The business case for ISO 9001: why should you buy?

A Quality Management System does require some investment of time and money to successfully integrate it into your business. But if done correctly, the introduction of a quality culture can reap plenty of rewards, including monetary ones.

However, many businesses don’t recognise the financial value of quality. Indeed, the Global State of Quality 2 report found that 60% of organisations either don’t know or don’t measure its financial impact. This means that you could be missing out on extra revenue.

So, what bang do you get for your buck with ISO 9001?

Reputation is everything

As the internationally recognised Standard for quality, ISO 9001 certainly packs a punch on the negotiating table, boosting your reputation.

“Attracting more clients is a key goal for us,” said a spokesperson for our client, Abbey & Lyndon Builders Ltd. “We knew that the prestige brought about from obtaining this world-recognised Standard would draw potential customers to us.”

By having this Standard in your corner, you can demonstrate to both new and existing customers that you put quality first. This may make it easier to win new business or sail through the first rounds of tenders.

By continually evolving the procedures formed under the Standard, you can also help to prevent mistakes. This could cost much less than dealing with a problem after it arises. By maintaining quality, you can also keep your customer’s good opinion of you, ensuring continued business. Abbey & Lyndon Builders Ltd agreed.

“The focus on meeting customer needs provided by the ISO 9001 framework helps us to keep new customers satisfied while improving our relationship with existing clients,” they said.

Time to grow

ISO 9001 gives you the perfect framework within which to grow your business, giving you the potential of increasing revenue and profit.

In fact, a study reported by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) found that for every dollar spent on a quality management system, a business could receive $6 in revenue. It could also receive $3 in profit.

This is because its procedures and processes help you to identify areas for improvement as well as opening up new market opportunities due to the recognition of the Standard. By continually monitoring performance, you will have a better idea of the footing your business is on.

Terry Harrington, Director of Mode Design & Screen Print Ltd, certainly found this to be the case: “Using the ISO Management Systems has really helped us to develop our business through a complete change in direction and process management.”

Research by Harvard Business School also highlighted this benefit, finding that businesses with ISO 9001 were more likely to experience faster sales growth.

Endlessly efficient

Better processes honed under ISO 9001 mean that areas of waste and inefficiency become abundantly clear. If you tackle them, you can boost the smooth-running of your business and reduce unnecessary expenditure.

This certainly helped Abbey & Lyndon Builders Ltd. “Areas of improvement are easier to spot, allowing us to stay ahead of the competition,” they reported.

Motivation and morale

ISO 9001 doesn’t just boost the positivity among your client base – it can also help to motivate your staff.

Putting good practices in place can help your staff to feel part of the business and know that they are working in a well-functioning organisation. Gaining certification can also give them a sense of pride, particularly if they were involved in the process.

With more new customers and a more efficient way of working, businesses with ISO 9001 are also more likely to grow their total payrolls, as well as average annual earnings. It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that the Harvard Business School found that possession of ISO 9001 was more likely to lead to enhanced worker productivity.

Staying strong

As a procedure-focused system, ISO 9001 ensures that you create an ordered structure. This gives you a crystal-clear idea of what processes your business needs to follow to achieve your aims. It also throws potential risks into stark relief, which means that you can put plans in place so that your business is not interrupted by an unexpected event.

It’s not unsurprising, therefore, that Harvard Business School also found that companies with an ISO 9001 are more likely to stay in business.

We rest our case…

As this article has demonstrated, ISO 9001 can certainly benefit your business’ bottom line by reducing inefficiency, enticing new customers and boosting productivity.

If you’d like to find out more, you can get in touch with our Sales Team on 0333 344 3646 or drop us an email at [email protected].

We also have a calculator tool that can calculate the cost for free.

Read more into the benefits of ISO 9001 and the requirements of a QMS.