SGS urges firms in Cebu to get int’l certifications
From its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and a country office in Makati, SGS has come to Cebu to provide certification and business enhancement services to local enterprises.
Speaking to SunStar Cebu last Thursday, SGS Philippines Certification and Business Enhancement ( CBE) business manager Roger S. Villanueva said its physical branch in FLB Corporate Center along Archbishop Reyes Ave. in Cebu City brings the company’s services closer to their Visayas and Mindanao clients.
“We want to get closer to our clients. We have faster turnaround time now. We would want to contribute to the city of Cebu and make things productive,” said Villanueva.
SGS Philippines through its CBE division provides certification and business enhancement services to large firms, as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Generally, SGS is in the business of inspection, verification, testing and certification, working on eight industries, namely, agriculture, consumer retail, industrial, health and safety, and certifications, among others.
CBE, in particular, handles certification and business enhancement, which includes management systems compliance, performance assessments, and an SGS Academy.
Systems thinking
With a physical presence in Cebu, Villanueva envisions to serve more Cebu-based establishments and have the companies’ processes and systems compliant with both national and international standards and regulations.
One of the options is to become an International Organization for Standardization (ISO)-certified company. Although not mandatory, Villanueva said having an ISO certification translates to higher productivity, efficiency, less waste, and higher revenues.
An ISO certification certifies that a “management system, manufacturing process, service or documentation procedure has all the requirements for standardization and quality assurance.”
“Generally, when you do have an ISO, the consistency of doing things will be higher unlike when you don’t have this standard because sometimes when you do things, variation is too big. The quality of the output might not be the same. ISO is making things consistent,” said the certification manager.
On average, applying for an ISO certification may take six to 12 months, depending on the current condition of the company.
Over the years, SGS Philippines has served 30 clients in Cebu, half of them are in the food industry, while others are in electronics, automotive, and services. Its consumer retail and oil gas division has a presence in Lapu-Lapu City where it serves locators in the Mactan Export Processing Zone. Over the next five years, SGS intends to double its business and clientele base all over the Philippines.