The global pandemic has placed supply chain resilience firmly front of mind for brands, retailers, and the growing numbers of conscientious consumers. It has accelerated the changing role of the warehousing and logistics sector with the growth of e-commerce, the diversification of operational activities and new transport flows.

Our latest Whitepaper sets out that Storage and Distribution is often a missing link when it comes to product safety. Product integrity can be severely compromised if the route to market doesn’t meet the same standards as those involved in the manufacturing process. This can result in damaged goods and the cost of refunds to consumers or worse still, food borne illness. 

   

BRCGS has published Issue 4 of its Global Standard for Storage and Distribution to bridge that missing link and to reflect the evolution of the industry. It has been developed with input from leading brands, retailers, storage, logistics and online retailers and can be applied to any part of the supply chain. It covers all activities which affect the safety, legality, quality and integrity of products stored and distributed, and of any additional contracted services that may be offered by storage and distribution operators.

We are grateful to HelloFresh, McDonalds, BidFood, Versacold, the Billington Group, Sysco, RLS Logistics, The British Frozen Food Federation, the Cold Chain Federation and the Culina Group for sending us their messages to celebrate the launch. 

   

Issue 4 has been developed in line with GFSI 2020 requirements, as well as being covered by globally recognised accreditation (ISO/IEC 17065).

The Standard is specifically designed for logistics operations dealing with Food, Packaging, and Consumer Products. It is the first Global Standard to be fully flexible as Operators can implement the full scope, or a scope relevant to their operation. A unique benefit of the Standard is that Operations can choose Additional Voluntary Modules (AVMs) that cover common current industry practices to demonstrate greater supply chain assurance. The AVMs cover e-commerce, cross-docking, wholesale, contracted packing, inspection and waste management.

This short video provides a brief overview of the scope and application of the new Standard. 

   

Richa Bedi-Navik, BRCGS Technical Manager-Food, Storage & Distribution, said: “Our new Standard has evolved to meet changing consumer expectations, supply chain dynamics, and technological advances in the industry. It is a fully flexible standard with multiple applications that can be applied at any point in the distribution chain from primary production to retail. We greatly appreciate the input from brands, retailers, storage, logistics and online retailers to help us upgrade the Standard to deliver assurance in product safety and integrity”.

Industry adoption and use of the BRCGS certification in Storage and Distribution has increased by 16% year on year, and it is currently deployed in over 50 countries. As brands seek greater resilience in their supply chains, operators that have adopted transparent well-designed safety management systems will be well prepared to demonstrate their assurance credentials.