ISO 9001:2008, Quality management system – Requirements, is the fourth edition of the standard first published in 1987 and which has become the global benchmark for providing assurance about the ability to satisfy quality requirements and to enhance customer satisfaction in supplier-customer relationships.

ISO 9001:2008 contains no new requirements compared to the 2000 edition, which it replaces. It provides clarifications to the existing requirements of ISO 9001:2000 based on eight years’ experience of implementing the standard worldwide and introduces changes intended to improve consistency with the environmental management system standard, ISO 14001:2004.

Although certification of conformity to ISO 9001 is not a requirement of the standard, it is frequently used in both public and private sectors to increase confidence in the products and services provided by certified organizations, between partners in business-to-business relations, in the selection of suppliers in supply chains and in the right to tender for procurement contracts. Up to the end of December 2007, at least 951 486 ISO 9001:2000 certificates had been issued in 175 countries. Contact Mireaux for assistance in seeking or upgrading ISO certification.