BRCGS · Storage and Distribution · Agents and Brokers
BRCGS Storage and Distribution certification and Agents and Brokers, for every link between the producer and the shelf.
Warehouses, hauliers, importers and traders are audited to the same retail-grade expectations as the factories they serve. Sterling's expert and experienced consultants help you pick the right BRCGS standard and scope, build the controls into daily operations and prepare your team for the audit by a BRCGS-approved certification body, with offices in 21 countries. We ensure successful certification for our clients.
- Fixed scope, one proposal: consulting, Effivity software, Sterling Academy access and internal auditor training, as applicable to your standard, in one proposal
- A team of expert and experienced food safety and supply chain consultants, with BRCGS schemes consulting delivered across sectors and countries since 2003
- The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements. Sterling does not certify; a BRCGS-approved certification body audits and decides
8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries.
BRCGS client experience
What it is
What are BRCGS Storage and Distribution and BRCGS Agents and Brokers?
They are two Global Standards owned by BRCGS that close the gaps a manufacturing certificate leaves open. A factory can be certified to BRCGS Food Safety, yet the product still passes through a cold store, a cross-dock, a lorry and often a trader's hands before a retailer receives it. Storage and Distribution covers the physical handling of products once they leave production. Agents and Brokers covers businesses that trade, import or arrange the movement of products without manufacturing, processing or storing them in their own facilities.
The dividing line is simple. If your people and premises touch the goods, you are looking at Storage and Distribution, with a full, storage-only, distribution-only or transport-only scope and optional modules such as e-commerce, cross-docking and wholesale. If you own or broker the goods but a third party holds them, Agents and Brokers is the fit, and its weight falls on supplier approval, product safety risk, legality and traceability back to the manufacturer. Both apply to food, packaging and consumer products, and both appear on GFSI's list of recognised certification programmes.
Current editions. BRCGS Global Standard for Storage and Distribution Issue 4, published in October 2020, with audits against it from 1 May 2021; BRCGS Global Standard for Agents and Brokers Issue 3. BRCGS position statements for both standards took effect on 10 August 2026, and no new issue of either had been announced on brcgs.com at the end of September 2026.
Who it is for
Who needs BRCGS Storage and Distribution or Agents and Brokers certification?
Third-party logistics providers, chilled and frozen stores, own-account distribution centres, hauliers, wholesalers, importers, export agents and trading houses all end up here. The certificate's scope should name the operations and product categories you really handle, and the sites that carry them. Most enquiries start from one of four places:
- A retailer or brand owner puts it in the contract. Many food and consumer-goods customers expect every supplier in their chain to hold a GFSI-recognised certificate, including the warehouse and the importer, not only the factory.
- A tender for logistics or supply names BRCGS. Confirm which standard, scope and modules the tender expects before planning, so the certificate matches the services you are bidding for.
- A regulator or importing market asks for traceability you cannot yet show. Import controls and food-safety authorities want to see who supplied what, when and under which checks; a BRCGS system makes that record routine.
- A group company or manufacturing parent is already certified. The parent holds BRCGS Food Safety or Packaging Materials, and the group wants its distribution arm or sourcing office audited to the same family of standards.
The certificate records that an approved body found your operation conforming on the day. The lasting value comes from controls your team keeps running between audits.
Requirements
What are the BRCGS Storage and Distribution requirements?
Storage and Distribution Issue 4 is organised in numbered sections, with voluntary additional modules after the core. Agents and Brokers Issue 3 is shorter and centres on management accountability, a risk-based product safety programme, a quality management system, legal compliance and chain of custody, with particular attention to importing. The map below gives the section titles in plain language; your system is assessed against the full wording of the applicable issue during the programme.
- Section 1 Senior management commitment: leadership sets the product safety culture, provides resources and reviews the system.
- Section 2 Hazard and risk analysis: a documented assessment of what can go wrong in storage and transit, and the controls that prevent it.
- Section 3 Product safety and quality management system: documents, records, supplier and subcontractor approval, traceability, complaints, incidents and product withdrawal.
- Section 4 Site and building standards: the fabric, layout and security of the premises where products are held.
- Section 5 Vehicle operating standards: the condition, cleanliness, temperature control and loading of the vehicles that move products.
- Section 6 Facility management: cleaning, maintenance, pest control and waste across the site.
- Section 7 Good operating practices: receipt, storage, stock rotation, dispatch and the control of product condition throughout.
