By its own admission, GLOBALG.A.P. knows that their new IFA audit submission process through Audit Online Hub presents some pretty tough challenges for certification bodies. These challenges include:
Repeated data entry into internal databanks and the two GLOBALG.A.P. systems
Manual maintenance of each new version of auditor checklists
Additional consideration and work because no offline auditing is available
Difficulty keeping data up to date, including producer master data, product data, audit data, and more
Knowing that this new process might be problematic to certification bodies, GLOBALG.A.P. partnered with quality management software companies, including RizePoint, to directly interface with GLOBALG.A.P.’s systems. This approved partnership significantly softens all the challenges above and streamlines audit submissions for certification bodies.
Here’s why you should choose RizePoint to address not only Audit Online challenges, but to streamline your audit programs and increase revenue.
RizePoint has a purpose-built instance specifically for GLOBAL.G.A.P., and the solution comes with includes our entire audit management solution, from audit scheduling through submission. This means that submission via Audit Online becomes easier and more streamlined, but you also gain efficiencies for your team and reduce the number of tools your need to get the job done. This includes but is not limited to:
One-click digital audit submission to GLOBALG.A.P.
A world-class mobile auditing app with offline functionality (see number 6)
Pre-built IFA checklists that are updated with every IFA form change (see number 2)
Automated feedback reports produced minutes after an audit
Instant dashboard reporting built for your specific business needs
Corrective action management system with automated alerts
Our team updates IFA checklists for you when GLOBALG.A.P. makes any update to any requirement — big or small. You won’t have to worry whether or not your auditors are using the most up-to-date checklists. It’s all done for you, so you can spend more time on what’s most important to your business.
Our software is not only a good fit for GLOBALG.A.P. certifications, but it can also accommodate grower and producer self-assessments as well as marketing company and distributor audits. In other words, you’ll get a tool that can accommodate more than certification submissions. A multi-use solution that supports many programs saves you from bloating your tech stack, which saves time and money. Plus, our software and app are robust and flexible, which will help your business scale and grow when needed.
You can create a new revenue stream with RizePoint by reselling self-assessments and second-party audits in addition to certification audits.Offering more solutions to certification clients will help you add value and become stickier with clients.
You’ll gain access to our world-class, time-tested mobile auditing app, which modernizes and streamlines the auditing process. Mobile Auditor includes many features that help auditors save time as well as features that help you track auditor performance. These include:
Online and offline auditing so auditors can always get the job done
GPS and timestamp capabilities for auditor accountability
Image and video capture for audits and for rule verification in forms and checklists
Ability to search for and move to specific audit questions during an audit
Ability to query and view unanswered questions during an audit
RizePoint has supported auditing and quality management for top companies worldwide for over 22 years. We understand your auditing and certification needs.Plus, we’re here to support you throughout your relationship with RizePoint.
If you feel daunted by GLOBALG.A.P.’s new IFA audit submission process, we can help. RizePoint isn’t an “buy then buh-bye” company — our staff is dedicated to helping you every step of the way, from implementation to your next quality management, auditing, or growth project. To see the solution in action or to get your questions answered, please contact us at info@rizepoint.com or 888.313.7095.
The new GLOBALG.A.P. IFA digital submission requirements are here, and with everything 2020 has dealt us, we know these new requirements may have gotten pushed to the back of your mind. However, with the November 15 deadline approaching quickly, it’s time to get serious about deciding how you will deal with these new submission requirements.
In our conversations with certifying bodies, we know you’re:
Stressed about what the new requirements will mean,
Struggling to figure out how to work through your audit backlog, and
Not hitting profitability targets because of COVID-19 complications.
These worries make sense. It’s no secret that although Audit Online will make digital data records and multi-lingual capabilities better, the system introduces some new challenges. Audit Online requires a circuitous process involving multiple downloads, uploads, copying audits, duplicate data entry, reconciling control point answers, and verifications. Plus, auditors must have an internet connection, and you are never sure if they are using the current versions of checklists.
