One of the most recent advances in formula manufacturing compliance has been the advent of the Certificate of Origin. While this document has been around for years - starting in 2007 this document has taken on even more importance.
As United States companies increase their dependence on foreign suppliers the reliance on quality standards from remote locations also increases. Some countries will pay more attention to quality standards than others.
The Certificate of Origin provides at least a basic understanding the source of all components used to produce a product. Typically this report identifies the country and often the component in the formula. Data is captured by raw material components and the approved suppliers.
While this document does not speak directly to the quality of the product manufactured it does provide a basic understanding of the countries involved in the supply chain.
As more countries earn a reputation of lacking quality this document will be used by more companies in restricting approved suppliers.
As of the date of this entry very few applications actually address this compliance requirement. As time passes this document will become as standard as a Certificate of Analysis and should become a standard feature in most software.
If you are considering new formula managment and batch manufacturing software for your organization make sure it addresses this document. Automating this process will save you signifiant effort in the long run.
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2 comments:
I agree, COO, or Country of Origin along with or part of the Certificate of Analysis has been a hot topic with our customers over the past 18 months. Our system collects COO and COA documents electronically from suppliers allowing manufacturers to track where thier materials are coming from along with the respective quality.
We have food, beverage, oil, gum, battery, paint and tire manufacturers that are all watching COO information.
Now with the china issues with Lead and other chemicals, our traceability features have gotten even more interest. Our website is http://www.gsqa.com if you are interested.
It will be interesting to see how the ERP and manufacturing software vendors react to this growing issue.
It is another area where a link between supply chain and R&D/manufacturing is going to be critical. Attempting to track this information manually will become more of a burden as we move forward. This will be particularly true in the food world where many food processors rely on distributors to obtain raw materials.
It seems that the smaller manufacturing firms will have difficulty complying. It will be up the Tier II and Tier III software suppliers to bring an affordable standardized solution to a market where resources are limited.
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