Supplier approval for UK food manufacturers
Every raw material, connected to its supplier, specification and risk assessment
Suppliers, raw materials, specifications and risk assessments in one workflow, with the same names and material codes all the way through. Certificates are chased and read for you, specifications are signed off by the supplier, and every decision is on record for your BRCGS audit.
SupplierCore is supplier approval and specification management software built to BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9 clauses 3.5 and 3.6. It is the newest member of the Core family, from the team behind SafetyCore and AuditCore.
- Built by a BRC Lead Assessor30 years in UK food manufacturing
- Built to BRCGS Issue 9Clauses 3.5, 3.6 and 5.4.2
- Supplier portal includedFree for your suppliers, no passwords
- Hosted in the UKEach customer's data kept apart
The SafetyCore family
SafetyCore
Hazard analysis through to an approved HACCP plan, with every CCP decision and revision on record.
safetycore.co.uk →SupplierCore
Supplier approval, raw material risk assessments and specifications, connected by material code and signed off by the supplier.
You are hereAuditCore
Internal audits for food safety and health & safety, with non-conformances tracked through CAPA.
auditcore.co.uk →ComplaintCore
Customer complaints and feedback, with AI analysis picking out the causes that repeat before you would spot them yourself.
complaintcore.co.uk →HACCP Plan Generator
A HACCP plan for a small bakery, written in plain language, without a blank page to fill. It's the one you start with if a plan is all you need.
Separate products, separate logins. Buy one, buy none, buy all five.
The problem
Supplier approval lives in four places that never agree
An approved supplier list, a folder of certificates, a stack of specifications and a risk assessment spreadsheet. Each is kept up on its own, and a material is called something slightly different in each one.
It holds until an auditor picks a raw material and asks to see why its supplier is approved, the risk assessment that decided it, and the specification the supplier signed. SupplierCore keeps them as one connected network, so that answer is one page.
Raw material risk assessment
The risk assessment decides the approval
A medium or high-risk material can only be approved from a supplier with a valid GFSI-benchmarked certificate or an audit. A questionnaire is enough only for low risk, exactly as BRCGS 3.5.1.2 says. SupplierCore applies that rule, so the decision cannot drift from the assessment.
- Allergen, foreign body, microbiological, chemical, variety or species, fraud and legislative hazards, each scored likelihood × severity
- Food fraud vulnerability across the five 5.4.2 factors
- Every completed assessment kept as a version that cannot be changed
- A new supplier or a change of origin flags the review
Risk assessment RM-SP-003 · Smoked paprika
| Chemical contamination | 12 |
| Substitution or fraud | 12 |
| Microbiological contamination | 8 |
| Allergen contamination | 6 |
| Foreign body, variety, legislative | 2 |
| Food fraud vulnerability | 21 / 25 |
High risk. Approve suppliers on a GFSI-benchmarked certificate or a supplier audit, with a certificate of analysis on every delivery.
A person makes every decision. SupplierCore reads dates, grades and scope from uploaded certificates as a suggestion, and scores what you enter. Accepting a document, approving a supplier and signing a specification are always done by someone on your team, and recorded against their name.
How it works
One network, from supplier to signed specification
Approve the supplier
Rate the supplier's risk and SupplierCore lists the documents it needs. One click emails the supplier a link to their own portal, where they upload certificates, answer your questionnaire and respond to corrective actions. Reminders go at 60, 30 and 7 days before anything expires.
Start from the right standard
Each raw material gets a code and a group, and the group brings its microbiological and chemical standard: Salmonella and aflatoxins for spices, mycotoxins for cereals, migration limits for food-contact packaging. Fifteen groups are built in. Copy one and set your own targets.
Agree the specification
A new specification starts from the material: its code, origin, allergens and standards are already filled in. It is versioned, approved by a second person and signed by the supplier, and every signature is bound to the exact content it approved.
Approve it for the material
A supplier goes on your approved list once. Then you approve them for each material, and SupplierCore checks that their approval is strong enough for that material's risk. The dashboard shows the whole network, and what is waiting at each step.
Screens captured from the running application. The companies, products and people shown are fictional.
Features
Built for the person who answers to the auditor
Requests that chase themselves
Ask for a certificate, insurance or allergen statement. Reminders go before expiry and when a request is overdue, and an accepted document closes the request.