- Section 8 Personnel: training, hygiene, protective clothing and personnel facilities.
- Section 9 Handling of open food products: extra controls where unwrapped food such as produce, meat or fish is handled.
- Additional modules: voluntary requirements for services such as wholesale, cross-docking, e-commerce, contract packing, inspection and waste management.
What does useful BRCGS logistics and trading evidence look like?
Temperature records from stores and vehicles with the action taken on every excursion, goods-in checks, stock rotation, cleaning and pest reports, vehicle inspections, supplier approval files with certificates checked for scope and expiry, and a traceability test that follows a customer's delivery back to the supplier. For an agent or broker, the weight is on the supplier file and the paper trail. We help decide which records each activity needs, and they sit in Effivity from the start so the auditor sees a system in use.
Certification process
How do you get BRCGS Storage and Distribution certified?
The route is the same in outline for both standards: build the system, run it, then invite a BRCGS-approved certification body to audit it. Sterling prepares your operation and stays with you through the audit; the certification body's independent reviewer decides whether a certificate is issued, and at which grade.
- 01Choose the standard, scope and modules.Storage and Distribution or Agents and Brokers; full, storage, distribution or transport scope; the product categories and any additional modules your customers ask for.
- 02Gap analysis against the current issue.Premises, vehicles, the hazard and risk analysis, supplier files and records are reviewed against the standard, and actions agreed with owners and dates.
- 03Implement and build the records.Controls are put to work, people trained and records kept across shifts, sites and vehicles until they show a consistent pattern.
- 04Internal audit, traceability test and audit programme.We audit the system and test traceability; you select a BRCGS-approved body from the BRCGS Directory and agree an announced or unannounced programme.
- 05The certification audit and decision.The body's registered auditor audits the site; non-conformities are closed with evidence, and the body's independent review grants or declines certification and sets the grade.
Check the route before you sign. BRCGS requires certificates to be issued by a BRCGS-approved certification body that is accredited to ISO/IEC 17065 by a national accreditation body. Confirm the body's approval for your standard and product categories, ask for the proposed scope in writing, and check sites and certificates on the BRCGS Directory. An offer of a certificate without an audit by an approved body is not BRCGS certification.
Cost
How much does BRCGS Storage and Distribution certification cost?
BRCGS states that it does not set the audit fee; each site agrees its rate with the certification body it chooses. The consulting side varies just as widely, because a single ambient store and a multi-depot chilled network with its own fleet are very different programmes. Every component of a Sterling proposal is visible, and nothing is added later.
| Cost component | What affects it |
|---|---|
| Consulting and implementation | The standard and scope chosen, number of sites and vehicles, product categories, modules, current maturity and how much work your team takes on (Design™ or Drive™) |
| Independent certification | The certification body's audit duration, driven by employee numbers, facility size and complexity; travel; the re-audit interval set by your grade; and an official copy of the Standard |
| Internal resources | Warehouse, transport and quality team time, training, temperature monitoring, and any building, racking, vehicle or pest-control work the gap analysis identifies |
| Software and learning | Included in a Sterling engagement: Effivity for the system and Sterling Academy access for your people, with users, courses and access period confirmed in the proposal |
| Continued support | Internal audits, traceability tests, unannounced-audit readiness, refresher training and future issues of the standard under Sustain™ |
What moves the price
- Number of sites, depots and vehicles, and whether transport is subcontracted
- Temperature-controlled, open-food or high-value products in scope
- Additional modules such as e-commerce, cross-docking or wholesale
- How much of a documented system and supplier file exists today
- The customer deadline, and the capacity of your own team
What a Sterling proposal always shows
- Deliverables, responsibilities, assumptions and exclusions, in writing
- Certification-body fees identified separately, so the full programme cost is comparable
- Effivity, training and Academy access itemised at no additional cost
- Payment milestones tied to deliverables, not to the calendar
- One all-inclusive proposal. No surprises, ever
Timeline
How long does BRCGS Storage and Distribution certification take?
Plan in months. Our working estimate is four to eight months for a storage and distribution site and three to six months for an agent or broker, depending on the state of the premises and fleet, the supplier file and how quickly records build up. The auditor will want to see controls that have been operating, not just written.
| Phase | What determines the pace |
|---|---|
| Scope and gap analysis | Access to sites, vehicles, customer specifications, supplier files and existing records |
| Premises, fleet and system build | Building, racking or vehicle works, the hazard and risk analysis, supplier approval and training |
| Records and review | Temperature, cleaning, pest and stock records over enough weeks and shifts, then internal audit and a traceability test |
| Certification audit | The approved body's availability, the audit programme chosen and the time to close non-conformities with evidence |
Tell us the customer or tender date at the outset. We will say plainly whether it is achievable and which decisions need making early; a date promised before anyone has walked your site is guesswork.
