For many consumer goods companies, supplier relationships have historically been more about compliance than collaboration. They often feel like a cycle of audits rather than a true partnership. Disconnected systems, annual checklists, and slow issue resolution can make it difficult to see and manage risk, ultimately slowing innovation and speed-to-market.
At this month’s Veeva Executive Summit, the panel discussion "Partnering for Quality” explored how that dynamic is changing, and what it takes to build stronger, more connected partnerships across the value chain.
The path to delivering superior consumer experiences requires a shift to a trust-based collaboration model that fosters shared accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement. Let’s look at three key steps to make this happen.
As brand owners integrate quality into their core strategy, suppliers must be viewed as an extension of the internal quality team, not external vendors. This starts with cultural alignment, ensuring both parties are living by the same values and principles around quality and food safety.
The scope of "quality" itself is constantly evolving. It’s no longer just about look, texture or taste; it often must incorporate sustainability, responsible sourcing, and health benefits.
“If you look at the past, quality is about food safety, taste, you know, all the organoleptic aspects of a product,” reflected Thanh Nguyen, Global QHSE Officer at Kerry. “I think we've transitioned to include all of that plus the sustainability discussion. I think moving forward we're going to include health benefits with quality as well.”
Suppliers benefit most when brand owners take a collaborative approach - one that goes beyond rigid technical requirements to recognize the complexity of their work and shared responsibility for quality. Strong partnerships are built on open communication and trust, where both parties feel safe sharing critical information and working toward common goals. When this happens, the relationship becomes a source of ongoing value for everyone involved.
“If you do not have the right culture, your quality journey is a bit iffy,” said Maria Luisa Calderon, Senior Director Corporate Quality Governance at Mars. “And so when we look at finding a partner, we make sure that they're sharing those values and those principles.”
The failure of transactional quality is simple: annual paper audits are too slow and often irrelevant by the time they are completed, hiding risk. The goal of quality is no longer just compliance with a checklist, but rather enabling proactive risk mitigation. The best defense is an early warning system.
“For every recall and withdrawal that we have, there are at least 10 near misses. And near misses that don't get converted into an actual recall and withdrawal really depends on that transparency and trust,” shared Mahir Bhagia, Chief Food Safety & Quality Assurance Officer at PepsiCo.
This means the future of supplier quality isn’t a one-time audit; it’s continuous, real-time transparency that surfaces risks before they impact the market. This shift turns auditing into ongoing risk management and ensures you are always ready for an inspection.
“To me, this audit readiness is like a state of the mind, is a culture to me that it's based on a very strong quality management system that you built,” said Maryam Mellatdoust, SVP Global Head of Quality at IFF.
This level of trust and speed requires a technology foundation. The most effective brand-supplier partnerships are using digital platforms to securely exchange specifications, CoAs, audit results, and CAPA status in real time. This secure data exchange is the lifeblood of the "trust economy," creating a space where aggregated industry data can generate insights and flag emerging risks faster than any single company could achieve alone.
Technical expertise remains vital, but the quality workforce must evolve from technical "experts" to collaborative "co-creators". This is essential because the work of quality is increasingly cross-functional, requiring the ability to find and act on synergies across the organization.
“The [supplier-brand] collaboration is a must have,” declared Mellatdoust. “It's not only a nice to have. It starts from early on when you have the alignment on what is the best quality experience that you want to give to your consumers.”
This transformation requires developing soft skills, fostering internal cross-functional training, and promoting the mindset of shared success across the entire value chain. When quality teams move from being "referees" to "goalkeepers," they are active partners in securing the win for the business. Investing in people and standardizing processes together is how the entire quality chain consistently delivers superior results.
Quality is not a department or a checkpoint; it is a shared purpose. By aligning on values, enabling real-time digital transparency, and investing in a collaborative workforce, brand owners and suppliers create a highly resilient, low-risk foundation that fuels innovation, agility, and consumer trust.
It’s time to turn your most challenging supplier relationships into a competitive advantage. Learn how Veeva’s integrated Quality solutions enable this transparent collaboration model, accelerate time-to-market, and embed trust across your entire value chain.