Supplier Validation for Distributors?
Currently in the process of supplier validation, i.e. getting documentation from all of our suppliers. What I need from suppliers who sell us items they produce themselves is clear to me, however I am unclear what I need from distributors, who are pretty much just a middle man in between me and their supplier. They don't produce any of the items they store, just distribute them.
I spoke to a QA contact with another company regarding this and he said proof of the distributor's own supplier validation program would be sufficient, but I have already requested this from three of our distributors and you would think I asked for the key to Atlantis -- they are all confused as to what I am looking for.
So I guess the question here is, what kind of documentation should I be requesting from distributors in terms of supplier validation? Can't really request HACCP plans and flow charts, etc., etc., as they don't produce anything, just store items.
Any feedback would be appreciated!
idealdreams
Refer BRC version 7 standards, It will help you to design the check list.
These are two questionnaires I put together when I first started with the company I'm currently with. One is specifically for the Broker (Distributor) and the other is for the manufacturer of the product(s). If there are multiple manufacturers then it needs to be completed for each.
These are really basic as the company I work for is a Broker and prior to my joining in February, they literally had nothing. I was the first QA they'd ever had. We're working to SQF certification so these are going to be expanded a bit but what I'll be doing is making the Manufacturer questionnaire more in depth e.g. flow charts, etc., and for the Brokers questionnaire I'll be requesting information relating to their Approved Supplier Program, their Traceability system and Recall/Mock Recall systems and the certifications for their warehouses whether they are their own or 3rd party warehouses. As a QA working for a brokering company, there's really not a lot more you can ask for.
Hope this is helpful :)