Quality & Compliance
Low-cost countries provide a valuable source of supply for private label brands. As a result, retailers face a multitude of challenges in keeping track of numerous distant suppliers and their factory practices. The quality controls required to sustain grocery, non-food and apparel private label programs are significant. Not only must the products pass consumer taste or preference tests - consumers also expect retailers to deliver safe products that have been manufactured in socially and environmentally compliant factories.
The risk of negative headlines, blows to consumer confidence regarding product issues, the continual threat of supply disruption and other risks loom as daily concerns. But to select, profile and work collaboratively with an increasing number of suppliers and agents in low-cost countries through manual processes is time consuming and can be prone to human error.
With the onus on the retailer to define best operating practices and hold suppliers accountable, leaders are effectively building, developing and managing relationships with their supplier networks and constantly finding ways to strengthen information sharing and vendor relationships. These retailers are establishing stricter assessment criteria for suppliers, factories and agents and using technology solutions to communicate and enforce their policies. Adopting a best practice approach to gathering information and evidence across the supplier’s organization makes the assessment process mandatory: no audit, no order.
From initial supplier registration to factory audits, corrective action program management, compliance and product testing, Eqos Quality & Compliance assists retailers in managing their supplier relationships in a structured and thorough manner. This provides a platform for retailers and suppliers to improve not only performance, but also the quality of their relationships and the subsequent ability to collaborate more closely and effectively.
Key Benefits Include:
- Improve the supplier selection process and strengthen the ability to meet regulatory requirements with a comprehensive supplier information repository
- Maintain customer loyalty by ensuring the quality and safety of products
- Protect the brand through working with ethical suppliers that adhere to standard factory practices, are environmentally responsible and strive to improve the quality of life for their workforce
- Avoid costly corrections to products and potential recalls later on by building quality into designs and adopting stringent testing processes
