Your suppliers do the paperwork. You keep every decision.
Supplier approval for food manufacturers. Suppliers upload their certificates and specifications to their own portal, and Qualanta checks each one against your rules so your team only sees the failures and the decisions.
A Libra Europe product
Today
3 for you
- Review
Certificate scope does not cover the material
Exception · BRCGS Food Safety
- Query
Sub-component has no country of origin
Exception · Specification v2
- Decide
Supplier ready for an approval decision
Decision · Risk band Low
- Chase
Questionnaire not started
Onboarding task · overdue
The supplier file is usually an inbox and a spreadsheet.
Certificates arrive as email attachments, and their expiry dates sit in a spreadsheet until someone remembers to look.
Without Qualanta
With Qualanta
Chasing suppliers by email
Reminders go out 60, 30 and 7 days before a document expires, and every 3 days once a task is overdue.
Re-keying certificates by hand
The system reads type, dates, grade and scope from each certificate, and a person confirms what it found.
A spreadsheet of expiry dates
A nightly check of every expiry, review date, concession and due date, with a record of what it did.
Evidence spread across inboxes
Every decision and every email kept on the record it is about, word for word.
The same questions, every year
A valid certificate answers the questionnaire questions it covers, and the supplier keeps one profile for every customer.
Specifications as loose PDFs
Specifications completed as structured records, with every gap against your requirements listed.
Only what fails reaches you.
New supplier: onboarding
Documents checked as they arrive, then the risk assessment
- BRCGS Food Safety certificateWaiting to be checkedChecking: Type, expiry, grade, scopeGrade AA, in date
- HACCP summaryWaiting to be checkedChecking: Type, issue dateAccepted
- Allergen handling statementWaiting to be checkedChecking: Required for this supplier typeMissing: exception raised
- Public liability insuranceWaiting to be checkedChecking: Type, expiryExpires in 54 days: reminders set
Supplier risk assessment
Pre-filled, scored 1 to 3
- Accreditation status1
- Service history1
- Number of products2
- Physical risk2
- Allergen risk2
- Vulnerability status1
- Channel1
- Supplier location1
- Ethical considerations1
Each document is read as it arrives
Type, expiry, grade and scope are checked against what this type of supplier has to provide.
Four steps from invite to approval, and who acts at each
The same steps run again at each periodic review, and for every new material source.
- 01You
Invite the supplier
Say what they will supply and which of your sites they serve, and Qualanta sends the invite.
In detail
- A buyer or the technical team raises the request: company, contact, supplier type, what they supply and the sites they serve.
- If the company is already on Qualanta it is linked, not duplicated.
- The invite email is shown to you before it is sent, and the onboarding tasks are set up for that type of supplier: manufacturing site, agent or service provider.
- 02Supplier
They enter the data
From an emailed link, on a phone or at a desk, the supplier fills in what you need.
In detail
- They confirm company, sites and contacts, then sign each of your policies that applies to them.
- They complete your questionnaire. Questions a valid certificate already answers are filled in from it and linked, so only the rest are asked.
- They upload the documents you require. Agents link the manufacturing sites they supply through.
- 03System
Qualanta checks, scores and chases
Every document is checked, every risk is scored, and late suppliers are chased without anyone asking.
In detail
- Each document is checked for type, expiry, grade and scope. Each failed check becomes one exception, with the evidence beside it.
- The supplier risk assessment is pre-filled from what the supplier has given, and banded by your scoring.
- Reminders, overdue chasers and escalations to the owner go out on their own, and each one is logged.
- 04You
You decide
Your team reviews only the exceptions, then approves, sets conditions, asks for more or rejects.
In detail
- Accept, query or override each exception. A query reaches the supplier as a task; an override needs a reason.
- Approval authority follows the risk band: high risk needs the technical manager.
- Conditions of approval become scheduled obligations. Approved supply goes on the Approved Supply List with its band and next review date.
From a failed check to an approval
Exception · BRCGS Food Safety certificate
Scope does not name the material suppliedScope covers the material: check passed
Query the supplierAcceptOverride with reasonSupplier portal · a task, due in 5 days
Answer a query about the certificate scopeRevised certificate uploaded and read
SupplierDecision · risk band Low, so a compliance or technical manager may approve
ApproveWith conditionsRequest infoRejectOn the Approved Supply List
ApprovedRisk band LowNext review in 3 years
Your team queries the exception
Accept it, query it, or override it with a reason. A query goes to the supplier as a task.
Suppliers answer from their phone
A supplier signs in from the emailed link and sees one job per screen, next task first. Their profile and certificates are kept once and shared with the customers they choose.
- Confirm your company and sitesDone
- Sign the supplier policyDone
- Upload your BRCGS certificateDue in 3 days
- Complete the questionnaireDue in 10 days
Questions your certificate already answers are filled in for you.
The Approved Supply List, built from the records
Only approved, in-date suppliers and material sources appear, each with its risk band and next review date. When a certificate lapses with no replacement, the source drops off. Export it to Excel or PDF for an audit.
Approved Supply List
ExcelPDF| Material | Route | Band | Next review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basmati rice | Via an agent · 2 sites | Medium | Mar 2028 |
| Tomato paste | Direct · 1 site | Low | Jun 2029 |
| Retort pouch film | Direct · 1 site | Low | Jan 2029 |
| Spice blend | Direct · 1 site | High | Nov 2027 |
| Rapeseed oil | Direct · 1 site | Low | Sep 2029 |
From the first invite to the annual review
Each of these is a structured record, so reports and audit packs are printed from it.
