AFTER A big growth in staff numbers and international agency agreements in recent years, SAEL has now topped this with the International Standards Organisation (ISO) 9000-2001 quality management certification. “This,” said a company spokesman, “is seen as a significant step as it gives the assurance to both customers and agents that we provide service levels that conform to an internationally recognised code.” The ISO rating is added to the IATA/FIATA and customs accreditation that SAEL has already achieved. “Our goal is to maintain high internal quality standards which will obviously benefit and add value to our customer base,” the spokesman added, “and ISO will be of significant help in achieving this. “It’s a living system and we will use it to our benefit and advantage.” The company has also been a strong supporter of the commercial advancement training scheme (CATS), FTW was told, a scheme designed to give students the opportunity to gain practical experience in the shipping and forwarding industry whilst studying at college. “These apprenticeships are run for two years - and are fully recognised within the European Union (EU),” the spokesman added. Before the ISO audit in October, SAEL appointed a quality control manager to help them get up to par - a post which has now been turned into a full time position.
