Spain has been a regular supplier to the Dutch market for many years. Suppliers are generally well certified and audited on a regular basis. Nevertheless, there is an ongoing need among retail and trading companies to maintain their own oversight. "Certification provides a solid foundation, but audits are only a snapshot, a moment in which everything appears slightly more polished than usual," says René Rombouts. "It is precisely in the periods between audits that you want to know what is really happening with your suppliers."
© AgriQA
René Rombouts
Key questions include how the use of inputs is developing, whether agreements regarding labour and accommodation are actually being followed, and to what extent audit reports reflect daily practice. Distance, language barriers, and local dynamics make it difficult for many companies to maintain continuous control.
AgriQA, led by René Rombouts and Leen Klaassen, addresses this through local audits and supplier visits in Spain. The company works with a network of experienced auditors with backgrounds in GlobalG.AP, GRASP, and PlanetProof, among others. "We use a digital portal based on checklists that we develop together with the buyer and validate against our experience of more than 20 years of inspections in Spain," says Klaassen. AgriQA supports certification bodies as well as retail and trading companies directly, and employs inspectors who speak Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.
© AgriQA
Leen Klaassen
For more information:
René Rombouts
AgriQA
Tel. NL: +31 649086552
Tel. SP: +34 616275925
[email protected]/[email protected]
www.agriqa.es