Certificates read for you
Upload a GFSI certificate and the standard, grade, site, scope and dates are read from the PDF as a suggestion. A person confirms what goes on record.
A portal for your suppliers
Suppliers sign in by emailed link, with nothing to pay and no password to forget. They upload documents, answer questionnaires and sign specifications.
Full food specifications
Composition, allergens, dietary claims, nutrition, additives by E number, micro, chemical and physical standards, packaging and logistics, with completeness shown as you go.
One name for each ingredient
Tomato, tomatos and TOMATOES are saved as one listed name, with the allergens it usually brings offered for you to confirm. Searches still find the misspellings.
A trail that cannot be edited
Every change is recorded in a hash-chained audit trail, two-factor sign-in can be required for staff, and every register is a CSV away for your auditor.
BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9
Where each requirement lives
Show your auditor the clause, then the record.
| Clause | What it asks | In SupplierCore |
|---|---|---|
| 3.5.1.1 | A documented risk assessment of each raw material, reviewed at least annually | Seven hazards scored likelihood × severity, significance to quality, acceptance and testing; review within a year enforced |
| 3.5.1.2 | Supplier approval on certification, audit, or a questionnaire for low risk only | Approval basis recorded; medium and high-risk materials refused unless the supplier holds a valid certificate or audit |
| 3.5.1.4 | An up-to-date list of approved suppliers | The approved supplier register, one click to CSV |
| 3.5.2 | Raw material acceptance and testing based on risk | Certificate of analysis requirement, intake checks and testing plan set by each assessment |
| 3.6.1 | Specifications for raw materials and packaging, agreed with the supplier | Versioned specifications with supplier sign-off bound to the content |
| 3.6.3 | Specifications reviewed when products change, or at least every three years | Review interval per specification, with reminders |
| 5.4.2 | A food fraud vulnerability assessment of each raw material | History, economic drivers, ease of access, testing and nature of the material, with mitigation |
SupplierCore supports your supplier approval system; it does not certify it or guarantee an audit result.
Pricing
One price for your whole organisation
Priced by the number of sites, because one supplier list, one set of specifications and one approval serve all of them. VAT is not currently charged.
Every plan includes
- Everything in SupplierCore, for as many people as you need
- Unlimited suppliers, raw materials and specifications
- The supplier portal, free for your suppliers
- Certificate reading included
- Hosted in the UK and backed up every night
- Help by email from the team
No setup fee, no per-user or per-supplier charges
A food business with 40 suppliers and one with 400 pay the same. Pay by card through Stripe and we set up your account within one working day, then email your administrator a link to sign in. Cancel any time. By paying you agree to our Terms of Service and Data Processing Agreement.
More than ten sites? Talk to us.
I built SupplierCore after years of watching auditors pick one raw material and ask for its whole story. The answer was always in four places. Now it is one page.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How do I get started?
Choose the plan for your number of sites and pay by card. We set up your organisation within one working day and email your administrator a link to sign in. A guide on screen then takes you from your first supplier to your first approved specification.
Do my suppliers need to pay or create an account?
No. Suppliers use the portal free of charge and sign in with a link emailed to them. If they supply several SupplierCore customers, they can share one set of documents with each customer they choose.
Can I use SupplierCore alongside SafetyCore and AuditCore?
Yes. They are separate products built to the same standard by the same team. SafetyCore manages your HACCP plan, SupplierCore your supply base, AuditCore your internal audits. Buy whichever you need.
Are the micro and chemical standards legal advice?
No. The built-in standards are typical buying standards plus the legal limits that apply, as a starting point. Your technical team checks them against your HACCP plan and current legislation, then copies and adjusts them.
Does the certificate reading make decisions?
Never. What it reads from a certificate is a suggestion. A person checks the document and accepts or rejects it, and that decision is what goes on record.
How much does SupplierCore cost?
It is priced per organisation by the number of sites: £99 a month for 1 to 3 sites, £199 for 4 to 6 and £299 for 7 to 10, or ten times the monthly price for a year. Every plan includes unlimited users, suppliers, raw materials and specifications, the supplier portal, certificate reading, UK hosting with nightly backups, and help by email. There is no setup fee. VAT is not currently charged. For more than ten sites, talk to us.
Where is my data held?
In the UK. Each customer's data is kept apart at database level, so one organisation can never see another's suppliers, materials or specifications.
Approve your suppliers the connected way
Choose a plan, pay by card, and your account is ready within one working day.