Product safety checklist for fulfilment centres

What is a fulfilment centre?

A fulfilment centre (in Dutch also called bestelhuisdienstverlener) provides 2 or more of the following services for businesses:

• storage
• packaging
• addressing
• shipping

A fulfilment centre often provides this service for online shops and importers and does not own those products. Sometimes a fulfilment centre also processes returns.

1. Check your product safety responsibilities

What responsibilities you have for product safety depends on where a product comes from.

1. Does the product come from the Netherlands or another EU country? Or does your non-EU customer have an establishment or authorised representative in the EU? If so, you are considered a distributor under product legislation. Follow the step-by-step guide on product safety for distributors. Your ‘client’ (also market participant in the chain) is responsible for product safety. But you are responsible for checking this. And for safe storage and shipment.

2. Does the product come from outside the EU? And the manufacturer has no establishment or authorised person in the EU and there is no importer? Then you are the EU responsible for product safety. You are then responsible by law for these obligations.

Define your role per product

Do you store products for different customers? You may have a different role for each product. And sometimes several roles at the same time. Do you also import products, for example? Then you must also comply with the obligations of importers for those products.

Use the decision tree to determine your role per product

2. Put your contact details on the product

Does step 1 show that you have additional product safety obligations? Then you should add your contact details to the product. Supervising authorities (toezichthouders) can then contact you if there are concerns about the safety of the product. Because you process products from outside the EU, you are the contact person for consumers and authorities. You can include your details on:

• the product, or
• the packaging, or
• the parcel, or
• a document that you enclose

The compulsory details are your:

• company name or trademark
• contact details
• (postal) address and email address

3. Provide the right documents per product

The products you store must have certain documents. These documents state how the product complies with product safety legislation. Is this information missing? The product may not be traded in the Netherlands and the EU; you may not ship it.

So, ask the manufacturer for the following documents:

• the EU declaration of conformity
• the technical file

You must keep the declaration of conformity and the technical file of the product for 10 years from the date of trading the last product. For some products, this is 20 years. It depends on the type of product.

4. Take immediate action if you doubt the safety of a product

Do you suspect that a product is not safe? Then you should notify the relevant authorities of each EU country where the product is sold. You can make this notification via the EU platform Safety Gate. Note that there are EU directives for different product categories (in Dutch).

You must also take immediate action to prevent consumers from being at risk. Or ensure that the product is modified so that it meets (complies with) the safety requirements. You do not have to do this yourself, but you must ensure that measures are taken. For example, by asking the manufacturer to make adjustments. And by checking whether the manufacturer has done so. Report to the supervising authorities what you have done to reduce the risks.

Can the product not be modified? Then a product safety authority may require you to:

• take the product off the market
• recall the product

This often costs a lot of money and can be bad for your company's image.

5. Use a compliance system

You should summarise the steps on this page in a process. In it, you keep track of how you ensure you comply with product safety rules. This is called a compliance system. In it, you keep track of, for example:

• For which products you have which role and obligations. If you only have one or a few products, it is easier to comply than if you have an extensive product range.
• Who you buy products from and what their conditions are. Such as that the technical dossier is present.
• Where a product comes from and what logistical route it has taken. This is called tracing.
• What complaints you have received from customers (complaints registration). And how you handled a complaint.

The supervising authority may ask you to show your compliance system.

You can also use the NEN-ISO 37301 standard for compliance management for this purpose. Or you can hire a consultant.

6. Cooperate with supervising authorities and inspectorates

If a product safety authority asks for information on the safety of a product, you must provide it. This includes:

• the EU declaration of conformity
• the technical file
• additional information and documents proving the safety of the product (such as certificates or decisions by supervising authorities)

If any information is missing, you must request it from your customer.