Chicago Export Packing Reaps Benefits From ISO 9000

"CMC took time to study the company. The business advisers have a quality and manufacturing background. They know about small operations."

- Chuck Nashan, director of operations, Chicago Export Packing

It took the loss of a $400,000 job to an out-of-state competitor for Chicago Export Packing to get serious about ISO 9000. Three brothers run the company in Chicago's Bridgeport industrial district. The company takes pride in their reputation for making excellent wood boxes, crates, skids and packing for domestic and export shipments.

CMC WINS PROJECT OVER 11 COMPETITORS

Chicago Export Packing lost that job because the company didn't have its ISO certification. That was all the motivation Director of Operations Chuck Nashan needed to begin interviewing 12 consulting firms for the job. He was looking for a price he believed was fair (estimates ranged from $20,000 to $100,000) but also a consultant who would tailor the certification process to fit his needs. Nashan says the Chicago Manufacturing Center got the assignment in large part because its business advisers took the time to research his company and understand the demands on the small manufacturing facility.

For three months a CMC senior business adviser was onsite coaching Chicago Export Packing staff on ISO 9000 quality policies, training employees and working on the manuals that accompany certification. The entire certification process from start to finish took almost one year. Chicago Export Packing passed the certification audit with flying colors on the first try.

COST SAVINGS ON INVENTORY A BONUS

A benefit, albeit unintended, from the process was the company's improvement in the handling of raw material. During the certification process, Nashan discovered the company had been storing products for as long as four years. After giving away close to $15,000 in inventory to the Boy Scouts, the company is now classifying inventory better and reducing remnants. "After ISO," says Nashan, "employees are even more attuned to making sure we cut everything to customer specs. And supervisors now take one-half minute more to save a half sheet of particle board." Best of all, he says employees have a better personal outlook when working. "They feel good about saving the company money in inventory," he reports. The upshot is a three to six percent savings in the handling of raw materials.