Presenter: Brad A. Rush, The Samuel Adams Brewing
Company, Cincinnati, OH
In today’s business environment, supplier quality is a basic
requirement needed to deliver a superior product to your
consumers. The business models designed around price of
materials, on-time delivery, and lack of defects won’t get you
very far in today’s food production environments. With the
recent passing of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA),
today’s business focus needs to be around food safety and the
pre-requisite programs required to be a world-class supplier in
the food and beverage industries. This presentation will provide
information on the basics of assessing a supplier for overall risk
to the business through risk assessment and auditing. The result
of the risk assessment will help to determine the higher risk
suppliers to your business and at what frequency the customer
may want to review or audit suppliers for risks or gaps in their
business. An audit of your supplier should not be limited to
food safety, as it will also need to focus on how the supplier
manages consumer complaints, communication with employees,
managing change, and the effectiveness of training, to
name a few. More and more of the supplier audits today look at
all aspects of the supplier’s ability to be a consistent source of
the highest quality materials that the brewery can use to deliver
a quality product to the end consumer. The audit of a supplier
today covers many areas of the business, and it must paint a
clear picture as to what challenges and opportunities a supplier
may have that can potentially impact the customer in any way.
The focus of supplier quality for the Boston Beer Company has
always been a top priority, but as we grow, we are seeing that
it is a critical piece in the business model that our founder has
built this business on.
Brad Rush, manager of supplier quality, joined The Samuel
Adams Brewing Company in 2007. Brad holds a B.S. degree
in environmental analysis from Carroll College in Waukesha,
WI, and certificate in quality engineering from the Milwaukee
School of Engineering; six sigma green belt certification from
Lakeshore Technical College; and a diploma in advanced
management and leadership from The University of Wisconsin–
Madison, School of Business. Brad also has studied with the
American Brewers Guild and Institute of Brewing. Brad joined
the Boston Beer Company as the quality manager for the
Cincinnati brewery and managed the packaging and analytical
quality groups. In his current role he is in charge of the supplier
quality program for Boston Beer and supports co-manufacture
operations throughout North America. His previous experience
includes a strong background in brewing, research, and
operations at Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company and Miller
Brewing Company, as well as hands-on quality analysis with an
emphasis in sensory evaluation and quality.
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