IFS Broker
Basic information about IFS Broker
The IFS Broker standard was created to provide a uniform system for evaluating the activities of brokers, importers and trade agencies in the supply of products for large-scale distribution.
In an era of globalization, purchasing activities are conducted on a global scale; brokers and importers are therefore becoming an important vehicle for meetings between producers and retailers. These activities are not covered by existing food quality and safety standards such as IFS Food, BRCGS Food, IFS Logistics.
The publication of the IFS Broker standard therefore fills an important gap in the controls of this sensitive phase of the agri-food chain.
The first version of the IFS Broker standard was published in December 2009, as the result of a collaboration:
- HDE and FCD, respectively representatives of German and French retailers,
- Federdistribuzione, the body that organizes and represents Italy's large-scale retail trade,
- ANCC (National Association of Consumer Cooperatives)
- ANCD (National Association of Cooperatives among Retailers).
The main purpose of the IFS Broker standard is to check how brokers select their suppliers, what quality requirements have been implemented and finally to check whether they are able to meet the applicable legal requirements.
For more information on the IFS Broker standard, visit the official website of the standard.
The standard is dedicated to brokers, importers and trade agencies. If the company has any manufacturing activities, the IFS Food standard should be used, and if it also has transportation, warehousing or distribution activities, the IFS Logistics standard should be used.
.Benefits of IFS Broker certification:
- Gaining certification allows companies to have significant international visibility, thanks to the controlled publication of the audit report on the IFS portal: an IT platform that facilitates the exchange of information between suppliers and retailers and promotes business relationships;
- International recognition of the standard, which meets the expectations of customers from all over Europe;
- Limiting third-party audits, i.e. conducted on behalf of customers at the supplier's company, with a reduction in the costs to be incurred, both direct (expenses related to audits) and indirect (unavoidable business slowdowns coinciding with numerous audits);
- Improving transparency in the supply chain;
- Increasing customer confidence and improving competitiveness.
1. Contact the Processing Standards Department The first step is to contact the Processing Standards Department staff to properly select a standard or system from our offerings. For this purpose, please contact us by phone, email or fill out the contact form on Contact. 2. Filling out the application form The application form is available for download on the right side of the page (under the heading "DOWNLOAD FILES"). Please send the completed form by email to an employee of our department. The information provided will allow us to prepare a suitable offer for you. Application forms for other standards are available for download on the page: http://qasolutions.pl/pl/oferta. 3. Offer and signing of the contract We present you with an individually prepared offer and the rules of cooperation with our unit. After signing the contract, we proceed with the certification process. 4. Scheduling the audit Depending on your preference, the audit can be conducted in the form of announced or unannounced. The date of the announced audit is set in consultation with you, while in the case of an unannounced audit, we only inform you of the time frame in which, according to the requirements of the standard, the audit should be conducted. 5. Audit Audits are conducted at the production site with the required proportions of time devoted to the audit of the production site and evaluation of documentation. 6. Audit Report and Closure of Nonconformities After the audit, you will receive a list of identified nonconformities with a deadline of up to 28 days from the date of the audit to close them and send the relevant evidence. 7. Certification Decision All audit documentation is subject to technical review at the Certification Body, as a result of which a decision is made on the outcome of the certification process. In case of a positive decision, a certificate is issued. |