ISO 9001:2000 Quality management systems – Requirements

The objective of ISO 9001 is to facilitate trade between companies by leveling the quality playing field. The standardization of Quality Management Systems (QMS) ensures that companies mean the same thing when they are talking about quality. Specifically, ISO 9001 focuses on the establishment of a systematic process-driven approach to quality, driven by measurable quality objectives. Organizations are able to demonstrate that they follow their own processes consistently.

What does this mean to you? Simply put, quality has been so recognized as a business prerequisite that you may be at a disadvantage if you do not comply with ISO 9001: you may be excluded from doing business with compliant organizations if you don’t. While you may not need to think about ISO 9001 today, eventually you may have to. It’s quite likely that some of your clients are already pursuing ISO 9001 registration. And, once registered, they will probably require you, as their supplier, to become ISO 9001 compliant as well.

ISO 9001 has been and will continue to be the minimum best practice for doing business in the 21 st century in both local and international markets.