6 Business Benefits of ISO 9001 Certification

The ISO 9001 standard focuses on quality management by providing a flexible and adoptable Quality Management System (QMS). A QMS can be described as a system that documents the procedures, policies and controls that all necessary for an organisation to develop and deliver high-quality goods and services. In other words, a QMS helps organisations meet regulatory and customer requirements by continuously improving their operations. In this article, the benefits of ISO 9001 are discussed. With the help of ISO Council, you can use the benefits of ISO 9001 certification for your business.

What is the purpose of an ISO 9001 QMS system?

The aim of a QMS system is to enhance consistency. Many factors can impact the quality of products or services. Management policies, cost of quality maintenance, labour, technology, materials and market trends are all factors that can affect the quality of goods or services. A quality management system creates interventions to address each of these factors, helping organisations achieve consistency in quality.

Additionally, by conducting an in-depth analysis, the ISO 9001 certification can integrate customer feedback into its processes. As a result, by identifying the customers’ exact needs, organisations can modify the processes to create products that are considered high-quality by their customers.

Moreover, another benefit of conducting an in-depth analysis is the generation of unique data. The data generated in the system can help to determine any areas where the organisation may have compliance issues. Data management is a byproduct of internal audits that helps to address the overall data landscape. Hence, a QMS also aids an organisation’s compliance efforts.

Benefits of ISO 9001

Many organisations have gained significant benefits from utilising this standard. Listed below are the explanations of the six main benefits of an ISO 9001 quality management system:

1. Improvement of an organisation’s credibility

As ISO 9001 is a globally recognised standard, it has become the foundation for creating an efficient quality management system across the globe, substituting many previously published requirements. Hence, a company looking for a supplier often shortlists those with a QMS based on ISO 9001. Moreover, ISO 9001 certification is helpful if businesses are competing for public sector tenders or contracts. By reading the article What is ISO 9001, you can better understand the advantages of ISO 9001.

2. Improvement of customer satisfaction

Improving customer satisfaction is one of the key quality management principles of ISO 9001 standards. The standard asks organisations to plan for and strive to meet customer requirements by regulating the quality of goods or services and by integrating customer feedback into their processes. Through the improvement of customer satisfaction, organisations are able to retain and repeat customers. Customer loyalty is the key to bringing in additional revenues.

3. Better process integration

By analysing the overall process interactions throughout the organisation, the ISO 9001 finds areas of improvement. By application of corrective actions, these areas of improvement can enhance efficiency and cost savings. Moreover, a lot of waste is created when processes are conducted without keeping in mind the inefficiencies that arise during process hand-off. By eliminating the waste, processes flow better, causing fewer errors, and enhanced efficiency, ultimately improving cost savings.

4. Improved decision-making

Another key principle of ISO 9001 is to enhance evidence-based decision-making. By driving an organisation’s decision based on evidence instead of assumptions, the ISO 9001 refocuses the appropriate application of resources. Efficiency and cost saving increase as assumptions are challenged.

The likelihood of successful outcomes also increases as organisations of able to apply insights. Using evidence collected from within the organisation, unbiased decisions are made, resulting in enhanced employee engagement. In short, all processes within the organisation are improved as decisions are based on data instead of “gut feelings.”

5. Continual improvement culture

Another crucial quality management principle of ISO 9001 is continual improvement. By adopting this culture within the organisation, all processes improve. Continual improvement asks organisations to evaluate the data collected within the organisation, helping to reduce the impact of problems and increase the speed of recovery.

This leads to enhanced efficiency of processes and cost savings. The three phases of continual improvement are learning, sharing and implementing.

ISO 9001 recommends that organisations implement corrective actions based on the data collected within the business processes, it is able to reduce waste, decrease cost, and increase efficiency.

The key elements of continuous improvement are “plan, do, check and act” cycle. Organisations are asked to identify an opportunity and plan for change, going on to implement the change on a small scale. Data is then utilised to analyse the results and determine if a difference was made. If the change was successful, organisations are asked to implement it on a wider scale.

The practical approach outlined in ISO 9001 creates a culture of continual improvement, where employees are eager to learn, adapt and perform all the industry’s best practices.

6. Employee engagement

Employees involved in the process improvement are happier and more engaged with the work. This is because the improvement plans have been created by people who work on these processes. As their opinions and concerns were addressed in the improvement plan, employees end up feeling valued. This leads to higher rates of engagement, higher productivity and higher employee satisfaction.