to improve performance quality. They need it to meet every expectation of their customers, win a considerable customer base, and achieve a sustainable position in the competitive marketplace. ISO 9001 certification, being the top-level global certification for quality management system (QMS), is a very promising tool for small businesses. It will help them maintain excellent quality for their products or services and win a competitive place in their industry. 

A proper and formalized QMS should be a part of the strategic decision making of every business. It helps organizations to focus on improving their end to end processes and to establish a sound basis for upholding quality. Thus, most businesses implement a QMS when they find that customers seek assurance for quality in the products or services they purchase and want them to fulfill every requirement. 

The points below will further explain the benefits of this ISO standard 9001 for small enterprises.  

While this ISO 9001 standard is applicable to any business, irrespective of their nature or size, it is seemingly an effective tool for promoting growth for SMEs (small and medium enterprises). It provides them with a clear idea of how to implement a QMS with quality improvement practices and processes that will help to enhance their level of customer satisfaction as well as gain competitiveness. Despite these, many SMEs are reluctant to get this international certification considering that a QMS will result in bureaucracy, too much of paperwork, and rigidity in their processes. However, they fail to understand that having certification with ISO 9001 quality management standard can provide them with the ultimate push towards growth by providing their business with accessibility to global markets. 

Nearly a million of companies spanning various industry verticals in different countries have invested time, money and resources in getting this certification because it can assure them with long-term benefits. ISO 9001 requirements outline basic policies or processes which will help the organization to produce and deliver quality services or products. By following those definite policies and processes, businesses can streamline their internal operations, cut costs and enhance efficiency. All these will ensure they lay the foundation for sustainable growth and performance.

 

The need to maintain compliance with ISO 9001 will result in a process aimed at continual improvement in an organization. As they go through internal auditing to check compliance, they are able to find any redundancies or shortcomings in their QMS and operations, so they will know where some gaps are prevalent and need to be filled. On mending those gaps, the organization will be able to run more smoothly and efficiently. 

Also, the auditing processes, which are conducted by expert auditors, will provide a genuine and unbiased feedback on QMS processes. They will examine everything in a new light and recommend valuable suggestions that will help the organization to raise the effectiveness of their QMS. 

Once an organization is compliant with ISO 9001 standard, it will achieve a formal and global recognition in the form ISO certification. Such recognition can make a great impression on customers as well as various stakeholders. The organization can even market or promote the certification on their website, logo, and other promotional signage. Achieving ISO 9001 certification displays an organization’s commitment to quality and hence gives confidence to customers and investing partners. They feel more comfortable in associating with an enterprise that has achieved an international compliance certification. 

For SMEs, it may be challenging at first to implement this ISO standard. Going through meticulous procedures, getting compliance experts and adhering to all requirements of the standard can be time-consuming too. However, all these benefits outweigh all the costs and challenges. Every small or medium enterprise should seek its growth through obtaining ISO 9001 certification.

Damon Anderson is the owner of an ISO 9001 certification compliance agency, which assists businesses in all fields small or large to get certified and prove their quality compliance. He is a blog writer in his free time and mainly writes on the topic of ISO 9001 quality management, and how it helps businesses prosper and attain sustainable performance.

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