You lock your cash office, so why leave AI ungoverned?

As b2b.store achieves ISO42001 accreditation, the need for AI management and governance becomes even clearer

You wouldn’t leave your cash office unlocked just because no one has stolen from you yet, would you? This isn’t a trick question – of course you wouldn’t.

But that’s the way we looked at it when we decided to implement the industry gold standard for AI management into b2b.store. Why leave our business exposed to new threats just because I hadn’t experienced one yet?

For me, it was a no brainer to start our ISO42001 journey towards responsible and secure use of AI. The accreditation only launched little over a year ago, so having recently completed the compliance process, we’re among the first businesses working in the food and drink wholesale sector to achieve the seal of approval.

While to the uninitiated, IS042001 sounds like a string of letters and numbers that only has any relevance to an AI-first tech business like ours, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

It’s something that’s highly relevant to all businesses and will soon be a best-in-class standard that all leading organisations will expect partners to have in place in order to work with them.

In short, sleeping on AI governance isn’t an option for any business… it’s just they might not realise it yet.

What is ISO42001?

ISO42001 is the world’s first international standard for AI management systems, setting out how you should govern, manage, monitor and control AI technology in your business.

The standard is similar to other well-known accreditations, including ISO27001, which governs information security. ISO42001 has been created as an extra level of management in response to rapid AI development and the explosion of its usage.

AI already has the potential to influence pricing, forecasting, supply decisions and more. If it’s wrong, the cost lands on businesses, so there was need for more formal governance.

And with no globally recognised management framework previously existing, ISO42001 was formed in order to keep up with development.

What does ISO42001 accreditation mean to b2b.store?

ISO42001 means every AI system we deploy sits inside a formal governance framework with defined oversight and accountability – giving AI usage in our products a seal of approval for how they were implemented.

It demonstrates to our wholesaler and supplier partners that any AI-driven decisions with our tech that impacts pricing, forecasting or supply chain operations are controlled, monitored, and aligned with responsible use standards. And with AI-first solutions and features intertwined throughout our services, it’s absolutely crucial to have.

In a nutshell, ISO42001 means we’re officially a safe pair of hands to work with in a brave, new world where AI is our reality. There’s no providing solutions and then figuring out governance later on, it’s being watertight as we’re working on AI-first products – and it’s something all tech service providers should be aspiring to.

But further than that, safe and responsible AI usage is a must for the businesses who use our tech too. It’s something for everyone – like locking the cash office door. Y’know, just in case.