ISO 9000

The ISO 9000 series of standards is among ISO's most widely known standards ever. ISO 9000 standards are implemented by over 750 000 organizations from more than 150 countries. ISO 9000 has become an international reference for quality management requirements in business-to-business dealings.

The ISO 9000 series is primarily concerned with "quality management". This means what the organization does to fulfil:
- the customer's quality requirements, and- applicable regulatory requirements, while aiming to
- enhance customer satisfaction, and
- achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of these objectives.

The vast majority of ISO standards are highly specific to a particular product, material, or process. However, the standards that have earned the ISO 9000 series a worldwide reputation are known as "generic management system standards".

"Generic" means that the same standards can be applied:
- to any organization, large or small, whatever its product
- including whether its "product" is actually a service,
- in any sector of activity, and
- whether it is a business enterprise, a public administration, or a government department.

"Generic" also signifies that no matter what the organization's scope of activity, if it wants to establish a quality management system or an environmental management system, then such a system has a number of essential features for which the relevant standards of the ISO 9000 series provide the requirements.

"Management system" refers to the organization's structure for managing its processes - or activities - that transform inputs of resources into a product or service which meet the organization's objectives, such as satisfying the customer's quality requirements, complying to regulations, or meeting environmental objectives.

The main standard in the ISO 9000 series of standards is:
ISO 9001 - Quality management systems, requirements