There are several factors customers consider when deciding on their packaging systems. As packaging experts, we know the most important thing is quality — both in the components sourced and the customer service provided.
From ensuring compliance statutes are met to answering a customer’s every question, Pipeline Packaging knows quality means attention to every single detail. As an ISO 9001:2015-certified company, we provide customers with comprehensive packaging solutions and value-added services with this quality-first perspective.
Having recently completed the ISO recertification process, we decided it was an opportune time to address quality and how it can benefit your packaging solutions.
What does it mean to be an ISO 9001:2015-Certified Company?
ISO 9001:2015 certification verifies that a company’s quality management system (QMS) abides by international standards. Holding an ISO certification helps companies like Pipeline Packaging earn trust and credibility from customers. It also testifies to operational efficiency and makes organizations more competitive on an international scale.
Quality systems that receive the ISO certification must follow the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)’s seven core principles: customer focus, leadership, engagement of people, process approach, improvement, evidence-based decision making, and relationship management. ISO uses these principles as the filter for judging a company’s standing quality management systems.
To become an ISO 9001:2015-certified company, independent third-party auditors will assess day-to-day operations and procedures. Auditors will compare observations to ISO standards, particularly the ways current processes embody these core principles. Findings can span from measurements regarding the prioritization of customer satisfaction and clear process-based systems, to analysis regarding KPIs to corroborate operational efficiency.
Pipeline’s ISO 9001:2015 Certification Process
Since our founding in 1988, Pipeline has kept quality as an integral component in providing clients with the perfect comprehensive packaging solutions. Every detail of our operation was built and maintained with customer satisfaction in mind, including a robust inventory, an international network of sources, and value-added services ready to answer any need at a moment’s notice. Undergoing the process to become an ISO 9001:2015-certified company was an obvious step in cementing and publicizing that commitment at the global level.
Ethan Manubay joined Pipeline Packaging as a quality specialist in September 2024. He assists in managing quality systems, reviewing training records, and analyzing feedback from customers to ensure the Pipeline team is keeping quality top-of-mind.
“Quality is achieved from the top down,” said Manubay. “My position is meant to help everyone understand their responsibilities related to quality and encourage them to continually aspire toward better operational practices.”
Most recently, he worked with his quality team to complete Pipeline’s ISO 9001:2015 recertification.
“ISO certification audits are intensive,” said Manubay. “Auditors will thoroughly examine every aspect of our business to ensure we maintain optimal quality control. As part of the process, they will inspect standard operating procedures for everything from managing customer invoices the moment an order is placed to the steps we take to manage a delivery straight to a customer rather than our own warehouses.”
Now that this latest round of audits is complete, Manubay is pleased to announce Pipeline’s recertification, which came into effect in September 2025. Though now certified through September 2028, the quality team is eager to maintain its momentum, especially with a new ISO standard anticipated to be introduced in 2026 or 2027.
“Holding the title as an ISO 9001:2015-certified company isn’t the end of our role in quality,” said Manubay. “We’re always alert to ongoing processes and evaluating areas for improvement, especially with interim surveillance audits and ISO 9001:2026 on its way.”
Due to the highly selective and rigorous process, there is a limited quantity of companies that hold ISO certification. Some studies estimate as low as 0.4% to 0.65% of companies worldwide hold these distinctions.
“Not many companies are ISO 9001:2015 certified,” said Manubay. “Pipeline Packaging’s status definitely puts us in a unique category and differentiates us from the competition.”
Unleashing the Power of Three
It’s time to look at one of the procedures that hold Pipeline Packaging to the standards of an ISO 9001:2015-certified company. One of our many proprietary quality assurance methods is known as the Power of Three, a standard that connects three customer service representatives to each sales representative. The trio operates as a backup system to ensure a team member is always available to assist with customer needs in a timely manner.
“The Power of Three ensures customers can always address their packaging needs,” said Manubay. “These three customer service representatives work together with a sales team member to provide the best service possible at any given moment.”
Systems like the Power of Three are implemented for the primary purpose of increasing customer access to essential, value-added services in addition to high-quality packaging products. Providing products and services that meet or exceed this goal makes a direct positive impact on customer satisfaction, a key characteristic of an ISO 9001:2015-certified company.
Aside from current procedures, Pipeline Packaging operates with a growth mindset to maintain our standard of excellence. Our quality team approaches the process of continuous improvement using Hindsight. With careful evaluation of every customer interaction, internal ordering procedure, or audit result, we identify ways to refine and strengthen our ability to help customers succeed through quality, comprehensive packaging solutions well into the future.
“Quality assurance makes sure all the right ducks are in a row,” said Manubay. “It plays an important role in giving customers peace of mind. If we, as their packaging distributor, know exactly what we’re doing, then they feel confident in the recommendations, products, and services they receive from Pipeline Packaging.”
Is your packaging provider an ISO 9001:2015-certified company? Sourcing packaging through a trusted packaging partner can mean the difference between consistent and inconsistent service. Contact us to learn more about Pipeline Packaging’s quality commitment.
