ISO standards & their application in SMEs

The ISO Standards are not only tools available to large companies, but medium or small businesses can also get the benefits derived from its implementation and maintenance. 

Some of these benefits include increasing efficiency, increasing the credibility of both the company and the products, increasing the confidence that customers have in the company and the possibility of opening new international markets to export and thus, having the possibility of expanding the market. 

Anyway, we must bear in mind that there are many ISO standards that adapt to the needs of SMEs so it is always advisable to talk to professionals to get the most benefit and the best adaptation to your market and to reach the greatest benefits. 

To understand better how they adapt and what is the contribution of the ISO Standards to small and medium enterprises we will explain in this post several aspects of special relevance related to this topic. 

Why is it important that SMEs also see ISO standards as tools that facilitate their management? 

It is very common that when talking or thinking about companies in a region or a country, we only come to the thinking of large companies. However, the reality is quite different. Recent studies estimate that approximately more than half of the world’s company’s fall into the field of small or medium-sized enterprises. And these numbers are very similar in the national field. 

SMEs are the ones that generate growth, create more jobs, innovate more continuously and effectively, and, finally, are those that have a less complex company structure and hierarchy and are more efficient and flexible. 

So, considering all these data and thinking that SMEs have a greater variety of market and activities, we have a question: Why if about 95% of the companies are SMEs, they only benefit from the advantages that the implantation brings Of the ISO Standards the remaining 5%? 

ISO importance for SME Companies 

The answer is hard to come by. We can assume that SMEs are more reticent in implementing ISO standards such as ISO 9001, Quality Management System, or ISO 14001, Environmental Management System since it involves embarking on a task that takes time and not, we perceive immediate benefits of which we know exactly their amount. 

However, we can clearly say that if the company is actively involved and all its employees, whatever their position and activity, participate in the implementation and maintenance of the ISO Standards, what they will get back is much more relevant And will be of great importance to build the future of the company. 

More than 90% of companies in India are SMEs, but the implementation of ISO norms and their benefits does not have the same diffusion. 

ISO standards provide SMEs with visibility, innovation, competitiveness and greater access to customers. 

Briefly, we will comment that the benefits of the implementation of the ISO Standards in SMEs focus on the following plans  

• Increases visibility ; 

• Improves the understanding of the company ; 

• Increases innovation and makes it more effective; 

• Get an advanced competitiveness; 

• Increases the possibilities of work; 

• And gets better opportunities for potential customers. 

In other words, not participating in the implementation of the ISO Standards may mean that the company ceases to exist because it is anchored in the past.