In today’s complex global marketplace, your company needs every advantage it can get.
So you want to ...
The answer is
strategic standardization.
The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that standards and conformity assessment impact more than 80% of global commodity trade . From design and manufacturing to distribution and marketing, all aspects of your industry’s products and services are affected at some point by standardization.
But how much of an impact are we talking? Just ask the U.S. Department of Defense, which is projecting $789 million in cost avoidance over just one of their programs. How did they do it? They focused on parts standardization and process standardization.
Or ask the electrical fire safety industry. By collaborating on a critical standard for Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, the National Fire Protection Association, and Underwriters Laboratories have helped to prevent more than 40,000 home fires, over 350 deaths, and more than 1,400 injuries each year.
Or ask Deere & Company, whose agriculture and construction equipment is exported and used around the world. By participating in standards development for component pieces like fittings and fasteners, Deere knows that these components will meet their needs “off the shelf.” And the more standardized components they can use, the less they, and their customers, have to pay.
"Most major plumbing product or mechanical product manufacturers are now trading globally. And if their products can be accepted by testing and certifying to one standard, as opposed to having to individually certify and test to a variety of standards, well, naturally they’re going to recognize the benefit to their bottom line to going through a process that gives them the most access to the most markets around the world."
– GP Russ Chaney
The IAPMO Group
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By participating in standards development activities – and by implementing standards and conformance tools – each of these organizations has been able to streamline processes, trim costs, earn and maintain market access, and boost their bottom line.
Want to learn more? The next tab tells you all about the value of standards to industry, government, and consumers. You can also read case studies that describe how companies, organizations, and government agencies are relying upon strategic standardization to meet their goals.
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Beyond the bottom line: standards impact quality, lead-time, factory flexibility, and supply chain management. |
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Standardization and conformity assessment activities lead to lower costs by reducing redundancy, minimizing errors, and reducing time to market. |
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Demonstrating compliance to standards helps your products, services, and personnel to cross borders. Standards also make cross-border interoperability possible, ensuring that products manufactured in one country can be sold and used in another. |
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Businesses not only reduce the economic risk of their research and development activities by participating in standardization, they can also lower their overall R&D costs by relying on previously standardized technologies and terminologies. |
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