IFS Blog
IFS Supply Chain Processes Check - how did we get there?
We introduced the IFS Supply Chain Processes Check to support small and medium-sized suppliers in managing the critical raw materials risks in their supply chains. This check was the first tool introduced under the IFS Supply Chain Solutions brand name.
Tina Brune, Director Risk Management at IFS, shares insights into developing this new check and the IFS Supply Chain Solutions brand in this blog.
What were the reasons IFS developed the IFS Supply Chain Processes Check?
IFS is a trusted and competent partner of retail, wholesale, and food service companies and their suppliers. For over twenty years, we have created robust standards and services that assess food and product safety, quality, and integrity in accordance with legal and customer requirements.
Our standards assess products and processes within a company. However, our stakeholders also wanted us to develop solutions that evaluate a producer's ability to manage supply chain-related risks more closely, as globalised supply chains have become quite complex and challenging to navigate. At the same time, supply chain controls and knowing your supply chain partners have been much more of a consideration for consumers, NGOs, and law enforcement agencies in the last few years. That is why we started developing new tools under the IFS Supply Chain Solutions brand that focus on various aspects of supply chain transparency and risk management. The IFS Supply Chain Processes Check is the first tool that we presented under this brand. It evaluates the processes a supplier has established to manage its risks.
At IFS, we believe that product and food safety, risk management and sustainability go hand in hand. With the IFS Supply Chain Solutions, our standards and our development programs, we want to contribute to more trust and integrity throughout supply chains.
What was your role in the development process?
I am the director of risk management at IFS. My department has been investigating risks related to food safety and product integrity for several years. We examine topics like the origin of product ingredients and related risks for producers. We inform about them in the monthly IFS Trend Risk Report and the IFS Trend Risk Monitor, the landing page of the IFS Database.
These risks are often more related to the supply chain than to the production process. Accordingly, our managing director, Stephan Tromp, involved me at an early stage, as stakeholders asked IFS to explore options that would allow IFS to support them even more in their risk management. This is how it all started. I enjoyed working with Stephan and the industry and retail experts who contributed their knowledge and experience to develop this hands-on and practical process check.
Can you explain the approach of the new IFS Supply Chain Processes Check?
We developed the IFS Supply Chain Processes Check to support the risk management of individual supply chain partners. It verifies if a supplier has established robust processes to identify risks and highlights improvement opportunities, ultimately enhancing business resilience and increasing customer trust.
Gathering the necessary data for effective risk management and validating the processes in place are essential components of the Supply Chain Processes Check. The analysis of raw materials and the identification of critical raw materials are particularly important in this context.
As a business, you provide the data by filling out the IFS Commodity List in the customised IFS Software auditXpress Neo. It is easy to navigate and will help you get an excellent overview of the risks related to specific critical raw materials in your supply chain. You can share this data through the IFS Database, making it transparent for selected business partners.
Why should companies be assessed against the IFS Supply Chain Processes Check?
With the IFS Supply Chain Processes Check, you safeguard your business and demonstrate a proactive approach to planning for the future to your business partners. This tool is intended for small and medium-sized businesses to help manage the complexity of supply chain transparency and compliance.
An auditor or assessor then checks a company's provided data. This allows the company to provide verified data to its business partners, increasing credibility and enhancing trust.
The check can be audited as part of an IFS Audit, another product safety audit, or an IFS Progress Assessment, ensuring that the additional audit time is kept to a minimum. In this case, the auditor or assessor is already familiar with the company's products and processes. It is also an option to have it performed as a stand-alone assessment.
In this context, I want to emphasise that the IFS Supply Chain Processes Check results do not affect any existing IFS Certification. It is a tool for striving for continuous improvement, and there is no "pass" or "fail."
What other IFS Supply Chain Solutions can we expect?
We will soon launch the ESG Compliance Check under the IFS Supply Chain Solutions brand. Here, I think it is essential to understand the similarities and differences between the two checks:
The IFS Supply Chain Processes Check is based on food safety standards but can also be assessed stand-alone or in conjunction with other food and non-food standards. Its implementation and review answer whether the company can operate a supply chain management system and generally identify and mitigate risks. This process check is an extended traceability check and can be carried out by any auditor trained in process analysis and auditing.
The IFS ESG Compliance Check verifies whether the company has implemented an ESG supply chain management system that enables it to identify and mitigate risks related to ESG issues in its supply chain. It can also be conducted stand-alone or with an IFS audit, another standard, or an IFS Progress assessment. Auditors receive thorough training in ESG topics to evaluate the company's sustainability processes.
We are also investigating more topics related to different kinds of supply chain risks, so you can expect more members to join the young IFS Supply Chain Solutions brand family.
I would advise the readers of this blog to keep an eye on the IFS Newsletters in their mailbox or follow IFS on LinkedIn to not miss any updates about this topic.
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