Two Certification Cases: Appliances and Baby Food
Three obstacles recur on certification projects and none of them are technical: finding suppliers willing to commit to a long process, coordinating engineers working at different speeds, and convincing a client that international testing is needed at all.
Why is finding a supplier a certification problem?
Many companies struggle to find suppliers willing to invest the resources that calculations and international certification demand.
A home appliance manufacturer spent a long period searching in the UAE and China. Suppliers repeatedly declined the work, not on price, but because the certification process was complex and long, and they did not want a long-term project.
What resolved it. A thorough search backed by practical experience and case studies, which demonstrated to prospective suppliers that the client’s intentions were serious. The project was then managed actively: monitoring the engineers’ work, pointing out deficiencies, and pressing for the pace the schedule needed.
The client entered new markets, improved its standing, and attracted larger customers.
Challenge 2: coordinating the engineers
Projects run through multiple engineers who work at different speeds and respond at different rates, and that variance alone causes delay.
One UAE client had to coordinate ten engineers.
What resolved it. Close monitoring of the work, with issues addressed as they arose instead of waiting for review points. Unglamorous, and it is what delivered results on time.
Why test internationally at all?
Some clients see no need for international testing, believing it unnecessary in the regions they sell to.
The argument that works is commercial rather than regulatory: international certification improves the company’s standing, proves compliance with global standards, opens additional markets, and attracts larger clients.
Case 1: a home appliance manufacturer
The problems were supplier availability and the need for international testing.
The work: an expert review, organisation of international tests, and a contractor engaged in China to assist with document collection.
The result: the required certifications obtained and successful entry into the UAE market.
Case 2: a baby food manufacturer
The client arrived without a defined project, only with questions: what certification required, and how the procedures worked.
The work: an expert review, advice on whether company registration in the UAE was necessary, and a competitive analysis of the client’s products.
The result: the client understood the processes, could forecast the expenses, and certified its products successfully.
The second case is the more instructive. Nothing technical was in doubt; what the client lacked was a map of the process and a cost forecast, and that was enough to have kept the project stalled indefinitely.
Sources
- MOIAT, Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, United Arab Emirates
- ECAS and EQM scheme requirements for consumer products and food
Frequently asked questions
Why is finding a supplier a certification problem?
Because certification is long and complex, and many suppliers decline long-term projects for exactly that reason. A home appliance manufacturer searching in the UAE and China spent a prolonged period on this before finding partners willing to commit the resources to calculations and international certification.
What does project management look like on these projects?
Coordinating engineers who work at different speeds and respond at different rates. On one UAE project ten engineers had to be coordinated; close monitoring of their work and addressing issues as they arose was what kept the timeline intact.
Why do clients resist international testing?
They believe it is unnecessary in certain regions. The counter-argument is commercial: international certificates improve standing, prove compliance with global standards, open more markets, and attract larger customers.
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