Hard as it is if your customer or client or prospective proposal has made this request it seems like it’s a joke if you are not certified with ISO Certification. Consider adding this to the already tight economy. Everyone is tight fisted about money and to get certified or compliant with fewer resources at disposal is like pushed between ravine and cliff.
Is it absolutely necessary? Well, that’s a personal choice. Like Edward Deming has famously said and I quote “It’s not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory”. I have heard both sides of stories that ISO doesn’t get new projects and does nothing for the business and others say it has done a lot for the company image and customer satisfaction. ISO certification is a lot of things for a lot of different people. Why you choose it, what you want out of it determines its value and sustained meaning for your organization. The advantage of ISO certification is not in its application and compliance but the derivation of quality as it relates to the customer, client, organization image, market confidence and above all knowing that the organization is trustworthy. If that does not create more business I do not know what does.
With change in global economic structure the cost of doing business is highly influenced by a lot what happens around the world. If the raw material prices change, costs go up. This phenomenon is not new but does it stop you from making sure that companies do not make an effort to save whenever possible who are engage with ISO certification. It does not mean cutting corners but in changing the engineering style, raw material, packaging shipping, inventory without proper processes involved will sooner or later result in low quality product or service. Nothing hurts to an organizations image than a dissatisfied customer. Well, ISO certification may mean nothing to them. What it does mean to them is a sense of trust and confidence in what ISO stands for.
Gone are the days where getting certification and costs was as expensive as cross continental excursion. The costs have gone down substantially along with a lot of certification tools and packages available, a lot of knowledgeable and experienced Consultants along with government incentives like tax deductions for certified companies.
Please refer to IRS tax benefit for ISO certification implementation:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb00-04.pdf