OMRI Announces Updated Fees

(May 19, 2011) To continue providing exceptional service, OMRI is implementing a fee increase effective June 17, 2011, in conjunction with the beginning of our fiscal year. Previous increases have occurred at the beginning of the calendar year.

Over the past year, we have made sweeping improvements in our review program to remedy a process that was too slow, and which did not effectively serve the business needs of our clients.  You may have heard about or experienced first-hand our recent transition to speedy service with streamlined requirements. It was not uncommon in 2009 and 2010 that a review would take more than 180 business days from start to finish.  Currently, the median time from receipt of a product application to a final decision is under 60 business days – that's less than twelve weeks.  Some reviews will take longer than others, but there is no doubt: the response time, integrity, and reliability of our review program have never been better. We receive compliments from clients like you, who appreciate the numerous changes we have made in our review program and at OMRI overall. These vast improvements and enhanced service do come at a cost.

In truth, OMRI fees have been relatively low since our formation in 1997. This is only the fifth fee increase in OMRI’s 14-year history! We implemented a few large fee increases (20-30%) several years ago, followed by two years of minimal increases that should have been higher. We realize that a sizeable increase poses a burden, and we do not anticipate further significant increases in the future.

In addition, to ensure the continued integrity of our products list, we must cover the costs of conducting skilled product reviews on an ongoing basis for a growing list of products. These fees will allow us to continue our good work to protect the clients and products that have proven compliance.

OMRI has not been conducting the level of ongoing compliance reviews that we should have over the last few years. We have recently implemented a new re-review program, as required by our ISO 65 accreditation, and are spreading the costs across the board rather than charging re-review fees to each supplier, for each product. We feel this is the most equitable system, as it enables suppliers to budget from year to year without worrying about which product(s) are coming up for re-review, nor how much that re-review will cost. These ongoing compliance reviews strengthen the quality and value of the OMRI Products List.

Please use this link to download a table of our new fees. All product review fees are also listed on the OMRI website at www.omri.org/suppliers/review-cost. Please note that this web page will not be updated until June 17, when the fee change will become effective.

We understand that this change will pose some difficulty for many of you, and we appreciate your understanding and support.  Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Respectfully and gratefully,

Peggy Miars
OMRI Executive Director/CEO