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A Distributor Achieves ISO Certification

The process pays off in quality improvements and credibility with clients

Manufacturing companies often go through the ISO certification process to demonstrate their commitment to quality control and business process improvement, but it’s rare to hear about a distributor with an ISO 9001:2000 certification. In fact, DFMS may be the only one without manufacturing capabilities that currently exists.

The Plano, Texas-based company, which was recently acquired by InnerWorkings, started on the path to certification years ago, when one of its clients requested that its vendors be certified. DFMS received a waiver on the requirement because it was a small company at the time. Subsequently, the company grew and the need for documented processes became more apparent. “We were growing beyond our capabilities to function in an ad hoc way,” says Tom Singleton, Director of Quality Insurance, who led the certification effort at DFMS. “We needed to formalize our processes and put them in place so we could make the transition from a small company to a larger company.”

Rick Doss, CEO, CDC, dreamed of earning an ISO certification and felt the time was right to pursue it. “When we were smaller, I had people who worked a long time with me, so everybody knew the processes,” he says. “From time to time there’d be turnover and we had this void. The real value of the certification is that you have processes in place, and if you get hit by a bus, someone can jump right in.”

ISO certification consists of several steps, and depending on how smooth or fractured a company’s processes are, it can take years to achieve the certification. “The whole ISO concept can be broken down into three very simple statements: Say what you do, do what you say, and prove it,” says Singleton. “Say what you do means documenting the processes. Do what you say means actually following the processes. Prove it means keeping records to prove that the processes were followed.”

DFMS had relatively well-defined processes in place already and received its certification in 10 months. The distributor started by educating employees on the purpose of ISO certification. Like many companies, the distributor hired a consultant to aid in the process. “The first step was an introduction to ISO. The consultant we hired gave a presentation that covered what ISO is, what it’s about and what it involves,” says Singleton. During the first five months, DFMS documented and refined its processes for such things as taking and tracking orders. “Orders would come in and they would have PO numbers assigned to them. They would get processed, but there was not a good method of communication between the client and customer service to make sure we had all of the information that was required to accurately fulfill the order. We had multiple ways of accepting orders, and we realized that there needed to be a standardized method,” says Singleton. “Our approach wasn’t to build a process and then force it on our employees. Instead, we documented exactly what they did and compared different versions of what they did to determine similarities and discrepancies between them. Then, with their existing methods as a basis, we agreed upon and documented a standardized process for everyone.” During the last five months, the company operated with its documented processes in place and made sure they worked properly, so when auditors came to certify the company, they were running smoothly.

The process of attaining certification alerted DFMS managers to areas where processes could be improved. “We had to identify all the documents we use,” says Doss. “We did a lot of modifications to our documents when we realized they weren’t capturing the data we needed. And we had to number all those documents.” The order tracking process also is improved so that DFMS can accurately measure its performance. “We track every order in terms of delivery, whether it was on time, and quality. Was the order rejected? Why and by whom? When? If in any case it was rejected, we write a discrepancy report,” says Doss. The company also prepares an action report outlining what can be done in the future to avoid a problem it faces.

Doss and Singleton agree that learning from mistakes is one of the most important aspects of the certification process. Earning the ISO certification itself is less important than the principles it embeds in a company’s culture. “If the end result is to get a plaque on the wall that says you’re certified and that’s it, you’re probably not going to be successful,” says Singleton. Doss adds, “You shouldn’t be in it just to say I can get some business if I get certified. You really want to embrace the whole process. It really is all about being the best you can be and the only way you can do that is through some continuing business improvement process.”

—Andy Brown