2. ISO 9004 and ISO 9001: a coherent pairing

2.1 Focus on coherence

ISO 9004 and ISO 9001 are consistent in their architecture and complementary in their use.

• The architecture: the designers of ISO 9004 and ISO 9001 wanted it to be identical, based on a process model (see diagram below: The process model according to ISO 9004: 2009). In this way, the user can quickly identify the links of kinship, coordination and similarity – and their differences.

• Complementarity of use: ISO 9004 and ISO 9001 are two complementary management tools freely available to companies which, beyond quality assurance or certification, aim for continuous improvement of their performance (including economic performance) over time.