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Quality4 min read

What we check before a consignment leaves us

A specification is only worth writing if something is checked against it. What we inspect, when, and what is recorded.

Fruit being sorted and graded by size and condition

Most quality disputes in agricultural supply are not really about quality. They are about two parties measuring against different documents, or against no document at all. The fix is unglamorous: agree the specification first, then check against it and record what was found.

Two checkpoints, not one

Product is inspected at intake, before it enters our handling, and again before it is dispatched. The intake check protects the consignment from something that was already wrong; the dispatch check protects the buyer from something that went wrong with us. A single check at the end cannot tell those two cases apart, which matters when you want to fix the cause.

What gets recorded

  • The specification the consignment was checked against
  • What was found, rather than only whether it passed
  • The lot identification, so a delivery can be traced back
  • Who carried out the check

Recording what was found rather than a pass mark is the part that earns its keep. Knowing a consignment met the specification is useful. Knowing it only just met it is what tells you something about the next one.

Next step

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