ISO Certifications should be rare, earned, and trusted.
In Reality
No guarantee for better products or services.
Has become a commodity.
Cash Cow for Certification Bodies
An ISO 9001 certificate is no guarantee for better products nor better services, in fact, it has become a commodity.
We are experts in logistics and supply chain assessment for over 15 years, and the first task in an assessment is to compare ISO documentation with reality. In 99% we find divergences and some of them very serious (Certification body risks to lose the licence).
The majority of companies just buy the ISO Certificate and if the Certification body follows the old rule “who pays the piper calls the tune” got a cash cow for many years to come. I started as an ISO 9001 auditor in 1993 working for an international industrial group and was responsible for the implementation of ISO 9001 for the Export Division. Unfortunately, since that time, the reality shows, that a certificate is mainly a marketing tool and a cash cow for Certification bodies but does not lead to better products and/or services.
