What we check, and what we will not ship

Qualifying a manufacturer

Nothing gets listed until the plant clears four things. A current manufacturing licence under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, usually Form 25 or Form 28. A current GMP or WHO-GMP certificate with a number and an expiry date we can read. A site visit by someone from here, not a video call. And a look at how they handled their last customer complaint.

That fourth one tells you more than the first three. A plant that can produce a written investigation, a root cause and a corrective action for a complaint from two years ago has a working quality system. A plant that cannot find the file has certificates.

Incoming goods

Every delivery into the warehouse is checked against the purchase order and the manufacturer's dispatch documents: product, batch, quantity, manufacturing and expiry dates, pack integrity and the presence of the Certificate of Analysis. Anything with less than two-thirds of its shelf life remaining is rejected back to the plant unless there is a specific buyer instruction on file.

Damaged, mismatched or undocumented stock goes to a physically separate quarantine area, not a corner of the main racking. It is released by one named person or it is returned.

Storage controls

• General storage below 25 degrees Celsius, continuously monitored, with alarm callout outside working hours
• A separate qualified 2 to 8 degree room with backup generator and redundant compressor
• Annual temperature mapping, repeated after any change to racking or airflow
• Strict first expiry, first out picking, enforced by the stock system rather than by memory
• Pest control under contract with monthly reporting
• A locked area for controlled and high-value lines, with access logged

Batch documentation

Each consignment leaves with a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis from the manufacturing plant, tied to the batch numbers on the cartons. We keep goods-in records, storage temperature records and dispatch records against the order reference for five years, which is what lets us answer a question about a shipment from 2022 without guessing.

The full list of what we can supply, and what each document actually proves, is on the documentation library page.

Complaints and recalls

A written complaint is acknowledged within two working days. We ask for batch numbers, photographs and, where relevant, the analytical result and retained sample. It goes to the manufacturer with our own goods-in and storage records attached, so the investigation starts with facts rather than assertions.

If a recall is needed, we can identify every consignment that contained a given batch and who received it, because the batch is recorded against the order rather than just against the invoice. Adverse event reporting is covered under pharmacovigilance.

Our certifications

We publish these as data rather than as a strip of logos, with the issuing authority, certificate number, issue date and expiry date, so you can verify them. Most of this industry does not, and it is worth asking yourself why.

Open the certification register