Woolworths Supplier Excellence (WSE)

Woolworths Supplier Excellence (WSE)

Benchmarking the Woolworths Supplier Excellence program against global product safety standards and international retailing best practice 

Benchmarking the Woolworths Supplier Excellence program against global product safety standards and international retailing best practice 
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Woolworths Supplier Excellence (WSE)

The Woolworths Supplier Excellence (WSE) Standard represents benchmarking of the Woolworths Supplier Excellence Program against global product safety standards and international retailing best practice. This standard applies to businesses which have been nominated by the respective Woolworths Business Teams as part of the contractual requirements for supply. This program is by Woolworths’ invitation only and no Supplier can formally engage in any part of the Woolworths Supplier Excellence Program process without Woolworths’ consent.

BSI is an approved WSE Certification Body, with a large team of experts across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, USA, UK and Europe. We are trained and available to audit against WSE requirements for Certification, Surveillance and Recertification purposes as well as conducting gap audits and increase in scope audits.

Where possible we can combine audits, so that we are able to deliver a professional audit experience in the shortest time possible and meet your compliance requirements.

The certification scope will be specific for:

  • The products the Woolworths Business Team have nominated you to supply
  • The individual premises from which these products are supplied

Apart from the Food Manufacturing Requirements and Code of Practices, Woolworths also has other standards such as:

  • Industry Supply Chain Service Providers: The scope of the Industry Standard for Supply Chain covers all Service Providers where there is no open product handling (other than for sampling procedures or whole, loose produce) at any point in the supply chain. This includes: Storage/Warehousing, Transportation, Customs/Quarantine, Freight Forwarding, Agents/Brokers and Wholesalers.
  • Industry Standard Service Providers: The scope of the Industry Standard for Service Providers covers all Suppliers including Brokers and Traders where there is no open product handling (other than for sampling procedures) and the associated Storage, Customs, Quarantine, Warehousing and Transportation at any point in the supply chain.
  • Endeavour Drinks Group Quality Standard: This standard is specific for liquor suppliers.
  • Supplier Excellence General Requirements Consumer Goods General Merchandise and Non Trade Standard: Refers to all general merchandise, packaging products, health, beauty, household, non food grocery, formulated non food products, and where applicable non trade products.
  • Pet Food Standard

As determined by Woolworths, Suppliers will be required to achieve and maintain certification to the Woolworths Supplier Excellence Program, in addition to any existing regulatory or voluntary audits that may be currently in place (including import/export protocols, where applicable).

How often will I be audited under the WSE program?

The WSE Certification Audit process will be ongoing, and associated audits will be carried out on a frequency determined by the type of certification the business has such as GFSI and audit outcomes.

 

Latest Update

New Woolworths Supplier Excellence Program Version 2 for Food is to be auditable from the 1 March 2019. The five key areas of change include: Formatting of the Standard, Management of Food Allergen Code of Practice, High Care Code of Practice and Woolworths Product Requirements Code of Practice. Latest Code of Practice for Food Safety Culture was issued on the 1 Aug 2019 and it is auditable from 1 Nov 2019.

Additionally, Woolworths have improved their introduction and explanation document, frequently asked questions and Introduced Code of Practice & Industry Standards Guidance Matrix for all their suppliers, all available here.

 

Woolworths Responsible Sourcing Program

The Responsible Sourcing Program is framed by Woolworth’s Responsible Sourcing Policy which outline Woolworths’ commitment to upholding the human rights of the workers in their supply chain. Woolworths Responsible Sourcing Standards are a key way that Woolworths implements the Policy commitments. They include comprehensive criteria on business integrity, labour rights, fair and safe working conditions and environmental compliance.

Recognizing many of their suppliers are already a part of a social compliance audit program, Woolworths will now accept a number of third party social compliance schemes, replacing the Woolworths Ethical Audit Program. As an approved Certification Body, BSI can support you to comply with the criteria set out in the Responsible Sourcing Standards by conducting Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex)’s SMETA audits.

Why BSI?

The food industry impacts every person on the planet. Though what the world’s population may eat may differ depending on the geography, wealth, age, gender and availability of goods, no other sector plays such a vital role in all of our day-today lives and culture. Economically, food represents 10% of global GDP (valued at US$48 trillion by the World Bank).

But the food sector also faces significant challenges. Each year, food-borne illness makes one in ten people ill and is the cause of death for millions around the world. Population growth projections and an increasing middle class suggest that the demand for food will increase 70% by 2050. And, consumers are increasingly conscious about what goes into their food, how it’s made, its impact on ecosystems and where it comes from.

BSI believes the world deserves food that is safe, sustainable and socially responsible. We support the food sector by developing and publishing standards of best practice, supply chain solutions as well as training and certification to not only the most popular food safety standards, but other business improvement standards that work together to make organizations more resilient.

Working in 172 countries, we pride ourselves on the expertise, integrity and professionalism of our people. Our mission is to help our 80,000 clients, ranging from high-profile global brands to small local companies, survive and prosper in today’s world.