Fortunately, GLOBALG.A.P. has partnered with software providers like RizePoint to interface with their system and simplify the process (and solve those problems you’re stressing about). I could talk all day about the ways RizePoint will make the new submission requirements easier, but I’ll give you just the highlights:
Enter data once and the API integration pushes it everywhere required
Offline auditing capabilities
Checklists and forms are always up to date
Intuitively guides auditors into accurate, consistent application of standards
Search feature and unanswered question toggles make it easy for question flow to match auditor workflow
Dashboards with role-based permissions to analyze audit results and auditor performance
Corrective action tools with change logs and clear next steps
Ability to generate revenue through reselling
In my former work as the co-owner of a certifying body, this choice would be a no-brainer. Using a provider integrated with GLOBALG.A.P. could mean the difference in doing two or maybe even two and a half audits in the time it would otherwise take to do one. If you’re trying to catch up on the backlog without hiring pricy contractors, you need a provider that will help your auditors carry out efficient, accurate audits.
As I like to tell people, implementation sucks. But you’re going to have to implement something new anyway, so why not go through the effort for something that really works and helps you out?
You also have the ability to turn audits into a revenue-generating activity. Whether it’s a self-audit before Option 1 audits or practice assessments before Option 2 audits, you can sell GLOBALG.A.P. IFA audits to producers or roll the costs into your admin fee to more than offset the costs of a software provider. This not only helps producers better prepare for your auditors, but the reporting capabilities let auditors walk through the gaps in self assessments and the annual audit with your customers to help them improve.
Don’t take my word for it, check out what GLOBAL.G.A.P. thinks about us.
“For those who might not have started yet, I strongly recommend starting right now. Now’s the time, there are less than two months left, and it’s not a minor change. That’s also something we are transparent on. It will take some time and yeah, we want to make it a smooth as possible. And I think with partners like RizePoint, it’s possible.”
-Leonard Jansen, Assurance Data Services Project Manager at GLOBALG.A.P
What Next?
With the November deadline looming, the most important thing you need to do now is decide how you will maintain compliance with the new submission requirements. Whether you decide to work in the Audit Online platform, or choose someone like RizePoint to make your life easier with an integration, you still need time to familiarize yourself with the system, train auditors, and give them practice time to work out any hitches.
Get a good overview of the differences between Audit Online and RizePoint’s Mobile Auditor tool
Learn more about what the digital submission requirements will mean for your team
Walk through a step-by-step timeline of what you need to do between now and November 13 to be ready
Watch now, and email me at matt.regusci@rizepoint.com if you have any questions or more Audit Online worries. I’d love to help you transition to the GLOBALG.A.P. digital submission requirements without disruption.
Hopefully everyone knows by now that GLOBALG.A.P., a trademark and a set of standards for good agricultural practice, is changing their IFA audit submission process on Nov. 15, 2020. But what hasn’t necessarily been clear is why they’re making the change and how it benefits the process and certification bodies (CBs). We at RizePoint wanted to help answer that question, so we spoke to Leonard Jansen, Assurance Data Services Project Manager at GLOBALG.A.P, to find out about the audit submission change and other changes the company is working on for the future.
Question: GLOBALG.A.P. has been around for decades, and you’ve had the same registration and certification database almost the entire time. Audit Online, that’s a big change. So, what made GLOBALG.A.P. decide to make that change? And what were some of the reasons and drivers behind that decision?
Answer: GLOBALG.A.P. is strongly member-driven in regards good agricultural practices. That means different stakeholders from several parts of the market in the food industry are members in our network. And they are basically the drivers behind every development at GLOBALG.A.P. Particularly in this case, it is important to note that the market feeds the demand — retailers, producers, and suppliers — all have a say and understandably shape the direction together with GLOBALG.A.P. This is also one of the many reasons to introduce Audit Online. This allows us to be more transparent on the processes alongside the reporting that have been taking place for decades. So, we came to the conclusion and to the decision to finally set up a system that would allow certification bodies to deliver the same data in a more sufficient way.
