Certification market booming

Mr. Glauser, the NZZ has placed the industry report under the title "Ticket for the world market". Is that the decisive driver in the certification market?

More and more, but by no means exclusively, as practice shows. For many organizations, the entire certification process is also the ticket to their own efficiency and effectiveness, because continuous improvement is effectively supported.

The industry is booming?

Yes, the demand is unbroken. In our complex world with increased safety, quality and sustainability requirements, it is obvious that certificates and proof of conformity are on the rise in all sectors of the economy.

SQS is internationally oriented. How does the demand for certificates develop in other countries compared to Switzerland?

The dynamics of demand development is on the one hand a result of the situation in the corresponding markets, but also of the special requirements in certain industries and sectors (construction, environment, energy, security, logistics, medtech, health, etc.). Markets, industries and

LivelyMarket

sectors therefore set the pace for SQS clients with regard to certification. On the other hand, there is an additional impetus from the customers of SQS clients: The more pronounced their quality awareness and sustainability thinking are, the more likely they are to make the award of their contract dependent on the existence of a certificate. A fitting example of this trend is the fact that investors in the real estate sector are increasingly looking at their properties over their entire useful life.

And where are your customers to be found?

72 per cent of SQS clients are based in Switzerland, 8.3 per cent in France, 4 per cent in Germany, 12.3 per cent in Italy, 1.4 per cent in the Principality of Liechtenstein and 6.6 per cent in other countries. By the end of 2012, SQS had issued over 16200 certificates to date, 4400 of them abroad.

Many major corporations are part of your client portfolio. What about small and medium-sized enterprises?

We are proud to certify renowned and well-positioned SMI and SPI companies with an international orientation. We even serve some of them worldwide. However, the majority of our clients - around 96 percent - are in companies with fewer than 500 employees. And, surprisingly, small organizations with fewer than 30 employees account for around 55 percent. The large companies therefore have a share of around 4 percent.

Is there a tendency that more and more SMEs want to be certified or have to be certified?

One has to differentiate here. Seen from the outside, the need for certification services - apart from the need for continuous improvement of one's own management systems and services in general - is not a question of the size of the company, but of the market in which an organization operates. If SMEs enter such markets, they must provide themselves with access to the required certificates. These are, so to speak, the necessary "tickets" for market entry. Because SMEs are increasingly facing up to globalization, this development is in fact resulting in increased demand.

You emphasize the external view, the market as the impetus for certification. Are there any other motives to be mentioned?

Yes, there is indeed such a thing. A second demand impulse comes from the "internal view" of SMEs. It is not external factors but internal considerations that provide the impetus for certification. This has to do with the constant improvement in the level of training of entrepreneurs, which has resulted in a noticeable professionalisation in business management in recent years. The continuous sounding out of innovation opportunities and improvements, the balancing of efficiency and effectiveness are thus almost a matter of course in this "league" in the "management cockpit". Certifications create the framework for this.

Are there any discernible differences in terms of sectors?

Yes, these are sectors that have to be extremely sensitive to quality and safety. The level of quality requirements is correspondingly high there. For example, the areas of health, medical technology, security, public transport, energy, etc. should be mentioned here.

SQS offers over 100 services. How do you develop these products?

The further development of the offering is geared as far as possible to the needs of customers. If no suitable service can be found in the existing SQS range, SQS offers a hand for new developments within the framework of its development guidelines. Frequently, services are created through the interaction of new norms or standards and simultaneous demand on the part of customers. In 2012, for example, SQS successfully completed the development of seven services that are now available to all interested parties and are already in practical use. One example: The assessment of management bodies in accordance with corporate governance principles is carried out with the "Best Board Practice Label". This label supports the assurance of legal compliance, creates transparency and ensures the efficiency and effectiveness of top management.

Specifically, what is most required?

SQS's key services are based on the following three standards: ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 for environmental management systems and OHSAS 18001:2007, the standard for occupational health and safety, with many organisations holding all three certificates.

Is it not very burdensome for these companies to have to face the same procedure three times, albeit with a different objective?

That would be true if one were to proceed in this way. But the practice goes in a different direction. The three aforementioned "core certificates" are

External and internal impulses

increasingly demanded by customers as so-called "combined certificates" for quality, environment and safety. This is a trend that SQS is promoting. Combined certificates for the most important management disciplines express the commitment to comprehensive corporate quality in a pronounced way.

So these are the real "big sellers" on the certification market, the "classics", so to speak. What is happening in terms of new developments?

In recent years there has been a sharp increase in demand both for certification of environmental management systems and for audits of occupational health and safety. SQS therefore intends to further expand its services in these areas. SQS now offers four international norms and standards (see box).

Standards, labels, regulations, certificates: In which direction do you think the certification market will develop?

In our international network, two trends are - in summary - clearly evident: Firstly, in the course of the internationalisation of trade, production chains and organisations, the importance of quality and conformity certificates will continue to increase. Verification security and also compliance of service providers and suppliers with regard to quality, reliability and safety from an economic, social and ecological point of view is more important than ever. This trend concerns both legal requirements and voluntary standards and obligations.

And the second tendency?

The development of new standards and requirements is increasingly moving towards sector-specific standards and risk-oriented topics. In many cases, these are based on proven fundamentals such as ISO 9001 and make it possible to combine them with other standard requirements (management systems). In the foreground

Top TopicSustainability

Product safety is at the heart of this regulatory trend. Sectors such as food, aerospace, transport, health, automotive, packaging and others are increasingly demanding such specialized inspection services.

According to the ISO Survey 2011 report, the outlook for certification is promising. How is SQS preparing for this?

The past financial year brought SQS a record result with sales of over CHF 40m. At the same time, we also worked on our future direction. As part of a comprehensive strategy review, the topic of sustainability was given a central place. In the process, SQS identified sustainability as an important driver for its corporate development and anchored this principle more firmly in its corporate strategy. This is aligned along four axes, namely qualitative and sustainable, self-financed growth; absolute orientation towards customer expectations in the development of new services and integrated management systems; providing excellent services that represent genuine added value; and cultivating Swissness with premium services in the home market and abroad.

Thank you very much for the interview, Mr. Glauser!