You may be familiar with several food scandals from the past. With a BRC certificate, you win your customer’s trust and gain an advantage over your competitor. The advantage of the BRC standard is that it is very concrete about what you must comply with and what you need to have.
One of its components is the risk inventory. By identifying the risks and reducing them to an acceptable level, you avoid reputation damage and the chance of getting involved in a recall is much lower. Many customers already require certification. In turn, you can ask your suppliers to take appropriate assurance measures.
The BRC standard was developed in the UK. Previously, BRC stood for British Retail Consortium. Nowadays, the abbreviation Brand Reputation throughout Compliance is used. There are 4 different standards:
- BRC food
- BRC packaging
- BRC storage and distribution
- BRC agents and brokers
Depending on which sector you are working in, one of these standards will apply to you. Every few years, a new version of the standard is published, each time adding new aspects or applying stricter criteria. This way, you keep improving continuously. At least once every three years, the BRC audit must be carried out unannounced.
My services are provided through a combination of advice and assistance. I see to it that all aspects of the standard are covered. I can provide several formats that can then be adapted to your company’s situation. The advantage here is that your employees are closely involved, and they also gain substantive knowledge of the system. You remain responsible for implementing the necessary steps. For example, if I visit your company 1 day a week, I can closely monitor and follow up on the progress.
Of course, I can also carry out all the tasks myself. This will speed up the certification process, but the drawback is that employees will have all kinds of procedures forced upon them, which can lead to resistance. There is a formula: effectiveness = quality x acceptance. If employees do not fully accept the working methods, the system will not work effectively enough either. Of course, I also offer help when employees get stuck, or the process is too slow.
