“Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, how you leave other after an experience with you becomes your trademark“
The retail and wholesale sector is fast moving, as the digital age progresses, the retail and wholesale trade needs to adapt along with it. The retail landscape of the future may not include many physical stores but more online approaches to selling products.
Before the digital revolution, we used to go to shops to buy our products or travel around the world sourcing new suppliers of wholesale products, this had its own challenges. But as everything is moving online, the world is getting smaller and we now live in an immediate demand economy. We want everything cheaper, next day and don’t expect me to pay for shipping.
If your organisation is in the retail or wholesale sector having ISO Certification can help you navigate the complexities of the ever changing world and to ensure the products you are providing meet customer needs.
Benefits of ISO Certification for Retail and Wholesale Organisations:
In 2015, the core ISO standards all aligned and now follow Annex SL which sets out a high level clause structure for all standards to follow. This makes it easier to integrate different management systems into one core set of policies and procedures, reducing documentation and allowing for multiple standards to be assessed at the same time.
ISO 9001 in the Retail and Wholesale Sector
Most organisations within the retail and wholesale sector will just obtain ISO 9001, the do not necessarily see the benefits from implementing other ISO standards but there are benefits as will be highlighted later.
ISO 9001 is relatively easy to implement and control, there are no manufacturing requirements to abide by, no design considerations and often no calibration or if there is, it will be minimal and low risk. The primary focus is around supply chain management and customer service, both of which are key to the success of those businesses so the standard fits nicely within this sector.
ISO 9001 demonstrates your organisation has a Quality Management System in place and focuses your mind on ensuring you provide quality services to your customers.
Some of the benefits of ISO 9001 for retail and wholesale organisations include:
ISO 14001 in the Retail and Wholesale Sector
Many retail and wholesale organisations may think that ISO 14001 does not carry much benefit for their industry but there are more benefits than you may think.
It’s true that their environmental impact may not be high, depending on their type of business, but there is still an impact which can be minimised and will in turn bring cost savings to the organisation.
The most significant impact is often transportation in receiving the goods and also in shipping the goods. There is also consideration to be made to the environmental impact of the products themselves which is a key consideration for many consumers nowadays.
The social aspect of the retail sector is a consideration to be made when selecting products to sell onto the end users, do they contain plastic? Do they contain harmful chemicals? Where are the goods manufactured? What transportation is used to deliver the goods? Communicating your environmental initiatives can greatly improve your brand’s exposure.
Some of the benefits of ISO 14001 for retail and wholesale organisations include:
ISO 45001 in the Retail and Wholesale Sector
The retail and wholesale sector can be a dangerous environment when dealing with warehouse processes and deliveries. Many accidents and incidents can occur during the movement of products including manual handling issues which is one of the highest contributing factors to ill health.
There is also consideration to be given to the public entering your premises which is highly likely in the retail sector. Simple things such as slips and trips could easily cause injury and end your business in court for not considering the hazards surrounding personnel entering your premises.
One health and safety issue often not thought about is violence, it doesn’t take much for someone to get aggressive towards your staff that not only puts them in physical danger but also mental health danger. There are lots of hidden risks within the retail and wholesale sector and having a robust health and safety management system can help towards creating a safer environment for your staff and customers.
Some of the benefits of ISO 45001 for retail and wholesale organisations include:
