Managing supplier compliance is a critical yet time-consuming challenge for small to mid-sized food manufacturers. Based on conversations with our customers, we’ve learned that disorganized documentation, and manual supplier oversight often lead to delays, compliance risks, and unnecessary costs.
To help streamline the process, we’re sharing some best practices that top manufacturers use to maintain food safety, improve quality control, and hold suppliers accountable.
1. Use a Supplier Scorecard
One of the biggest challenges manufacturers face is inconsistent supplier evaluations. Many teams lack a structured way to assess food safety risks and quality performance, making it harder to make informed decisions.
A supplier scorecard can solve this by:
✔ Setting clear compliance criteria—defining which violations require immediate suspension (e.g., food safety risks) versus minor quality concerns that can be monitored over time.
✔ Tracking supplier performance trends—spotting quality issues before they become major problems.
✔ Highlighting high-risk suppliers—making it easier to take corrective action before compliance issues escalate.
By using scorecards based on food safety and quality, manufacturers can ensure consistency and accountability across all suppliers.
2. Proactively Manage COAs
COAs are essential for ensuring product safety and quality, but manufacturers often face challenges such as late COA submissions, which delay production, missing COAs, requiring last-minute follow-ups, and inventory bottlenecks, as ingredients without COAs cannot be used, leading to storage issues
To avoid these problems, manufacturers should:
✔ Require COAs in advance—ensuring that all documentation is received before ingredients arrive.
✔ Request guarantees for critical ingredients—if a COA isn’t available immediately, suppliers should provide a formal guarantee.
✔ Flag repeat COA offenders—tracking suppliers who consistently fail to provide COAs and holding them accountable.
✔ Charge suppliers for non-compliance—implementing penalties when delayed documents result in storage costs.
By tightening COA management, manufacturers can eliminate last-minute scrambles, prevent production delays, and reduce unnecessary storage costs.
3. Centralize Supplier Documentation
One of the biggest pain points we hear from manufacturers is the amount of manual effort required to stay on top of compliance. Teams spend hours chasing suppliers, updating spreadsheets, and tracking deadlines—instead of focusing on higher-value work.
To improve efficiency, manufacturers should:
✔ Use a centralized digital system to store all compliance documents in one place.
✔ Automate expiration tracking to flag missing or expired certifications before they become an issue.
✔ Set up automated follow-ups for missing or expiring documents.
A well-organized and intelligent system ensures teams aren’t wasting hours searching for paperwork. manually tracking deadlines, and chasing the suppliers.
4. Enforce Stronger Supplier Accountability
Suppliers play a major role in compliance, yet many manufacturers struggle to enforce accountability. Late document submissions, missing certifications, and poor-quality ingredients can all lead to delays, regulatory risks, and added costs.
To hold suppliers accountable, manufacturers should:
✔ Charge suppliers for non-compliance—for example, if missing COAs result in storage costs, suppliers should cover the expense.
✔ Suspend non-compliant suppliers when necessary—especially for food safety violations.
✔ Utilize performance tracking to identify underperforming suppliers and phase them out while maintaining backup options
By enforcing compliance standards, manufacturers can reduce risks and create a more reliable supply chain.
Final Thoughts
Supplier compliance management doesn’t have to be a constant headache. By using scorecards to track performance, tightening COA management, centralizing and automating compliance tasks, and holding suppliers accountable, manufacturers can save time, reduce costs, and prevent compliance issues before they happen.
