FERRERO Group: A case of Best Practice in the management of international certification projects within IQNet Ferrero Group is one of the world’s biggest confectioners with a portfolio of international brands including Ferrero Rocher specialty chocolates, Nutella spread and Tic Tac mints. All the European manufacturing plants of the Ferrero Group are certified through different IQNet partners. What are the advantages for a company to be certified within IQNet, the largest network of certification bodies in the world? First of all, it is to be underlined that the certificate issued by one of the IQNet partners is recognized and accepted worldwide, being an international passport for quality. The certified company has a facilitated access to the various markets. Among further advantages the availability of assessors speaking more than 40 different languages with remarkable experience in all the activity sectors should be emphasized, too. The European manufacturing plants of Ferrero have been certified by the local IQNet partners in different periods. The certification of the group has been achieved in 2005 through CISQCERT, one of the Italian partners of IQNet. The goal of the Ferrero Group certification was clearly defined at the beginning of the relevant certification process. It is consisted in the reorganization of the production system in the various plants to be managed locally in the most effective manner and in accordance with operative guidelines established centrally by the Ferrero Headquarter. The Quality responsibilities have been centralized in the Quality Operations Board which is part of the overall Operations Board. It is entitled to coordinate the implementation of the Quality Management System according to the ISO 9001:2000 requirements in all plants of the group. The various phases of the certification process can be summarized as follows: The first phase took place in 2004 when the Italian manufacturing plants Pozzuolo Martesana, Alba, Sant’Angelo dei Lombardi and Balvano achieved the ISO 9001:2000 certifications through CISQCERT including the Italian Quality Operations Board. The second phase was implemented in 2005 when all the European manufacturing plants Stadtallendorf (DE), Cork (IE), Arlon (BE), Villers Ecalles (FR), Belsk (PL), and the Quality Operations Board achieved the ISO 9001:2000 certifications through the involvement of the local IQNet Certification Bodies. At this stage the Ferrero Management gained the confidence that the production processes in the various manufacturing plants were tuned among them having the same level of quality. CISQCERT acted as the leading certification body coordinating the various assessment activities around Europe which have been performed by auditors of IQNet partners with the best experience in the specific activity sector and with the ability to interview the persons in the local language taking into account also the local habits. The result of the certification process for the European plants can be considered a model of Best Practice in the management of an international certification process within the network of IQNet. Furthermore it is to point out that the commitment of Ferrero towards certification leads the company to achieve the Environmental Management System Certification in all its European manufacturing plants, again cooperating with IQNet. For the time being the goal is already achieved at the sites of Cork (IE), Arlon (BE), Villers Ecalles (FR) and Belsk (PL). Contact: CISQ Federazione Certificazione Italiana dei Sistemi Qualità Aziendali Dr Fabio Roversi Viale Sarca 336 IT-20126 Milan Italy Tel: +39 02 6611 7424 Fax: +39 02 6611 3066 fedcisq@cisq.com www.cisq.com