STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION

IFS Logistic i BRC Storage and Distribution Standards

Manufacturers of food and consumer goods who are certified by some of GFSI-recognized standards must ensure that their products are distributed to consumers in accordance with unchanged quality and safety. Also, the application of different GFSI recognized schemes informs the manufacturer that their storage and transport service providers also comply with GFSI requirements related to storage and distribution.

Why is it necessary to meet the requirements during storage and distribution? In order to maintain the quality and safety of products and justify the trust of consumers, protect the brand but also meet legal requirements throughout the supply chain. Namely, despite the fact that more and more attention is paid to maintaining the quality and safety of products, a large number of product recalls are still recorded, some of which are certainly due to inadequate storage and transport conditions. In order to maintain the specified quality of products from manufacturer to user, it is necessary to ensure compliance with the set requirements throughout the supply chain.

Thus, in GFSI-recognized schemes such as BRC and IFS, there are requirements that storage and transport service providers must meet GFSI requirements, either through certification to one of the GFSI-recognized schemes for logistics activities or contractually defined conditions that must again meet the stated requirements of the standard. 

In order to meet the requirements of users of logistics services but also to reduce the number of second party audits, an excellent choice for a logistics company is the implementation of one of the GFSI recognized standards for warehousing and distribution.

The IFS Logistic standard was developed by an association of German and French retailers with the aim of reducing the number of supplier audits while giving retailers and manufacturers transparency over the entire supply chain. The standard is applicable to all types of transport: trucks, trains, ships, etc., as well as to temperature-controlled conditions or environmentally stable products. The standard is applicable to both food and non-food products. The current version of the IFS Logistic standard is 2.2, but a new version is being worked on that will be able to meet the requirements of the IFS Food standard version 7.

The BRC Storage and Distribution standard through the process of continuous improvement and application of risk management systems enables product quality assurance during the storage and distribution process. It has been developed with the support of leading retail, warehousing and logistics brands and is growing year by year with certified locations in over 50 countries. It is designed specifically for logistics operations dealing with food, packaging and consumer products. The current version of the BRC Storage and distribution  standard is 4.

The advantage of these two logistics standards is that they comply with current versions of food and / or consumer product safety standards, so that manufacturers who place their trust in companies certified by IFS Logistic or BRC Storage and Distribution standards are sure that their products retain quality and safety until delivery to consumers. On the other hand, certified logistics companies are gaining an advantage and recognized in the market as a reliable partner that is able to meet the high requirements of product quality and safety.

Both standards follow the requirements of prerequisite programs, starting from the location and storage and / or transport conditions, to the involvement of senior management and trained and aware staff.

If you have recognized the advantage of implementation one of the GFSI recognized standards, you can contact our Agency which will help you with the implementation or upgradeing of the requirements of the standard, employee training, internal audits !!!!