If you’re a product distributor or manufacturer, getting your products certified is one process that is most probably foremost in your mind. With product certification, not only do you adhere to local (or international) laws regarding certification schemes, you establish trust among your target consumers as well.
Trust, in this cutthroat marketplace, can well be your ticket to differentiation, hence, success. 
The product certification workflow
Product certification, generally speaking, follows a sequence based on the following actions and/or decisions:
- Is product certification warranted?
- If so, you’re ready to initiate the process. First step requires getting management’s approval to get the ball rolling.
- Once approved, collection of documentation needed for presentation to the accreditation body follows.
- More often than not, the accreditation body will ask for further information and may request that the product be presented to them for some tests and in-depth evaluation.
- Once the accreditation body reaches a verdict, you will need to complete a report on the steps taken, what went well or wrong and what processes need to be enhanced next time, if any.
As you may have guessed, the process above will most likely be the same process you will follow every time a product of yours needs to be certified. And in today’s technologically-driven world, a good product certification solution should allow you to devote ample time and attention to other business concerns at the same time the wheels of the product certification process are turning.
Benefits of automating your product certification workflow
Automation, especially in product certification, comes with various benefits, three of which are the following:
- Real-time status of multiple product certifications from a single control dashboard
- Simplified data analytics through built-in forms and lists, or color-coded charts and diagrams
- Data input requirement as the process progresses, which will be the basis for reports on the overall procedure and each product involved
As well, with the right product certification workflow software, despite the workflow being pre-configured, workflow changes that have to be done on the fly pose no problem to the entire process. Not only that. With a visual workflow editor and form builder, all you need is do some dragging and dropping around when editing your workflow. No need for extensive programming training or experience.
Conclusion
Because product certification is an integral part of a successful business execution, consider automating the process. Essentially, with the right product certification automation solution, you hit three birds in one stone: document management, streamlining of the approval process, and overall product certification administration.
Maricel is a freelance business and technology writer. Presently, she writes web content for Comindware, a corporate solutions provider.
