8. Supplier management
Managing approved material suppliers
This article looks at how the performance of approved suppliers must be monitored.
The standards
Manaing approved suppliers is a requirement in the following sections of the standards:
| BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9 | 3.5.1.3 Ongoing monitoring 3.5.1.4 Approved supplier list 3.5.2.2 Communicating changes to goods receipt 3.5.3.2 Contracts with service providers 3.5.4.1 Customer approval of outsourcing 9.2.4 Ongoing monitoring of traded product |
| BRCGS Packaging Issue 6 | 3.7.3 Ongoing monitoring 3.7.4 Approved supplier list 3.10.2 Formal agreements 5.10.1 Communicating to transport companies 5.10.6 Third-party transport contractor agreements 7.1.4 Ongoing monitoring 7.3.3 Status verification of products |
| BRCGS Agents & Brokers Issue 3 | 4.1.3 Approved supplier list 4.1.7 Ongoing review of manufacturers, packers and co-packers 4.2.3 Service provider contracts 4.2.4 Ongoing review of service providers 4.3.2 Verification of security arrangements 4.4.3 Status verification for claims |
| BRCGS Storage & Distribution Issue 4 | 3.5.1.2, 3.5.1.3 Specifications and contracts 3.5.1.4 Supplier monitoring 3.5.2.2 Communicating changes to goods receipt 3.5.2.4 X Approved supplier list 3.5.2.6 X Subcontractor agreements 10.2.1.1, 10.2.1.2 Supplier approval; branded products 10.3.1.2, 10.3.1.3 Supplier approval; own-label 10.3.6.2 Status verification for claims 12.6.2, 12.6.3 Contracts with distribution suppliers |
| FSSC22000 Version 5.1 | ISO 8.2.4f Supplier approval and assurance processes |
| IFS Food Version 7 | 4.4.4 Material acceptance 4.4.7 Supplier agreements |
| SQF Edition 9 | 2.3.3.1 supplier agreements 2.3.3.2iii Risk-based supplier assessment 2.3.4.1 Approved supplier record |
| FSMA Preventive controls for human food (Final 2015) | Subpart G – Supply-chain program |
The requirements
Supplier agreement
The minimum supplier assessment criteria and supplier controls must be:
- Agreed in supplier agreements.
- Monitored for compliance.
List
An up-to-date list of approved suppliers must be maintained, which covers:
- Materials and products.
- Material and product suppliers.
- This list can either be in hard or electronic format.
- The approved supplier list, must be available to those who need it, such as:
- Goods in (receiving) staff.
- The procurement team.
- The product development team.
Contract or agreement reviews shall be sufficiently frequent to ensure that the information is current or at a minimum every 3 years, taking into account product changes, suppliers, regulations and other risks. Reviews and changes shall be documented.
Contracts or formal agreements must be in place, that ensure that suppliers are operating to the appropriate standards, this must include as a minimum:
- Relevant legislation that must be applied.
- Maintenance of product traceability.
- Conformance to specification.
- Service level agreement.
- Any permitted or prohibited subcontracting.
- Any restrictions for mixed loads.
Purchasing
All materials, products and services must be purchased from the approved supplier list, unless they are handled as exceptions.
Change management
Where changes to the approved supplier list occurs, including changes to materials and products, the change must be communicated to relevant personnel, including goods in staff. This must happen in a timely manner, to ensure that only approved materials, of the correct version, are accepted.
Supplier monitoring
The purpose of the supplier monitoring is to ensure that supplier’s performance is continuously assessed, so that the materials, products and services they supply do not become a risk to the product, customer or consumer.
There must be defined and documented performance criteria for monitoring suppliers, this may include:
- Incidences of contamination.
- Non-conforming materials or products.
- Results of material or product tests or inspections.
- Complaints.
- Regulatory warnings or alerts.
- Customer rejections.
- Customer or consumer feedback.
- Punctuality of deliveries against planned delivery times.
The frequency at which the review of the monitoring criteria is carried out, should be based on risk, but should not be less than once every 3 years. The review must be documented.
Following a review of the supplier’s performance criteria, the risk assessment must be updated and the resulting supplier risk rating documented.
Suppliers must be reapproved based on the new risk rating. Records of the reapproval must be kept.
Where improvements are required, these must be documented, communicated to the supplier and an action plan agreed.
BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9
There haven’t been any changes which affect how approved material suppliers must be managed.
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