Accreditation with the Quality Certification Alliance (QCA) requires ongoing quarterly maintenance audits. Additionally, every two years companies must complete full reaccreditation requirements, which often take up to six months to finish and include independent, third-party audits of the company’s headquarters, as well as three factories in its supply chain.
Four more companies have completed the QCA reaccreditation process, allowing them to maintain their QCA-certified status. They are:
- Barton Nelson Inc., based in Kansas City, Missouri
- Gordon Sinclair, based in New Hyde Park, New York
- Prime Line, based in Bridgeport, Connecticut
- Sweda Company LLC, based in City of Industry, California
“QCA has been a huge part of Prime’s very fabric since the organization’s inception in 2009,” said Rick Brenner, Prime Resources CEO. “If promotional products are viewed as risky in the eyes of the end-buyers, then it harms us all. That’s why we have not only embraced what QCA embodies, but we have also put strict testing protocols in place since 2007 and have instituted an in-house lab. At the end of the day, product safety and compliance have become a big part of why distributors have the peace of mind when choosing to work with Prime and our other QCA-certified counterparts.”
The purpose of reaccreditation is for QCA-certified companies to show continuous improvement and ongoing vigilance to ensure compliance is a daily best practice. This is especially important to end-buyers, who expect compliance to be a proactive part of the normal course of business rather than reactive and only when they ask for it. Having an ongoing system of checks and balances reinforces that compliance is a journey not a destination and demonstrates our industry is getting better every year.
“We truly look at QCA-certification as a journey rather than as a destination because it is ongoing effort,” said Jennifer Gluck, director of marketing for Gordon Sinclair. “I love that the whole process of reaccreditation is required every two years to maintain QCA Certification because it keeps us in check. It ensures that all the processes and procedures that we built and put in place are still working and being improved upon. Compliance is a part of the lifestyle we embrace in our factories and headquarters. The QCA accreditation standard is a tough one to meet, and it certainly raises the bar for other suppliers that are not part of QCA.”
While maintaining QCA-certification is certainly important for all QCA accredited companies, Brent Stone, QCA executive director—operations, said the story doesn’t stop there. “Perhaps the most significant aspect of these companies’ successful QCA reaccreditation efforts is the confirmation of their organizational commitment to protecting and enhancing the relationships their distributor partners have with end-buyer clients,” he explained. “Compliance programs are not a casual effort, nor are they a box that can be checked on an RFP. Rather, comprehensive compliance programs require a long-term commitment that permeates all business practices, and these companies demonstrate their depth by meeting the continuous improvement philosophy that is the cornerstone of the QCA Certification Program.”
For more information about QCA Accreditation and to inquire about the process and benefits received, contact [email protected].
About QCA:
Chicago, Illinois-based Quality Certification Alliance is an independent accreditation organization whose mission is to elevate the standards by which industry firms that import and/or manufacture promotional products provide consistently safe, high-quality, socially compliant and environmentally conscientious merchandise. QCA accreditation is granted to companies who complete an independent third-party audit and comply with stringent standards, which are based upon a combination of state and national laws, international standards and industry-accepted best practices that are recognized for their strength and effectiveness by QCA accredited companies, the promotional products industry and end-user clients.
For more information, visit www.qcalliance.org.
