Supplier approval - requirements to create response
I'm working in packaging.
We get multitudes of Supplier Approval Questionaire and self audits from customers who are BRC certified, and of course they are all different.
I'd like to get a copy of the BRC requirements for supplier approval so I can understand why my customers are asking for certain information.
I can ask a customer for the details but thought I would ask here first.
We are not GFSI certified - are working towards FSSC22000.
Edit to add - also suplier traceability requirements.
Basically, under BRCGS, if you are approving a supplier they need to be:
1. Certificated to a GFSI benchmarked auditing scheme
2. If not, a valid third party audit report is required (with some additional requirements)
3. if not that, and you (the supplier) are considered to be low risk (by the company approving you), you need to provide an approval questionnaire supplied by the company approving you. (which will have it's own requirements as dictated by BRCGS).
As the person that does risk assessments and approvals for manufactures and materials for my company, I'm certainly going to ask for a GFSI cert.
While not required by BRCGS, I am also going to ask for, at a minimum, a letter of guarantee, a certificate of liability insurance, a verification of your registration with the FDA (if applicable).
As far as the material I am going to purchase from you (understanding that you are in packaging, so some if these may not apply), I am going to want a product spec, a Kosher cert, a nutritional statement, a SDS, an allergen declaration, etc.
For packaging suppliers, I am probably going to ask for a product spec, a document that states that the packaging material is food grade, a document that specifies the composition of the packaging and probably a migration analysis for the packaging material.
Marshall
I'm working in packaging.
We get multitudes of Supplier Approval Questionaire and self audits from customers who are BRC certified, and of course they are all different.
I'd like to get a copy of the BRC requirements for supplier approval so I can understand why my customers are asking for certain information.
I can ask a customer for the details but thought I would ask here first.
We are not GFSI certified - are working towards FSSC22000.
Edit to add - also suplier traceability requirements.
Just a comment. The requirements for BRC are unlikely to match FSSC22000.
BRC's requirements for Supplier Approval are probably about the most pernickety of all the commonly met GFSI-recognised Standards.
But not neccessarily the most unintelligible.
I deal with that all the time. Different customers have different requests. It is all up to how they built there Supplier Approval programs. At a minimum they need to follow the standard, but some like to request additional documentation. If there is something they request, that you feel is confidential or proprietary, feel free to push back. I have and have had success. I get frustrated with our facility being SQF certified, when I am pushed for a whole audit report. I feel that is not needed as we are clearly certified under a GFSI scheme. Isn't that the point and one of the benefits of being GFSI certified? I always push back when we are requested the full audit report. I provide the certificate and sometimes provide a, lets say, redacted RCCA report.
I deal with that all the time. Different customers have different requests. It is all up to how they built there Supplier Approval programs. At a minimum they need to follow the standard, but some like to request additional documentation. If there is something they request, that you feel is confidential or proprietary, feel free to push back. I have and have had success. I get frustrated with our facility being SQF certified, when I am pushed for a whole audit report. I feel that is not needed as we are clearly certified under a GFSI scheme. Isn't that the point and one of the benefits of being GFSI certified? I always push back when we are requested the full audit report. I provide the certificate and sometimes provide a, lets say, redacted RCCA report.
I agree that audit reports usually contain confidential information, but at least providing a copy of non-conformance report with corrective actions is a helpful way for a company to determine the risk that each supplier poses upon the facility.
Basically, under BRCGS, if you are approving a supplier they need to be:
1. Certificated to a GFSI benchmarked auditing scheme
2. If not, a valid third party audit report is required (with some additional requirements)3. if not that, and you (the supplier) are considered to be low risk (by the company approving you), you need to provide an approval questionnaire supplied by the company approving you. (which will have it's own requirements as dictated by BRCGS).
As the person that does risk assessments and approvals for manufactures and materials for my company, I'm certainly going to ask for a GFSI cert.
While not required by BRCGS, I am also going to ask for, at a minimum, a letter of guarantee, a certificate of liability insurance, a verification of your registration with the FDA (if applicable).
As far as the material I am going to purchase from you (understanding that you are in packaging, so some if these may not apply), I am going to want a product spec, a Kosher cert, a nutritional statement, a SDS, an allergen declaration, etc.
For packaging suppliers, I am probably going to ask for a product spec, a document that states that the packaging material is food grade, a document that specifies the composition of the packaging and probably a migration analysis for the packaging material.
Marshall
Hi Marshall,
I suspect any request for a "LOG" will simply generate a Hearty Laugh outside of the USA (and maybe Canada).
Hi Marshall,
I suspect any request for a "LOG" will simply generate a Hearty Laugh outside of the USA (and maybe Canada).
Charles,
I imagine so, but since the vast majority of foreign sourced materials we use are procured via agents/brokers here in the USA, the hilarity is somewhat reduced.
Marshall
Paperboard food contact packaging manufacturer here. Once you achieve your GFSI scheme certification, the majority of those requests will slow down. If there's anything requested that's already covered in your certification you can refer them to the certification instead. We get requests for LOG, Certificate of Compliance, Code of Conduct, Examples of Lot Traceability, Bioterrorism Declarations, Full product spec's, Allergen Statements, FDA compliance statements and lately a lot of PFAS Declarations. I just keep a generic template for each, review them every year, fill in the customer name and have the VP Op's (re)sign them. It's about a 10 minute process. Every customer is different but your GFSI certification will absolutely not suffice for everything they want.