SQF Clause 5.2.1 - Artwork customer approval

Hi,

We are an established company manufacturing packaging labels and are audited against the BRCGS Packaging Materials Standard.

Clause 5.2.1: The site shall have a documented artwork management procedure......this may include verification of completed artwork approval by the customer.

We have some long standing customers who have been purchasing labels from us for many years and before we had the BRCGS certificate. For these historic customers, we don't necessarily have any documented evidence of original artwork approval. The customer basically re-orders based on what they had before.

Are we now required to have to request a formal artwork approval for these customers? I can imagine many will find this frustrating and it will be a time consuming process as we have thousands of customers. 

Why can't your procedure state that PO's sent from exisiting customers are used for artwork approval? I am sure you have a file name or number for each design that already exisits?

I'd also write down your procedure if a customer wants new artwork and how you and your customer approve it.

Isn't artwork approval a one time thing?   I have an artwork approval on my formulation design template, but it's one box.  After the ok the artwork, I check the box, and never look at or think about it again...

Yes, agree artwork approval is a one time event. Problem we have is that we have thousands of customers who place repeat orders, but I have no documented evidence of any original acceptance for the artwork. Originally these may have been in paper format or maybe email, but being maybe 15-20 years ago we no longer have the records (not sure what systems were in place before I joined Company etc.). These customers simply place repeat orders using the part number reference they have always had from their first order. 

Maybe I can do as TylerJones suggest and somehow include reference to the part number on the customers PO in our procedure as approval for existing customers. We have a documented approval process for new customers; the issue is just with existing customers whose original order request pre-dates our current procedure requirements. We want to ensure we meet the BRCGS clause, but without causing unnecessary work for either us or our customers.

Appreciate your thoughts and guidance.

Yeah, I'd think you're good.   They have been ordering since before it was a requirement, so it should grandfather in, and do like TJ said....

Just send a digital image to them and request an approval response. Email works fine for this.