TY - JOUR A1 - Mirtsch, Mona A1 - Koch, Claudia A1 - Asna Ashari, Parsa A1 - Blind, K. A1 - Castka, P. T1 - Quality assurance in supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic: Empirical evidence on organisational resilience of conformity assessment bodies N2 - Global supply chains rely on the compliance and safety of their products, processes, and facilities. These vital services (often referred to as ‘quality assurance’ or ‘conformity assessment’ services) are provided by Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs). This empirical study explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CABs as well as their response to the resulting challenges. Data was gathered through an online survey among all accredited CABs in Germany, which resulted in 555 valid responses. Taking a resilience perspective, we reveal that CABs were hit hard by the disruptions caused by the pandemic, albeit to different degrees, in part due to their type of services, size, and sectors served. Furthermore, we find that contingency plans do not directly cushion order declines (as the main indicator of the economic impact of the pandemic) but rather indirectly through helping CABs respond more quickly, which in turn mitigates their order declines. However, our results show that contingency plans can also have adverse effects if they hinder flexible reaction to the crisis. The findings of our study help managers and policymakers learn from the COVID-19 pandemic and improve the resilience of the conformity assessment sector and quality assurance in the event of future crises. KW - Quality Infrastructure KW - Digitalization KW - Testing laboratories KW - Organizational resilience KW - COVID-19 KW - Conformity assessment PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2022.2078189 SP - 1 EP - 23 PB - Taylor & Francis AN - OPUS4-55066 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Ladu, Luana A1 - Koch, Claudia A1 - Asna Ashari, Parsa A1 - Blind, K. A1 - Castka, P. T1 - Digitalization in conformity assessment in Africa N2 - This report summarizes findings from the first comprehensive study on digitalization in conformity assessment in Africa. The reults are based on data from a survey among conformity assessment bodies (CABs) conducted in 2023. It highlights the digital maturity of the organizations, the motives, benefits and obstacles of digital transformation as well as the actual technology trends. This study is part of a global project that covers various other countries (see www.qi-fokus.de). KW - Testing KW - COVID-19 KW - Calibration KW - Certification KW - Conformity assessment KW - Conformity assessment body KW - Digital transformation KW - Digitalization KW - Laboratory KW - TIC KW - Quality infrastructure PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-588625 UR - https://www.qi-fokus.de SP - 1 EP - 45 PB - Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-58862 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Koch, Claudia A1 - Ladu, Luana A1 - Asna Ashari, Parsa A1 - Blind, K. A1 - Castka, P. T1 - Global status and trends in digital transformation and conformity assessment - An international comparison across 15 countries and regions - A QI-FoKuS study T1 - Weltweiter Status und Trends in der digitalen Transformation der Konformitätsbewertung - Ein internationaler Vergleich zwischen 15 Ländern und Regionen - Eine QI-FoKuS-Studie N2 - The ongoing digital transformation of the economy and the increasing complexity of networked products and applications are bringing digitalization into the focus of conformity assessment bodies (CABs). The demand for conformity assessment services is rising in tandem with innovations, new technologies, and processes. This poses new challenges for testing and calibration laboratories, inspection and certification bodies, and other CABs. Nevertheless, the emergence of advanced digital technologies and applications also opens up new opportunities for these organizations. This study is the first to comprehensively explore "Digitalization in Conformity Assessment" building on data from an online survey of CABs worldwide (14 countries and West Africa as a region with seven countries). N2 - Die fortschreitende digitale Transformation der Wirtschaft und die zunehmende Komplexität vernetzter Produkte und Anwendungen rücken die Digitalisierung in den Fokus von Konformitätsbewertungsstellen (KBS). Die Nachfrage nach Konformitätsbewertungsdienstleistungen im Einklang mit Innovationen, neuen Technologien und Prozessen steigt. Dies stellt Prüf- und Kalibrierlaboratorien, Inspektions- und Zertifizierungsstellen und andere KBS vor neue Herausforderungen. Der Fortschritt digitaler Technologien und Anwendungen eröffnet diesen Organisationen gleichzeitig neue Chancen. Diese Studie ist die erste, die das Thema der "Digitalisierung in der Konformitätsbewertung" umfassend erforscht. Sie stützt sich auf Daten aus einer Online-Umfrage unter KBS weltweit (14 Länder und Westafrika als Region mit sieben Ländern). KW - Testing KW - COVID-19 KW - Calibration KW - Certification KW - Conformity assessment KW - Conformity assessment body KW - Digital transformation KW - Digitalization KW - Laboratory KW - Quality infrastructure KW - TIC KW - Corona KW - Digitale Transformation KW - Digitalisierung KW - Kalibrierung KW - Konformitätsbewertung KW - Konformitätsbewertungsstelle KW - Labor KW - Prüfung KW - Qualitätsinfrastruktur KW - Zertifizierung PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-597659 UR - https://www.qi-fokus.de SP - 1 EP - 53 PB - Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-59765 LA - mul AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -