Jewson case study

With more than 460 branches nationwide, Jewson is the UK's leading supplier of timber and building products to the trade. The company's first branch opened in Cambridgeshire in 1836.

Since 2000, Jewson has been part of the Saint-Gobain Building Distribution Group, which employs some 18,500 people in 40 subsidiary businesses at 800 sites in the UK.

Jewson - the UK's leading supplier of timber and building products to the trade - introduced ISO 9001 in 2004 at its eight regional sales offices, as well as its national sales office. The process took just six months. For added weight, its compliance was certified by Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance.

Sales and Marketing Director Tony Newman explains how quality-management standard ISO 9001 helps Jewson to:

• consistently provide high-quality customer service
• increase business efficiency through improved working practices
• add value to its products and services.

Introducing ISO 9001

Jewson sought greater consistency of approach to customer service and improved working practices at its eight regional sales offices. ISO 9001 provided the solution.

Tony says:
"Customer satisfaction is vital to Jewson. Quality systems deliver greater consistency of customer service. We want our customers to expect and get the same high standards of service whichever branch they go to.

"Our regional sales offices form an integral part of the Jewson customer offer, which is why it's vital that they work to the highest quality-management standards."

Based on the framework provided by ISO 9001, in early 2004 Jewson started to implement its own quality-management standard. The process was completed in six months.

Tony explains:
"We began by assessing the systems we already had. We produced a gap analysis and devised an action plan. Procedures were written and gradually implemented. Areas for improvement were worked on - they still are - we're committed to continual improvement."

A number of key processes were looked at, including: management review; customer satisfaction; internal audit; procedure compliance; staff development and supplier management.

Tony says:
"Gradually, we've changed some processes within our sales offices. We focused on key action points, such as customer enquiry and quotation turnaround - key issues for many of our customers.

"Regularly, we survey key customers to give them the opportunity to feed back on a number of service areas. If required, we follow up on their comments to make sure we learn ways to improve our services still further."

Staff support

When introducing the standard, Jewson knew it could count on the support of its sales office staff.

Tony describes the impact it's had on them:
"Overwhelmingly, staff members were very accepting of the standard - they embraced the concept. We always encourage employees to give us feedback; it helps us to improve the way we run the business. To ensure a standard is effective, everyone needs to be involved - they need to know that their opinions are valued.

"Our employees' approach to customers hasn't really changed since we started working with ISO 9001. Our people have always been dedicated to delivering the highest level of service to customers. However, now they're more aware that there are processes they can follow that will help them to maintain high levels of quality each and every time. After a short period, such processes became part of their everyday work."

Key business benefits

Introducing its ISO 9001-compliant quality-management standard has benefited Jewson in several ways.

Tony says:
"The standard drives best practice, which helps firms become more efficient. For example, we were able to reduce the number of credit notes we issue, because fewer errors are now being made. This is just one example that shows how the standard has helped us to make the business as efficient as possible."

Working with ISO 9001 shows that a company has a firm commitment to quality, which is a powerful message that can help you to win and retain customers.

Tony adds:
"Compliance is often a prerequisite of selling to public-sector clients. ISO 9001 assures organizations that we have a robust quality system, which gives the customer added confidence when dealing with Jewson.

"We have always had a good record, but since introducing our quality-management standard we've received a minimal amount of customer complaints into our sales offices. That alone demonstrates the level of service and dedication by our staff - as well as the effectiveness of ISO 9001. In fact, we've experienced incremental growth across the offices since introducing the standard - and we expect this to continue."

Jewson is committed to looking at ways ISO 9001 can be used to improve other areas of the business.

Tony says:
"The standard enables you to continually look at how you are running your business, so you can identify what you can do better. I'd certainly recommend it to others. Organizations wishing to commit to long-term development and continual improvement would certainly benefit from ISO 9001."