Question: Got it. So, your stakeholders were looking for the ability to utilize that data?
Answer: Exactly. So, what we want to do with the data, is to not only having a place for evidence, like has been done before. We want to go one step further and want to also analyze this data internally in order to enhance the auditing experience furthermore. At the same time, there are multiple ways [to use the data]. You can imagine how we can utilize that for CBs. For instance, Audit Online would deliver insights towards CBs for further follow-up on own statistics. This also applies to other stakeholders in the market as well.
Question: So, what do you think the benefits of this change are be both for you at GLOBALG.A.P. and for the certification bodies, when you do this new Audit Online program?
Answer: Well, I highly believe for us at GLOBALG.A.P., one of the biggest advantages is the ability to further improve our standards based on data, to thusly have more validation points.
For instance, imagine a control point that is asked the same way in different countries. If the data confirms that this control point would have been always answered with not applicable, we would then have the ability now to see exactly this and thus act in where applicable. Using Audit Online as an analyzing tool, will streamline the process of crafting and maintaining our standards within the market tremendously.
So, that’s one of the primary targets for us in GLOBALG.A.P., but it’s of course not only for us. We also want to give the CBs the opportunity to gain more insights on their performance to get more detailed into: How many producers do you have? How are all your auditors performing? How are you compared to others in the market? That kind of stuff is what we are envisioning in the long-term.
For those who might not have started yet, I strongly recommend starting right now. Now’s the time, there are less than two months left, and it’s not a minor change. That’s also something we are transparent on. It will take some time and yeah, we want to make it a smooth as possible. And I think with partners like RizePoint, it’s possible.
Question: I 100 percent agree. It was very difficult as a former GLOBALG.A.P. CB when I was not collecting all that information and putting it on the audit. I almost feel like I was in a silo.
I love that GLOBALG.A.P. is very transparent to the CBs about some of the complexities that are going to happen with the new Audit Online tool, and I really appreciate that. When you’re thinking about what the CBs need to do in order to meet these new expectations for your audit online tool, do you have any tips on how the CBs should be preparing for that November 15 deadline?
Answer: Well, first of all I must say, yes; we are and want to be very transparent. Obviously it does not help at all if you make it a secret, especially if there is a lot of work to do. We all know it. And this is also why we started informing about this change more than one year ago in order to make sure that the transition period is as smooth as possible.
It is indeed not short-term information where people quickly adapt, especially in these times of COVID-19. I highly believe that everyone is appreciating the given time to test it, including our efforts to react to all the feedback we are receiving.
How can you make sure that you can adapt by November? It’s starting as soon as possible.
For those who might not have started yet, I strongly recommend starting right now. Now’s the time, there are less than two months left, and it’s not a minor change. That’s also something we are transparent on. It will take some time and yeah, we want to make it a smooth as possible. And I think with partners like RizePoint, it’s possible.
Question: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Answer: I can also elaborate on other projects we are working on for the future. Many people know our database. The good news is, we are about to do a major upgrade on the database. It will also not be called database anymore as it will be a new approach from a systematic perspective. This will also allow us even more things to do to make deeper connections.
So, it will be a service which will deliver data. Therefore, it’s no longer just a single-entry point where all data flows in. We are working on a microservices approach. Back then, people who entered their data, they only looked at the path which was relevant for them. A CB on the other hand wanted to look into the bookmarking data, but a retailer doesn’t need to have that functionality and visibility that CBs have on their same system. It’s just confusing and not targeted.
So, this a sneak-peak in our approach in our endeavor, which makes audit online the first touch-point for the data entries with easier usage and high-performance, by being transparent on which data originally comes from as well as where its heading.
As of 01/10/2020 RizePoint is one of three GLOBALG.A.P. certified software partners put in place to help simplify the new audit submission process. To see the difference when you choose RizePoint, click here.
