ISO 9001:2000 – What does it mean in the Supply Chain

The International Accreditation forum (IAF) is pleased to announce the publication of the guidance document “ISO 9001:2000 – what does it mean in the supply chain”, that is available free of charge from the ISO website

http://www.iso.org/iso/en/iso9000-14000/explore/9001supchain.html

 Aimed at promoting greater transparency and communication regarding the use of ISO 9001:2000 throughout the supply chain, this guidance has been developed by the ISO 9000 Advisory Group (IAG), a multi-functional group that comprises members from the IAF, ISO/TC176 (the committee responsible for writing the ISO 9000 standards), ISO/CASCO (ISO’s Conformity Assessment Committee), and ISO/COPOLCO (ISO’s Committee on Consumer Policy).

The document is aimed at managers who are involved in the selection of suppliers, and/or responsible for purchasing decisions in a business-to-business situation, and who may well encounter suppliers that claim to have an ISO 9001:2000-based quality management system. The brochure addresses the following main topics:

What is ISO 9001:2000?

What does "conformity to ISO 9001:2000" mean?

How does ISO 9001:2000 help managers to select a a supplier?

How can managers have confidence that a supplier meets ISO 9001:2000?

Can suppliers claim that their goods or services meet ISO 9001:2000?

What to do if things go wrong.

ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden commented: “Within the context of the growth of international trade and global supply chains, ISO 9001:2000 is being used by suppliers and customers located in different countries to establish initial confidence, or even to select partners in the supply chain.  This new ISO brochure will help them to avoid unpleasant surprises and to use ISO 9001:2000 to its full potential.”

According to Dr Thomas Facklam, Chairman of IAF, “This document emphasizes the important role of a credible third party certification/registration process in providing confidence throughout the supply chain.  It explains very clearly the various ways in which an organization may choose to demonstrate its conformity to ISO 9001:2000, and the situations in which each of these may be appropriate.  Accredited certification provides an additional layer of confidence, and the worldwide network of accreditation bodies that operate under the umbrella of the IAF play a critical role in ensuring that certification bodies/registrars accredited by them are carrying out their assessments in a competent, impartial and consistent manner.”