Episode #7: Supplier Approval in GFSI

Supplier Approval Programs

In the sixth episode of Kellerman Consulting’s Supplier Approval Program video series we discuss how different types of software solutions may be used to assist in document collection to efficiently and securely store documents.

As long as your records are stored securely, maintained, and readily available for review, government regulators and auditors do not currently require a certain method of document collection and storage. Documents may be printed out as hard copies or stored electronically as long as they are organized for ease of use.

There are many software solutions that make organization much simpler and aid in quick searches of the collected documents. Another benefit of supplier management software is in scheduling document requests, especially for documents that expire throughout the year. Expired documents that occur throughout the year are one of the most common actions to be forgotten and cause concerns when identified during an audit since when those documents expire and when you planned to conduct your supplier reassessments may not always line up.

Having a program that automatically reminds your supplier as these documents expire is very helpful in keeping your QA team on top of document requests. Kellerman Consulting encourages our clients to investigate several solutions to find the best fit for their needs.

Although the price of supplier software solutions can be high, consider the cost of maintaining employees in your facility to perform these tasks, and oftentimes software can be a cost saving solution in situations where the facility does not have the capacity to assign the responsibility of managing this program to an existing employee .

Most software companies offering supplier compliance solutions are able to conduct a demo and assist you in determining whether or not they are a good match for your company. If you are interested in a software solution, we recommend contacting a few companies to better understand if they can help your facility maintain and support your supplier program.

In our final episode of the ‘Supplier Approval Programs’ series, we’ll discuss the Supplier Approval program requirements in the major GFSI schemes. These GFSI schemes include SQF, BRCGS, FSSC 22000, and PrimusGFS.

To learn more, visit the free food safety training videos & resources section of our website.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel or follow us on LinkedIn to be notified of new educational food safety resources.