Landmark international standard for collaborative business relationships introduced by BSI
BSI, the British Standards company, has launched ISO 44001: Collaborative Business Relationship Management Systems – Requirements and Frameworks. The new International Standard replaces BS 11000, and provides guidance for identifying, developing and managing collaborative relationships with or between organisations.
ISO 44001 addresses the management system of an organisation and provides a framework for how businesses can establish such a system, as well as the operational process requirements for specific or individual organisational relationship engagement.
The document also affords guidance on how effective collaboration requires two or more organisations to work well together, with the necessity that a management system needs to accommodate the activities of both parties. Differing cultures in organisations – and the challenges this can pose for synergy – are covered in the document in some detail to ensure organisations have the right template to deliver enhanced benefits to stakeholders through collaborative approaches.
There’s continuity with the new ISO 44001 and its predecessor, BS 11000. Indeed, the key requirements from BS 11000 have been retained to ensure a focus on the evolving nature of working relationships’ development. ISO 44001 uses a high-level structure – featuring terms, definitions, headings and text common to all management system standards – allowing easier integration when implementing multiple management systems.