ISO 9001 and 14001: What is it, and why are EcoSpeed so proud to have it?

In 2021 EcoSpeed same day couriers achieved a pair of certifications that carry a lot of weight in our industry. Now it is time to help our customers understand how they set us apart from the rest.

All businesses from the largest conglomerates to the smallest start-ups are constantly trying to prove that their services are a step above the competition, in any way that they can. For the most part these expressions of professionalism, excellent customer service or a unique product often rely on the listener believing the word of the speaker, and taking the evidence provided at face value.

This is marketing in its essence, and while invaluable to a business, it doesn’t give potential customers the cold, hard, irrefutable facts that what is being said in a marketing campaign is actually true. For this reason EcoSpeed Manchester same day couriers have been working around the clock not only to get your parcels delivered as quickly as possible, but also to gain the official accreditation that not only do we do what we say we do, but also that we’re pretty damn good at it.

But how do you get this all important proof of excellence? Well in the same way that schools have their OFSTED rating, British industry relies on British Assessment Bureau ISO standards, which set the benchmark by which all businesses are measured.

ISO 9001 explained

The core of all business is to provide something, in our case same day delivery courier services and logistics and haulage support. We know that our services are reliable and of a high standard, but how do we prove it? Enter ISO 9001.

ISO 9001 – Quality Management Systems (QMS)

ISO 9001 is one of the most commonly achieved international standards, but that doesn’t detract at all from its importance. In layman’s terms, a quality management system (QMS) is the name for the methods put in place by a business to ensure that they provide high quality services to its customers every time.

The criteria for the standard is broken down into 7 quality management principles:

1. Customer focus
2. Leadership
3. Engagement of people
4. Process approach
5. Improvement
6. Evidence based decision making
7. Relationship management

Whilst many of these seem self explanatory, there is actually some deeper thought required in order to meet the ISO 9001 standard. In none is this more prevalent than in the most important principle: customer focus.

While it may seem obvious that in order to be certified as providing high quality services a business must give consideration to their customers, the ISO 9001 standard actually takes the concept a lot further. Instead of simply measuring whether the customer facing side of the business is pleasant and polite, potentially hiding some demons in the background, to be certified with ISO 9001 a business must demonstrate that the customer is considered at all levels and stages of providing a service.

The simplest way of explaining this idea is to say that if a service is affected by lateness, a lack of resource, poor QC or simply not up to the customer’s expectation then the customer has been affected in a negative way. This means that even if there is a delay on a production line, the knock on effect will generally reach the customer by way of lack of stock on the shelves.

In order to achieve ISO 9001 certification the members of a business from the highest levels and below must always be thinking “how will this affect the customer”, more than “how will this affect ourselves”. This mindset means that mandatory consumer protection legislations are complied with, and the business thrives thanks to repeat and loyal customers.

For EcoSpeed, this has meant ensuring that our courier services are operated to a high standard for every client, and that our same day delivery guarantees are met not only by the driver making the journey from A to B, but through the maintenance of their vehicle, the correct passage of information through the office and of course the friendly voice at the end of the phone line when booking a consignment.

ISO 14001 explained

While ISO 9001 is familiar to most industry professionals, ISO 14001 is a voluntary addition that we here at EcoSpeed have pushed ourselves to achieve to stay true to our promise of being a greener courier solution.

ISO 14001 – Environmental Management System

Just as with ensuring the customer receives a high standard of service, ensuring the business is treading upon a greener path requires steering from the top down, and in order to gain the ISO 14001 certification a business must demonstrate that they have an environmental management system in place.

Similarly to ISO 9001, there are 7 pillars that must be observed:

1. Context of the organization
2. Leadership
3. Planning
4. Support
5. Operation
6. Performance evaluation
7. Improvement

These combined create a pattern of planning, carrying out, assessing and re-planning each action taken by a business with its environmental impact at the forefront, aiming to be constantly evolving into a greener and more environmentally friendly business.

But what does this mean in real terms? What does achieving ISO 14001 change in the day to day running of a business?

The first, biggest and most noticeable difference is the aim to completely eliminate unnecessary waste from the running of the business. This increases resource efficiency and also drives down costs. From the smallest differences like saving paper through a digital filing system to the largest changes like transitioning to a just-in-time production framework making these decisions with the mindset of lowering your environmental impact will go a long way to achieving your ISO 14001 certification.

For us to achieve our ISO 14001 standard at EcoSpeed we have had to approach waste and efficiency both in the sense of streamlining our practices, but also in ensuring the vehicles we use are well maintained, and not compensating for a lack of care by just working harder. This, combined with our commitments to carbon offsetting has led to us living up to our names as a greener courier solution.

What does this mean for our customers?

Two of the most important tenets of the EcoSpeed ethos have always been providing excellent services to our customers, in a way that is environmentally conscious, and to have them endorsed in writing and certification by the British Standards Bureau is a huge achievement for our business and our team.

For our customers, these two standards should give the unwavering confidence that in using EcoSpeed’s nationwide courier services you will be well looked after, and also will be making your own shift towards a greener future, after all the better business is for us, the more proceeds we can donate to key wildlife restoration projects like the Lancashire Wildlife Trust.

Book your same day delivery consignment today

Do you have an item that needs to be delivered with a same day guarantee? EcoSpeed courier services are available anytime, anywhere. Once your consignment is booked with our Manchester based team we will then arrange for your driver to collect your consignment within 60 minutes, before heading straight to its destination without detour or delay.

Book with us today by clicking here.