SGS UK, an inspection, verification, testing and certification company, has been approved by the Institute for Collaborative Working (ICW) as a certification body for BS 11000 - the world’s first standard for collaborative business relationships.
Andrew Bury, performance assessment – development and delivery manager at SGS said: “One of the most important requirements for business success is the ability to build and maintain effective relationships. Support and guidance is needed for companies to understand the significance of the BS 11000 standard and effectively complete the certification process.”
The ICW BS 11000 Certification Validation Scheme was created in order to establish a national benchmark and common approach to assessing how organisations use a collaborative approach to build effective business partnerships.
Collaborative business relationships have been shown to deliver a wide range of benefits that enhance competitiveness and performance amongst companies, leading to increased innovation, improved risk management and better value for money.
“Interest in BS 11000 is growing and it will eventually move from a British standard to an international standard (ISO 11000), so it is important for businesses to act now and move forward in reaching compliance,” said Bury.
BS 11000 uses an eight stage framework designed to help organisations of any size and sector maximise the advantage of partnership through sharing their knowledge, skills and resources more effectively.
This framework enables businesses to evaluate the benefits of collaboration, select partners to complement their objectives and develop approaches towards common goals.
“As well as providing auditing and certification to BS 11000, SGS can help companies improve their understanding of collaborative processes and the design of relationship management plans to monitor their partnerships,” added Bury.