What Impacts the Cost of CE Marking?
The CE certification system has a cost from initial product design to customer product delivery. In direct terms, the costs are those of doing it correctly—CE compliance is a legal requirement, so the expense is a normal part of doing business.
Ultimately it is less costly for a company to do it right the first time. All subsequent corrective activity increases the overall cost, but as you will see below, it’s much more than a financial impact.
Read on to learn more about CE certification costs and the steps needed to ensure that you comply with EU law.
Factors to Consider in CE Marking Cost
When faced with the question of how much CE Marking costs, it’s wise to turn it around 180° and instead ask—what is the price of not doing it correctly?
For the sake of argument, let’s look at some of the things that can go wrong if you don’t follow the correct system:
- Product not complying with the proper standards
- Product blocked by Customs if the paperwork is incorrect
- Customers not receiving products when expected
- Contact with the authorities
- Reputation as a supplier of non-compliant products
- Ongoing production to remain compliant
Product Compliance
The products must meet the appropriate standards. Choosing the correct standards and requirements underpins the subsequent activity and costs. You should always select standards by considering the product and its intended use environment. For example, you would want to avoid using domestic appliances in a commercial setting.
It’s not just standards compliance but Directives as well. For example, Ecodesign for water heaters is quite clear in the requirements, but some exemptions include products used exclusively for food and beverage preparation. So, a boiler manufacturer must consider the intended use of the product.
Test labs test many products. Any testing to incorrect or wrong standards is a wasted resource in terms of time and money.
Directives and standards change frequently. Ensure you comply with the correct versions and that your technical documents are current.
Customs Issues
So why would Customs block a product? Here are some possible reasons:
- Incorrect CE mark/format or label durability
- No instructions for safe use supplied
- No details of the Economic Operator were provided with the product
- Incorrect Declaration of Conformity format, which could be any of the details that are legally required
Now think of the impact on your supply chain with products held by Customs. Distributors and dealers do not receive products as anticipated, leading to dissatisfaction and possible financial implications if contracts are involved.
Instructions for safe use must be in the appropriate local language where you’re selling the product. So, an EU-wide product should cover all 27 official languages, and an English guide is no longer acceptable.
Customers become dissatisfied that they are not getting products when expected and may seek alternatives from your competition. You know how hard it is to win back a lost customer.
Then there are costs associated with the stopping of products. Customs can hold, seize, and destroy goods depending upon the severity of the issue and then charge back their expenses.
In most cases, the product will require rework before Customs passes them for release. The direct costs associated with this activity can be high, along with the consideration of who will carry it out.
When the authorities are involved in a safety issue, they also create an EU-wide notification wherein they inform all EU authorities. The UK has a similar system.
For non-food products, there is the Safety Gate, and this is a list that a reputable manufacturer should never be on.
Contact with the Authorities
As a manufacturer, if you find a non-compliance issue with a product placed on the EU market, you must inform the authorities if it presents a risk.
Risk determination is quite open to interpretation, but there is no de-minimis level, so potentially all risks need notifying. For example, you may deal with a piece of machinery presenting a severe risk differently from a product not complying with Ecodesign. Still, you should technically inform everything to the relevant authorities in each EU country where the product is on the market.
Consider the overhead involved in this activity and repeatedly explain the same issue. Each country may take a different view of the seriousness of the risk and require you to make additional fixes.
Ongoing Production
The CE Marking process does not end once you place the mark on the product, and manufacturers must have measures that ensure future production complies with all CE Marking requirements. Many of the standards include production testing requirements.
Again, if these procedures are not robust enough, non-compliant products can reach the market, and you’re on the hook financially for fixing the issue.
Save Money with Technology International
The CE Marking process can be confusing, time-consuming, and costly if you attempt to handle it yourself. Technology International has over 30 years of helping manufacturers obtain CE Marking through our time-tested process.
We can help with everything from conformity assessments to creating a technical file and everything in between. Our knowledgeable and experienced engineers will work closely with you to ensure your product(s) complies with the myriad of EU regulations.
CE Marking Certification Costs
We deliberately wrote this article to make you think about everything that could go wrong with the CE Marking process—and how that could negatively impact your company’s reputation and overall costs.
Technology International can help you follow all steps for CE Marking. We’ll take you through the entire certification procedure to help minimize future problems while ensuring your money is well spent.