EC Group becomes UK's first outsourced marketing support specialist to achieve BS 25999 status
EC Group has become the first UK provider of outsourced marketing fulfilment and logistics services to be awarded the coveted BS 25999 certification in Business Continuity Management from BSI.
Certification to this standard demonstrates that, even through the most challenging and unexpected circumstances, customers can continue to rely on the high quality of EC Group's outsourced business support services.
EC Group's specialist services include customer contact centres, response handling, fulfilment, database management, mailings, storage, distribution, marketing communications, design, and e-commerce solutions.
The BS 25999 certification follows a stringent external audit by BSI, after EC Group spent more than 12 months developing a comprehensive Business Continuity plan covering the company's warehousing, distribution and contact centre complexes in Hayes, Middlesex and Grays, Essex.
Andrew Morris, Business Development Director for BSI said, "By gaining independent assessment and certification to BS 25999, EC Group is demonstrating to its customers that it is taking business continuity seriously. Business continuity is not a luxury but a necessity and certification helps to implement the changes and ensure that they are properly complied with."
Laurence Bishop, EC Group Finance Director and leader of its BS 25999 team, said: "Our certification to BS 25999, the world's first Business Continuity Management standard, demonstrates our commitment to providing continuity of operations. It provides added reassurance to our existing and potential clients that when they place work with EC Group, their operations are in safe hands."
He added: "Our Business Continuity Management system requires ongoing commitment both in terms of development and training, together with regular review and testing. But we have decided to make this ongoing investment so that our clients can benefit from our improved resilience and efficiency of response to disruptive events."
Chris Long, EC Group Managing Director, said: "Business Continuity Management is crucial. When a client organisation entrusts us with a key part of their activity, they need to be able to rely on our competency and service delivery – no matter what."
He added: "EC Group is an even stronger proposition with BS 25999 certification. It enhances our reputation as an organisation with proven resilience and provides real competitive advantage".
EC Group's BS 25999 certification – along with the company's existing registration to key international standards such as ISO 9001 (Quality Management) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) – provides valuable external verification of the operational integrity of EC Group's management systems.
About BS 25999
Continuity of operations in the event of a disruption, whether due to a major disaster or a minor incident, is a fundamental requirement for any organisation. British Standard, BS 25999, is the world's first Business Continuity Management (BCM) standard developed to minimise the risks of disruptions which affect the whole organisation.
BS 25999 has been developed by a group of world class experts representing a cross-section of industry sectors and the government to establish the process, principles and terminology of Business Continuity Management.
It provides a basis for understanding, developing and implementing business continuity within an organisation and provides confidence in business-to-business and business-to-customer dealings. It also contains a comprehensive set of controls based on BCM best practice and covers the whole BCM lifecycle.
FOR FURTHER PRESS INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Brian Oliver, Focus Marketing Communications
Tel: 020 8641 8614