Onboarding and approval
The supplier fills in their side, and your team approves from the same record.
In detail
- Company details, sites, signed policies, the questionnaire and required documents, entered by the supplier.
- Decisions: approve, approve with conditions, request more information, or reject. The decision email is shown before it is sent.
- Each manufacturing site behind an agent is risk-assessed and approved in its own right, with its own status, review date and conditions.
Risk assessments
Supplier, raw material and vulnerability assessments, pre-filled and banded by your scoring.
In detail
- Supplier risk: sections scored 1 to 3, with a total that sets the band. Red-flag sections in your template force high risk whatever the total.
- Raw material risk: food safety, integrity, commercial, ethical and security of supply, each banded. Medium and high categories need mitigations.
- Vulnerability: likelihood, detectability and profitability give a priority number and a band.
- Pre-filled where the data already exists: agent route, SEDEX membership, spend, volume, product count and allergens handled. The band sets the next review date.
Specifications
Versioned specifications, completed by the supplier and signed by both sides.
In detail
- The 14 UK allergens, each marked contains, may contain or free; sub-components with percentage and country of origin; chemical, physical and microbiological limits; claims, species, shelf life and storage.
- Compared with your requirements, with every gap listed as a check. Queries go to the supplier and close when answered.
- Accepted specifications are locked. Any change creates a new version and reopens review, and the material source shows it is under change.
Concessions
Temporary deviations from specification that end on time.
In detail
- Each concession carries a reason, the deviation, an end date and an approver.
- It is active until its end date, flagged in the week before, and closes on its own.
Monitoring and periodic review
Expiries, review dates and due dates are checked every night.
In detail
- Suppliers are reminded 60, 30 and 7 days before a document expires, and every 3 days once a task is overdue. After 7 days overdue the customer owner is told.
- With no accepted replacement, an expired document expires the supplier or material source, and it appears on Today.
- On each review date the review opens with its tasks: confirm details, re-sign changed policies, confirm specifications, renew documents.
Non-conformances
Raise an issue at a desk or on a phone at the line, and see it through to close.
In detail
- Severity sets the response due date: minor, major or critical.
- The supplier responds with containment, root cause, corrective and preventive action, and evidence. You accept it or return it with comments, then close it once verified.
- Two or more major non-conformances in 12 months prompt a review of the supplier risk assessment.
Approved Supply List
Only approved, in-date supply, ready to export.
In detail
- Approved suppliers, sites and material sources, each with risk band, status and next review date.
- Exports to Excel and PDF.
A full audit trail
Every email and every change, kept on the record it belongs to.
In detail
- Every email the platform sends is logged word for word on the record it is about.
- Every change is recorded with who made it, what changed and when, and cannot be edited.
- Reports on demand: compliance status, overdue items, the risk register, supplier scorecards, and a supplier record printed as an audit pack.
Answers for a technical director weighing Qualanta up
Who in our team uses it?
Technical managers make final approvals and own the risk. Compliance managers run approvals and review exceptions.
Technical admins look after specifications, documents and chasing, buyers request new suppliers and materials, and QA raises non-conformances from a desk or on a phone at the line.
What does starting involve?
Your existing suppliers, materials and Approved Supply List come in from spreadsheets, with a column-mapping step.
You set your questionnaires, policies, risk scoring, thresholds and approval authority once in Settings, then give Qualanta an email address for each supplier.
Does the AI approve anything?
No. It reads uploaded certificates and suggests the document type, issue and expiry dates, certifying body, grade and scope. A person confirms every field.
Approval decisions are always made by a person, and high risk needs the technical manager.
Will our suppliers really use another portal?
They sign in from a link in the email, with no password to remember, and it works on a phone.
Each screen asks for one thing, and questions a valid certificate already answers are filled in for them.
A supplier also works with another manufacturer. What can they see?
A supplier’s profile and certificates exist once, and the supplier chooses what to share with each customer.
Your view of the supplier (approval status, risk assessments, non-conformances and notes) belongs to you and is never visible to their other customers.
Can we keep our own scoring and approval rules?
Questionnaires, risk templates, red-flag sections, thresholds and approval authority are set per customer.
By default, low and medium risk can be approved by the compliance or technical manager; high risk needs the technical manager.
What about the supplier list we already have?
Existing suppliers, materials and your Approved Supply List can be imported from spreadsheets, with a column-mapping step, and existing documents can be filed against them.
What do we show an auditor?
The Approved Supply List, the risk register and compliance reports, exported to Excel or PDF, and any supplier record printed as an audit pack.
Behind them sits a full history of who changed what and when, and every email sent, word for word.
Who emails our suppliers, and what do they say?
Emails go out in your name, sent via Qualanta, and you see invites and decisions before they are sent.
Every email is logged on the record it is about, so you can always read exactly what a supplier was told.
Does it connect to our ERP?
Not yet. Spend, volume and product counts are entered by hand today.
A link to Sage X3 is on the list for a later version.
Where is our data held?
The application and its database run in London.
Can our team practise without touching live records?
Yes. Training mode lets people walk through the work with nothing touching live records and no email sent.
Talk to us about how you approve suppliers.
Tell us how you approve suppliers today, and we will walk you through Qualanta working the same way.
Talk to Libra about Qualanta
Qualanta is built and supported by Libra Europe, and we will take your team through it.