Research
ISO 9001- Its relevance and impact in Asian Developing Economies
A survey covering quality management system development, certification, accreditation and economic benefits, using a variety of research tools to judge the awareness and use of accredited certification to ISO 9001 by purchasing organizations. Research included a survey of purchasing organizations (the present and potential customers of ISO 9001 certified suppliers); interviews with some of these; survey of ISO 9001-certified organizations and visits to some of these.
As the commissioning organization UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation) DIrector-General Kandeh K. Yumkella felt, ‘It is pleasing to see that the results have demonstrated (with some exceptions) that the implementation of ISO 9001 and the associated certification has been a good investment of resources, from both the perspective of the certified organizations and that of their customers (the major purchasing organizations in the regions).’
Some of the key findings were:
Economic benefits
There are clear empirical economic benefits to the effective implementation and accredited certification of quality management systems in the manufacturing sectors of the Asian developing countries in which the project was conducted.
Credibility of ISO 9001
Overall, the perceptions of both the ISO 9001 standard and accredited certification to ISO 9001 in the region are good, though the role of accreditation is not well understood either by purchasers or by certified organizations
Purchasers’ perceptions of their ISO 9001-certified suppliers
The purchasers surveyed were mainly satisfied with the performance of their ISO 9001-certified suppliers (with some exceptions), and, in general, ISO 9001-certified suppliers performed ‘better’ or ‘much better’ than non-certified suppliers, based in a number of parameters.