Your engagement
What your BRCGS Storage and Distribution or Agents and Brokers engagement includes
Sterling OS™ runs the engagement in phases. You choose one of two support levels: Design™, where our consultants guide and your team does the building, or Drive™, where we manage the work with your people. Either way the system runs in Effivity (Automate™), and after certification Sustain™ keeps it audit-ready between re-audits.
Scope confirmation, gap analysis and plan
The right BRCGS standard, scope and modules, with actions, owners and dates agreed before work starts.
Hazard and risk analysis and procedures
Built with your warehouse, transport and sourcing people around how products actually move.
Effivity ISO & GRC software
Records, supplier files and actions in Effivity from day one, included with the engagement at no additional cost.
Training for everyone
Internal auditor training for your audit team, as applicable to your standard, and preferential Sterling Academy access, including complimentary awareness training for your people as part of the engagement.
Internal audit and traceability testing
Conducted or facilitated as agreed, with findings closed with evidence before the certification body arrives.
Audit readiness and support
Preparation for the audit programme you choose, and support until the certification body issues its decision.
Sterling does not certify; the BRCGS-approved certification body audits your operation and makes the certification decision.
Often combined with
Standards organisations pair with BRCGS Storage and Distribution · Agents and Brokers
- AEOAuthorised Economic Operator (AEO) readiness: what customs examines, who can apply and how Sterling prepares your controls and evidence for the customs visit.
- BRCGS Food SafetyBRCGS Food Safety certification consulting for food manufacturers: HACCP plan, site standards and controls ready for a graded audit, announced or unannounced.
- C-TPATC-TPAT requirements and validation readiness for US importers and overseas suppliers: the Minimum Security Criteria, CBP's process and how Sterling helps.
- CBAMCBAM compliance and requirements explained: authorised declarant status, the 50-tonne threshold, verified embedded emissions and how Sterling helps you prepare.
- EcoVadisEcoVadis rating consulting: evidence on environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement, prepared for the assessment EcoVadis runs.
- EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)EUDR compliance and requirements for cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soya and wood: due diligence, risk assessment and the 30 December 2026 date.
Effivity · ISO and GRC software, included in every engagement
How Effivity helps you run BRCGS Storage and Distribution and Agents and Brokers requirements day to day.
Every Sterling BRCGS engagement includes Effivity, the ISO and GRC automation platform built by the Sterling group and used in 50+ countries. Your consultant configures the workspace within the agreed scope, so documents, risks, audits, nonconformities, customer complaints, supplier evaluations, calibration, training records and management review sit in one place for every depot and office. The auditor then reviews a system in daily use rather than a file assembled for the visit. Sterling consulting clients get their Effivity subscription included with the engagement, at no additional cost.
Procedures, versions and approvals
Warehouse, transport and sourcing procedures with versions, approvals and distribution, so every depot works from the current issue.
Hazard and risk register
Hazards in storage, transit and trade with their controls, owners and review dates, updated when a product, route or supplier changes.
Supplier and subcontractor evaluations
Approval files for manufacturers, hauliers and service providers, with certificate scope and expiry tracked and reminders before they lapse.
Temperature probes and equipment
Calibration schedules and results for probes, data loggers and scales, with an action raised when a check fails.
Training records by site and shift
Induction, hygiene and role training for warehouse staff and drivers, linked to Sterling Academy, current for every person on the rota.
Internal audits and inspections
Audit programmes, site and vehicle inspections and their findings, followed up to closure with evidence attached.
Complaints, incidents and corrective action
Customer complaints, temperature excursions and damaged stock investigated to root cause, with proof the action worked.
Performance and review
Dashboards of complaints, audit results and supplier performance feed a management review that records its decisions and actions.
What this means at the audit
When the auditor asks for last month's temperature excursions, the supplier approval file for a new importer or the result of the latest traceability test, each is a screen with dates, owners and evidence attached. On an unannounced visit that matters even more, because nobody has time to assemble a folder. After certification, Sustain™ runs in the same workspace.
