Supplier as distributor / Kosher Certificate

​For FSSC 22000 (or any GFSI standards), I know that we are moving towards having to know both the name of distributor and manufacturer (regardless of who you actually directly purchase from).

​How have supplier documents been handled, without disclosing/compromising customer and supplier relationship?

​As a distributor being asked for Kosher certificate (requirement for supplier approval), Kosher certificate is issued to the manufacturer.

​Can a kosher certificate be issued under a branded name?

​Or send original along with a quality agreement?

​Thanks!!

Hi Jtang

if you are re-branding the product under you own name the purchaser will know that who has manufacturer the product for you. In this case sending the original certificate will be sufficient. in case you are re-branding the product in your name then get your own certificate from the relevant certificate.

Kind regards

Dr. Humaid Khan

MD Halal International Services

Beverly hills NSW Australia

Yes, you can have your Kosher certification by brand names "private labels".  Most Kosher certifies will charge you extra for this so keep that in mind.

Right now, we have 7 branded Kosher certificates with each brand listing their own products under that brand in our facility.  We use Orthodox Union and soon to be using Star-K as well thanks to another customer requiring Star-K kosher....lovely!

Yes, you can have your Kosher certification by brand names "private labels".  Most Kosher certifies will charge you extra for this so keep that in mind.

 

Right now, we have 7 branded Kosher certificates with each brand listing their own products under that brand in our facility.  We use Orthodox Union and soon to be using Star-K as well thanks to another customer requiring Star-K kosher....lovely!

Does that mean on the kosher certificate, the "brand name" is listed as company name, and what about facility address? is it manufacturer's or distributor's?

Does that mean on the kosher certificate, the "brand name" is listed as company name, and what about facility address? is it manufacturer's or distributor's?

The letter/certificate can be customized to your needs, however you want it.

You can request, but normally it is issued to the manufacturer. You may just need to have another letter/certificate stating that you are an authorized distributor

As a distributer ourselves, we simply supply the manufacturer's certifications. There's no real concern for us as the majority of the manufacturers we buy from are big and like to sell by the truck load while we can supply by the pallet so there's no risk of us being cut out. Also, the manufacturer's name is usually on the packaging anyway so it's not really a secret. 

Personally, I prefer to be as transparent as possible (within reason). As soon as a supplier starts hiding documents I get suss and don't really want to deal with them anymore as if you can't tell me who's making the product I'm buying, what else are you then hiding? How do I even know they are properly certified? But that's just me :shades: .

If there are no Kosher oversight or certification activities in your facility then you do have to request whatever you can get from your suppliers.  This can be tricky because not all suppliers are aware, or savvy enough, to know you can have a Kosher cert listing only specific brands with no manufacturer information, or some other customized way.

If there is a real concern with providing the manufacturer information to your customers then you would have to work with your manufacturers to get the Kosher certs listed with only the brand names on them.

Good luck!  This can be quite a challenge.

As a distributer ourselves, we simply supply the manufacturer's certifications. There's no real concern for us as the majority of the manufacturers we buy from are big and like to sell by the truck load while we can supply by the pallet so there's no risk of us being cut out. Also, the manufacturer's name is usually on the packaging anyway so it's not really a secret. 

 

Personally, I prefer to be as transparent as possible (within reason). As soon as a supplier starts hiding documents I get suss and don't really want to deal with them anymore as if you can't tell me who's making the product I'm buying, what else are you then hiding? How do I even know they are properly certified? But that's just me :shades: .

Kelly, the biggest concern of suppliers in keeping the sources confidential is to prevent you from sidestepping the middle men.  This happens quite often in the US, not sure about Australia.  Whenever I get providers/suppliers who want to keep something confidential I call them and ask them why.  More often than not, a short phone conversation provides a lot of clarity and more comfort.

Kelly, the biggest concern of suppliers in keeping the sources confidential is to prevent you from sidestepping the middle men.  This happens quite often in the US, not sure about Australia.  Whenever I get providers/suppliers who want to keep something confidential I call them and ask them why.  More often than not, a short phone conversation provides a lot of clarity and more comfort.

To be honest, I've never really run into this problem. I'm not sure if it's just the companies I've worked with or if it's an Aussie thing but generally, if you're buying from a distributer it's because they can supply multiple products which typically reduces overall cost as opposed to needing to go to multiple suppliers. Plus, our customers are really appreciative of the fact we can send through all necessary quality docs in one email as again, the alternative is chasing multiple suppliers. It means MY working life is a bit of a pain but we have a pretty significant loyal customer base. 

Again, not sure if I've just been lucky with the companies I work for or if it's more of an Aussie thing but I've yet to work for a company where the customer has gone direct after getting the supplier info.