ISO: A tool that can help your company
By John J Keough -- Industrial Distribution, 1/1/1998
For the second consecutive year, we're pleased to present a special report on quality, featuring an update on ISO 9000. In the past several years manufacturers and distributors have rushed to become ISO certified, a necessity for any company that wants to do business internationally.During a recent seminar on ISO at the ASMMA/I.D.A. fall convention, a panel of manufacturers and distributors explained why they became certified and what the results have been to their companies. One member of the audience asked a panelist how much business had resulted from the certification, a question that couldn't be answered.
Nor should it, says Demo Stavros, an industry consultant who has helped companies achieve certification at some 300 locations throughout the country. Stavros says ISO is more than a marketing strategy to help pick up some business from the competition. "I liken that way of thinking to someone who has $5,000 worth of tools in a toolbox in his garage to show people, but has no idea of how to use the tools,'' says Stavros.
ISO, Stavros says, is the "glue'' that holds an organization together. It creates a discipline within a company to control costs and improve internal processes to lower overall operating expenses and slash errors in shipping. "ISO is not just one system,'' he says. "It encompasses all your internal processes.''
Stavros says that one major misconception is that ISO is only for large companies. Sure, the majority of companies that have implemented ISO are large, but many smaller distributors are also ISO certified today.
He noted that he recently worked with a $2 million distributor with only six employees trying to achieve QS 9000 in order to be a tier one distributor to the automotive industry.
"This company is fast growing and it wants to examine all its procedures and its entire internal system to eliminate any problems,'' says Stavros. Although it is unusual for a company of that size to become certified, he estimated that the average industrial distributor seeking certification today has dropped down into the $10 million to $25 million range.
Another consultant has told us that one problem with distributors, as well as some manufacturers, is that they are looking for a quick fix -- a form of magic pill that will solve their problems. Electronic data interchange, a new computer system, or a Web site on the Internet are just tools for a company. If you don't closely examine your internal processes to identify and document specifically where your problems are, then all the new equipment in the world won't help you. ISO or another total quality program is designed to help you run your business more profitably. And it's something you should consider implementing.
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