In Practice: Bidfood
How do organizations get started with Certifeye? We regularly ask this question to users of our platform. Today in the spotlight: Bidfood. They work with Certifeye since 2023 and were happy to share their experiences through the lens of the wholesaler for the food professional.
With Certifeye, Bidfood Gains Certainty and Quality.
‘Chain partners and auditors are increasingly asking for information that shows certain procedures include certified suppliers. We must be able to demonstrate that we have our files sorted out. We have achieved that certainty and quality with Certifeye.’
These are the words of Sander Bijlsma, Purchasing project manager at catering wholesaler Bidfood. He says that Certifeye saves the organization a lot of time. His department does business with more than 1,000 suppliers. They supply everything needed in Dutch catering and healthcare kitchens to prepare and store food. From fresh and frozen products to kitchen equipment.
Automated Request Processing and Document Management
Requesting, checking and managing all information we got from the chain took a lot of time. Sander: ‘We then started looking at how to organize that process differently and ended up with Certifeye. This means that requesting and managing the documents is now automatic. If a certificate expires, the application immediately sends a notification to suppliers.’
Certificates at Company and Article Level
‘We expect our suppliers to meet quality requirements that apply in the field of food safety and are laid down in IFS, BRC, FSSC and ISO standards, among others. Bidfood also deals with products that have a quality mark. Together we need an estimated 3,000 certificates. These are mainly certificates at company level. I expect that certificates will also be required at article level in the future.’
The Certifeye Wallet
Bidfood offers chain partners its own certificates via the Certifeye Wallet. Anyone can use this online tool for free. Sander: ‘Customers and relations can directly access the documents that we make available through the Wallet. This leads to positive reactions.
The food industry is not yet very familiar with Certifeye. In that respect, we at Bidfood play a pioneering role. Large retailers may have their own system, but there are many parties in the country that can benefit from Certifeye.’
Questions Answered with Questionnaires
Sander experiments with questionnaires that he creates and sends to customers in Certifeye. ‘Using the lists, we check the internal guidelines of our suppliers and indicate what we expect from them. We include this information in our procedures and processes. This way we demonstrate that we work with certified suppliers who meet our requirements.’
Exchanging Information in Business Processes
Sharing information about sustainably or unsustainably produced items, product specification processes, environmental footprints, but also social conditions and supplier assessments has taken off enormously. The trend requires a vision and recalibration of business processes.
How does Bidfood deal with this?
Sander: ‘The demand for data is increasing. To keep up with this development, you need a good system that will help you ensure meeting quality requirements. A few years ago, the guideline for working with a new supplier was not so clearly formulated and we mainly looked at what other companies the supplier delivered to.’
Looking for a Long-term Solution
‘I think it is good for the chain to establish a basis for the way information can be shared and stored. Transparency is necessary to work well together throughout the chain. ‘
