The Consortium > Quality policy

Quality policy

Politica della qualità

The management of CEPI “Piacenza Exporters Consortium” defines the Quality Policy, approved by the Board of Directors. The Quality Policy defines the context in which it operates, the stakeholders, the purpose and field to which it applies, as well as the objectives, the revision system and the commitment to continuous improvement..

Mission of the organization

The Mission of CEPI is to promote and manage without profit in the most valuable, dynamic and flexible way the foreign trade exchanges of the associated companies.

Context

External factors: cultural, social, economic and environmental aspects.

The Consortium operates in the province of Piacenza, an area historically known for the manufacturing industry, in particular for the segments of mechanics, machine tools, mechatronics and fittings. The industry of Piacenza is mainly composed of Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises with a strong vocation for exports and a natural problem of under-dimensioning in relation to the complexity of the contemporary international markets.

Given the economic crisis that has hit European markets in recent years and the need to change the percentage of domestic turnover in favor of foreign turnover, the State Institutions have implemented policies to support the internationalization processes of SMEs and have identified Consortia for the Internationalization as a private implementing body of the aforementioned policies.

Internal factors: values, culture, knowledge and performance of the organization.

The CEPI Consortium operates within its organization with firm respect for the following values, knowledge and modus operandi:

  • Centrality of the interests of the Associates: each action carried out by the CEPI Consortium has as its sole objective the greater usefulness of the associated companies and consequently of the territory in which they operate, with positive consequences for the entire production chain, even at regional and national level.
    Recognizing, understanding and implementing actions that comply with the expectations of the associated companies is one of the main commitments of the Consortium in carrying out its activities.
  • Autonomy and independence: the CEPI Consortium has solid foundations and roots that sink in almost fifty years of economic history of Piacenza and neighboring territory: these foundations have contributed to creating an independent reality with freedom and autonomy of initiative for the realization of actions and events in line with the strategic directions issued by the Board of Directors.
  • Transparency and openness: the whole organization recognizes in the maximum transparency of management a reason for pride and a strength. Transparency and total openness to all interested parties, public or private, have made the Consortium worthy of the trust of the associated companies, interested parties and all institutional and / or economic operators operating in the same context.
  • Collaboration and team spirit: CEPI operates in compliance with the differences that characterize all subjects, internal and external, with the deep conviction that these differences are a benefit to all the parties concerned. Although therefore personal interests are the basis for the development and growth of individual subjects, the CEPI Consortium operates with a view to uniting these interests in forms of aggregation and cooperation between the parties that generate greater utility than single and individual actions.
  • Passion, humanity and innovation: the realization of Consortium's objectives goes together with the purpose to continuous improvement, to go beyond present results, to the passion for its mission as an organization. From the curiosity, the interest and the will to acquire new knowledge comes the innovation of the services and the structure of the Consortium itself, so necessary to be able to maintain competitiveness and quality in the current volatile and high-risk economic scenarios. At the same time, CEPI recognizes the centrality: of the human aspect of relations between companies, economic and institutional operators; the improvement of the quality of work and inter-subjective relationships and the need to operate in favor of individuals in difficulty even in contradiction with the logic of the market and of pure economic interest.

 

Stakeholders

Stakeholders are at first the Small and Medium-sized Associated Enterprises, subsequently the small and medium-sized enterprises belonging to the territory and production chains, trade associations, economic operators such as banks, credit institutions, financial operators and international risk management, political institutions, local and non-local, and all those who operate in the field of business internationalization.

Objectives

To achieve its mission, CEPI undertakes to:

  • Provide services for the associated enterprises that are useful for the purposes of internationalization processes, while maintaining quality standards at international levels. Develop service techniques designed and built to meet the needs of the associates, to anticipate their expectations and provide solutions that create value for the company.
  • Consolidate the relationship with partners and suppliers in order to ensure the associated services of greater value, reliability and high added value.
  • Operate sparingly, transparently and responsibly in order to reduce costs, inefficiencies and management waste to the essentials.
  • Promote the participation and cooperation of interested parties in order to make the services to the Associates more efficient and better meet their needs.
  • Disseminate culture and methods for the improvement of internal skills in the organization, adopting a system that promotes quality and continuous improvement.
  • Adopt a risk management system that protects the integrity of the consortium funds and their preservation.

Measurability, Monitoring, Communication

The measurability of the objectives is given by the performance indicators contained in the Board Activity Report and in the objective elements of the financial statements relating to the performance of requests for services, the extent of the involvement of the companies associated with the consortium initiatives, the number of initiatives and activities carried out during the year.

The monitoring of the achievement of the objectives is done through the Board's Activity Report during the Consortium's Executive Councils and the President's Annual Report during the Consortium Assembly.

The communication of the objectives to the associated companies takes place during the annual Assembly for the approval of the budget.

Methods, resources, timing, responsibilities

The management of CEPI “Piacenza Exporters Consortium” defines the Quality Policy, approved by the Board of Directors.

The Quality Policy defines the context in which it operates, the stakeholders, the purpose and field to which it applies, as well as the objectives, the revision system and the commitment to continuous improvement.

The responsibility for the achievement of the objectives lies with the Management of the Consortium as delegated by the Board of Directors.

Review and evaluation

The Quality Policy and the Objectives contained therein are subject to annual review by the Board of Directors.

During the year-end report, the following are examined:

  • The results obtained and the budget situation.
  • The change that have taken place in the context, internal and external and the consequences of these changes on the strategic directions of the organization for the realization of its mission.
  • Any need to adjust the available resources.
  • The assessment of any non-conformities in the implementation of the activities by the Consortium or its Associates, the formulation of corrective measures and the measurement of results.
  • Potential opportunities for improvement for the following year in pursuit of the Quality Policy.
  • Any necessary modification to the Quality Policy document in order to adapt it to changes in the context and strategic directions of the organization.