What Customers Should Actually Ask Their BRCGS Certificated Suppliers For

By Robert Low, Director, Lead Auditor & BRCGS Approved Trainer

I have written about why minimum grade demands miss the point. This is the constructive half of that argument, aimed at the technologists, buyers and supplier approval teams setting the requirements. If grade thresholds are the wrong ask, what is the right one? Here is what I would build into a supplier approval process for BRCGS certificated suppliers, in order.

Verify the Certificate, Do Not Collect It

A PDF certificate is a picture. The BRCGS Directory is the live record, showing certification status, scope, audit programme and expiry. Check the supplier there rather than filing whatever they emailed you, and you eliminate expired, withdrawn and, occasionally, doctored certificates in thirty seconds. While you are at it, confirm the certification body itself through the relevant accreditation body, UKAS CertCheck in the UK.

Check the Scope Matches What You Buy

This is the check that actually catches problems and the one most approval processes skim. A certificate covers defined products and processes at a defined site. If you buy aerosols and the scope says liquid filling, the certificate tells you nothing about your product. Scope mismatches are far more common, and far more dangerous, than low grades.

Where the Grade Is Below A, Review the CAPA

This is the proportionate alternative to a grade wall. A grade B or C tells you the audit raised more findings than average, nothing more. The certificate confirms they were corrected with evidence. If you want assurance beyond that, ask the supplier to share the non-conformity summary and their corrective and preventive action plan, and judge the quality of the response: honest root cause, prevention anchored to it, verification it worked. My article on what a strong CAPA looks like is effectively the marking scheme. A site that responds well to findings is a better bet than a site that got lucky on audit day.

Ask for What the Certificate Does Not Cover

Certification confirms the system. Your relationship still needs the specifics: an agreed specification, incident and change notification commitments, and clarity on who owns label and legal compliance in each market. Put your energy there instead of into a forty-page questionnaire duplicating what the audit already verified. Questionnaire overload is a real cost on the supply side, something I cover in my piece on the supplier approval bottleneck.

I consult on both sides of this fence, helping customers build proportionate approval criteria and helping sites respond to disproportionate ones. Either way, the buttons below reach me.