What Are the BRC and BRC Logistics Concepts?

Within the BRC and BRC Logistics framework, logistics is the mechanism that brings factors like products, services, and people to the right place at the right time. Any marketing operation or production organization struggles to succeed without logistics support. Logistics covers inventory, transport, storage, materials handling, and packaging, integrated as a single flow of information.

BRC is a trade organization that represents retail activity in the UK. Its members range from large retail locations to small convenience stores. BRC deals directly with multiple issues affecting retail operations and consumers, and works through lobbying organizations to put these issues front and center in the UK and the European Union. The British Retail Consortium standard is a standard built by UK retail organizations. After two years of development work, it was published in October 1998 under the name BRC Global Standard Food, covering the requirements for food, consumer products, and packaging materials.

BRC Logistics specifically covers the transport of manufactured products from one location to another and the storage of those products at destination. It was built to complete the food-safety chain between the food-service organization and the end consumer. The standard is designed to secure best-practice operations for the transport, storage, and distribution of manufactured products. BRC Logistics covers the fundamental requirements for storage of manufactured food and for product transport, and integrates with the other BRC food-safety elements.