DOES ISO 9001 APPLY TO SERVICES INDUSTRIES?
Yes! ISO 9001 applies as much to services industries as it does to manufacturing industries. Although the language of the standard uses the word “product” it defines product (in section 3.1 Note 2) to “include service, hardware, processed materials, software or a combination thereof.” The standard also states (in the introduction) that the requirements “are generic and independent of any specific industries or economic sector.” In practice, the manufacturing industries have gotten an earlier start on registration than the services industries. Regardless of what industry segment you are in, deciding whether or not to seek compliance depends on what your customers expect of your organization.
