THE packaging and design industries have experienced unprecedented growth in recent years both locally and abroad. In order to deliver market-ready materials to an end-market that continues to grow both in its demands and its appetite for innovative packaging solutions, material suppliers and packaging companies are investing heavily into new technologies they hope will give them a competitive edge.
That’s according to Kishan Singh (pictured), MD of GI Business Solutions, a Durban-based consultancy that specialises in implementing business management systems.
“In this constant race to the top, business process engineering is one area that is often overlooked and neglected, despite the fact that it offers obvious benefits and savings to the entire company,” said Singh.
This year, the company celebrates its fifth year since it opened its doors for the first time, after Kishan identified a need in the market for expert guidance in the packaging industry specifically to assist companies with their business processes.
“With more than 32 years of experience in automotive and packaging manufacturing/quality management arenas, I realised the need for effective business support by consultants with the correct experience and competence.”
Singh is the Global Ambassador of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) and National Education Officer of the Institute of Packaging SA (IPSA) and has achieved the coveted designation “Certified Packaging Professional” (CPP) by the international Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP), based in the USA.
Companies he has worked with include Amcor, Hulamin, Bidvest Silveray Stationery Company, Bleistahl Engineering, National Brands, and Polyflex.
The ISO 9000 family of quality management systems standards help ensure that organizations meet the needs of their customers and other stakeholders while meeting statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service.
“We want to make sure that the process is as easy and hassle-free as possible for the clients, but very thorough and in-depth. We hold our clients’ hands every step of the way, and become integrally involved in their operations,” Singh said.
The first step the GI Business Solutions team takes is to begin with an in-depth, baseline reporting. Once they have identified the client’s needs, they consult with the client and together decide upon the best business management system to implement, such as ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45000:2015 (OHAS 18001), FSSC 22000, ISO 31000 or ISO 50000.
According to Singh, they then develop “affordable, tailor-made, yet practical solutions for the effective implementation of such systems, coupled with the necessary training and education support their clients might need to sustain such systems”.
Obtaining third party certification of processes is also an important part of the service offering, and GI Business Solutions engages with various Certification Bodies (i.e. DNV.GL, SABS, SGS, Lloyds of London and BVQI) on behalf of their clients.
“We ensure that systems we have implemented continue to deliver ongoing improvements and benefits. The best way to measure success, is to record an improvement on a company’s financials or balance sheet and this is achieved through effective value analysis and value engineering.”