TOYOTA agent Crown Motors has become the first Hong Kong car distributor to receive ISO 9001 certification.
Managing director William Tsui said millions had been spent by the company to create a kind of ''quality culture''.
The company standardised and wrote out policies and procedures for all 26 divisions and 1,300 employees.
It hired consultants from Inchcape and formed a team of more than 70 people to oversee the process.
The company held three pre-audit sessions before the ISO audit, its first certification attempt.
Mr Tsui said there was initial resistance from some sectors, but they were won over by a philosophy of ''fix it right the first time''.
Management convinced employees that a stringent quality-control system meant not having to do the work over again.