A complete overhaul of systems and services as part of a comprehensive digital transformation and general business strategy has placed Aims Global Logistics (AGL) on the threshold of becoming compliant with ISO 9001:2015.
The standard is designed to help organisations ensure that they consistently meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders while meeting statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service. It meant, among other wide-ranging roll-outs, consolidating three software systems into one so the company could adhere to the International Standards Organisation’s quality management system (QMS), explained Kobus Theron, AGL’s general manager for compliance and strategy.
“We were running with three different software systems dealing with international business. Now, since October 1, we have been live with one system incorporating all three with the goal being to automate business processes and eliminate paper as much as possible.” According to Theron it also means that clients and staff will in future have access to documents and related correspondence that will be carefully logged and archived for quick reference. “It’s all part of rendering a more progressive and professional service,” he said.
Additionally, he explained that AGL’s wider growth aspirations meant the company’s digital transformation was just one aspect of the strategic decisions they had taken to comply with ISO 9001:2015. “The QMS demands that applicants comply with seven key objectives – such as becoming more customer focused, sharpening up on leadership, advanced relations management as well as processes and continued improvement, with the latter being the key motivator for improved IT integration at AGL.”
Integration also meant involving all staff in the objectives. “We looked at every single employee in the organisation, their job description and how they interrelate with other departments, all with a view to becoming internally compliant and thereby working towards a better way of doing business.” Basically it boiled down to an entire new way of thinking about compliance, Theron stressed. “Previously, a company’s processes and procedures were overseen by an ISO champion.
With the updated QMS standards responsibility is spread wider.” As a result AGL has also restructured its top management. Apart from Theron, the company has appointed four other general managers to oversee national logistics, finance, forwarding and clearing – all reporting directly to the company’s CEO, Barend Petersen.
“If everyone within a company has a clear idea of their activities, and people understand how those activities link up across departmental boundaries, you can function better as a whole, constantly adapting your systems to benefit your overall service,” Theron said.
Ultimately the idea is to achieve more consistent and predictable results. – Kobus Theron