In your engagement
- Subscription included with the engagement, at no additional cost
- Configured by your Sterling consultant within the agreed scope
- Your documents, records and registers migrated, not retyped
- Admin and user training for your team
- Modules for EMS, OHSMS, ISMS, FSMS and more when you integrate other standards
Sterling Academy · BRCGS e-learning
Train warehouse teams, drivers and buyers, not just the quality lead.
Sterling Academy delivers e-learning for whole workforces and for the people who run the system: video lessons with practice checkpoints, a final exam and a numbered Certificate of Completion for each learner, verifiable online. Sterling consulting clients benefit from preferential course access and special pricing through their Sterling consultant, including complimentary awareness training for their people as part of the engagement.
- Awareness training for every shift, with training records the auditor can check
- Learning for supervisors, transport managers and the people who approve suppliers
- Internal auditor training for your audit team, as applicable to your standard, as part of the engagement
- Progress by site and department in one report
- Agency staff and new starters trained as they arrive
- A Sterling consultant reachable when a learner needs one
Keep exploring
Explore more about BRCGS Storage and Distribution · Agents and Brokers
BRCGS S&D and A&B resources
Services for BRCGS Storage and Distribution · Agents and Brokers
Why Sterling
Want successful BRCGS Storage and Distribution certification? Come to Sterling.
Logistics and trading businesses rarely stay in one country: a sourcing office in one market, a bonded store in another, a fleet crossing borders. Sterling builds one system with local ownership at each site, so customer specifications, import rules and subcontracted transport are handled consistently wherever the product sits.
Food safety and supply chain schemes since 2003
Offices in 21 countries and one engagement team accountable for every site and depot in scope.
All-inclusive proposal
Consulting, Effivity, training and Academy access in one proposal, with certification-body fees identified separately. No surprises, ever.
Built for the warehouse floor
Checks and records designed for shifts, drivers and agency staff, so the system survives the night shift and the peak season.
Expert and experienced consultants
Consultants who know cold chains, cross-docks and supplier approval, and who build your system properly the first time.
The Sterling Promise
What our BRCGS Storage and Distribution certification success guarantee means
We stay with you until your agreed BRCGS Storage and Distribution or Agents and Brokers certification outcome is achieved, supporting implementation, preparation and the resolution of audit findings. Clear explanations, practical delivery, included software and employee learning turn the investment into lasting capability rather than a certificate on a wall.
The engagement identifies the standard, scope, outcome and responsibilities. Your organisation supplies accurate information and puts the agreed controls into use. The BRCGS-approved certification body assesses conformity and retains its certification decision. Our commitment concerns the agreed certification support, not a promise of every future tender award or error-free delivery.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions about BRCGS Storage and Distribution and Agents and Brokers
Can a haulage company get BRCGS Storage and Distribution certification without a warehouse?
Yes. Storage and Distribution offers a transport-only scope, so a haulier can be certified for the vehicles and journeys it operates without owning storage. The audit then concentrates on vehicle condition, loading, temperature control, drivers' practices and the office systems behind them.
Can a food importer that uses a third-party warehouse be certified to BRCGS Agents and Brokers?
Yes, that is the typical case. Agents and Brokers is written for businesses that trade products without manufacturing, processing or storing them in their own facilities. You are audited on how you approve manufacturers and service providers, manage product safety and legality, and keep traceability, while the warehouse holds its own certificate.
Is BRCGS Storage and Distribution only for food?
No. It covers the storage and distribution of food, packaging materials and consumer products, including open food such as produce, meat and fish under its own section. A mixed-goods warehouse can bring several product categories into one scope, provided the scope states them.
How often is a BRCGS Storage and Distribution site audited?
Every 12 months for grades AA, A and B, and every 6 months for grades C and D, following the certificate validity rules BRCGS applied from 1 February 2023. At least one audit in every three years is unannounced. For Agents and Brokers, unannounced audits are voluntary and grade C sites move to a six-month schedule.
Can we combine BRCGS Storage and Distribution with ISO 9001 or ISO 22000?
Yes, where it suits your customers. Document control, internal audit, supplier approval and management review can serve an integrated system, and some certification bodies can plan the audits together. The BRCGS requirements for premises, vehicles and operating practices still have to be met in full.
Keep exploring
More on BRCGS Storage and Distribution · Agents and Brokers and related standards
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Talk to a consultant
Plan BRCGS certification for your warehouse, fleet or trading business.
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