For products on the market that need to meet rigorous safety standards, Product Certification is often recommended and in certain cases is required, depending on the distribution region of the product. Certification is recommended for products that fall into market categories in which product failure could be potentially dangerous, such as electrical products, food and beverage, and industrial equipment.
Product Certification processes are carried out by third party certification bodies. These organizations employ a mixture of quality assurance testing, factory assessments, and other forms of documentation review to compile an overall view into the supply chain, materials, assembly, and functionality of a product to determine whether it can be certified. Once the decision to certify a product is made, there’s a period of time where this product is validated. The certifying body will generally perform basic checks on the product at a certain interval to make sure that it still meets the requirements.
While the process can add time and expense to getting a product to market, it’s often worth it even when it’s not required by law. Once a product is certified, it allows the manufacturer to mark the product, it’s marketing materials, and it’s packaging with the certification mark. You’ll notice a UL marking on most electrical products, for instance. This marking denotes that the product has been certified to the appropriate UL standard. The same goes for the CE marking in products sold in the European Union.
Having this marking on your product gives potential customers an additional level of trust that an objective third party has signed off on the safety and quality of the product.
Snowmelt can help you communicate your product certification requirements up front, which in turn can help them to provide a better picture of cost of goods, before going into production. Download Snowmelt today.
