Certifying Multiple Companies Under One Legal Entity of ISO 9001 2015

Certifying Multiple Companies Under One Legal Entity of ISO 9001:
2015

ISO 9001:2015 certification is the international standard that states the requirements for
Quality Management System (QMS). Using these standards, the companies showcase the
capability to provide products and services catering to the customer and regulatory
requirement. Implementing ISO 9001:2015 for Quality Management System in your firm can
be a daunting task. Plus, there are a lot of questions that circle your mind, but before getting
out the answers to those questions, you need to understand the scope of the certification.
Without further ado, let’s delve into the extent of Quality Management System.

Scope of Quality Management System
In ISO 9001 Quality Management System it is vital to identify what opportunity this
certification holds for your organization. This is the step where you have to amass the entire
organizational knowledge and determine which aspects will be covered under Quality
Management System policies. In fact, you can obtain ISO certification for two companies
under the same ISO certificate. This process would also encompass providing address details
of both the companies in order to define the scope of QMS policies for each of the firms.
Getting the same certificate for different companies doesn’t imply that you can get any
company and acquire ISO accreditation. The Quality Management System rules and
regulations need to be applicable same to all the companies under the QMS scope and if that
varies, then the certification would not be feasible. Therefore, the concept of one QMS
certification for companies is legally entitled only to companies that are related with each
other.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Multiple Entities One Scope

Advantages

One of the advantages of acquiring multi legal entities under one ISO 9001 Quality
Management System is that you get to save money spent on multiple certification fees.
Additionally, you save a lot of time and money on the various QMS processes, because
otherwise, the same process has to be repeated for each company location. By executing all
the task such as documentation, maintenance of resources, mitigating QMS opportunities
and risks, you will also have the opportunity to prepare your management of different
companies for QMS altogether.

Disadvantages

Every coin has two sides, thus having multiple entities under one scope comes with its share
of drawbacks. By including all the products, locations and services under one scope, it might
be possible that you are making things confusing for customers as well as potential investors.
If you think that the wide range of products and services might be confusing to your audience,
then it is better to opt for a separate entity for your companies. This will ensure that your
functioning areas are listed in an organized manner for your customers to understand.

Before acquiring an ISO 9001 certificate, it is important to understand how your scope will
define the companies related to each other. Whether the scenario is beneficial for you or your
certification capabilities are perplexing to the audience. There is no thumb rule to determine
the scope of the certification as it depends on the nature of the organization, thus you need

to evaluate your options, perhaps get an expert guidance from an ISO consultant and then
select the most beneficial certification.