Co-packer evidence scorecard

What this scorecard does

The co-packer evidence scorecard combines five evidence areas: Capability, Capacity, Quality, Traceability and Communication. You give each area a score from 0 to 5 and an importance weight. The calculator returns a weighted evidence score out of 100 and the name of the criterion with the highest weighted evidence gap. It is a decision worksheet, not a certification, audit result or pass or fail rule. Verify facilities, references, process capability and traceability before contracting.

Scoring evidence from 0 to 5

Enter whole-number scores in the five score fields. The scale runs from 0 to 5. A score of zero means no evidence is available for that criterion; it does not assert that the co-packer failed an audit. The calculator does not define evidence anchors for 1 through 5, so set your own standard and apply it consistently across criteria. For example, decide in advance what documents, samples or reference checks justify a 2, a 3 or a 4. Record the evidence behind each score outside the calculator so the worksheet remains reviewable.

Setting importance weights

Each criterion has a non-negative importance weight. Defaults are 20 for Capability, 20 for Capacity, 30 for Quality, 30 for Traceability and 20 for Communication. These weights are relative, not required percentages. The calculator normalizes them against their total, so weights of 2, 2, 3, 3 and 2 produce the same shares as 20, 20, 30, 30 and 20. A zero weight contributes zero to both the weighted score and the gap ranking, provided at least one other weight is positive. Raising a weight increases that criterion's influence on the result.

How the weighted score is produced

The score is the sum of each criterion's score divided by 5 and multiplied by its weight, divided by the total of all weights, then multiplied by 100. The output is shown as a value out of 100. Because each score is divided by 5 first, a score of 3 represents 60 percent of that criterion's weight, while a score of 5 represents the full weight. The calculation uses the weights you enter, so the denominator changes when you edit a weight. That is why changing one weight can move the score even when the evidence scores stay fixed.

Interpreting the highest weighted evidence gap

The gap calculation looks at the distance from a full score for each criterion, multiplies that remaining distance by the criterion's normalized weight, and ranks the results. The output names only the highest-ranked criterion, not a numeric gap value. A low score on a heavily weighted criterion is therefore more likely to appear as the top gap. If every criterion is scored 5, the calculator reports No scored gaps. Use the named criterion to decide where to collect missing evidence first, then update the scores and review the ranking again.

Worked examples: zero evidence and mid evidence

With the default weights and all five scores left at zero, the total weight is 120. The weighted score is 0 / 100 because every evidence score is zero. The highest weighted evidence gap is Quality in the tested output. Quality and Traceability each carry a default weight of 30, so their missing evidence has more influence than the 20-weighted criteria. This result makes unknowns visible; it is not a finding that the co-packer failed an audit. The practical next step is to gather evidence for the named criterion and rescore.

If all five criteria receive a score of 3 and the default weights are unchanged, the weighted score is 60 / 100. Each criterion sits at 60 percent of its weight, so the weighted average is 60 regardless of how the positive weights are distributed. The highest weighted evidence gap is Quality in the tested output, again because Quality and Traceability carry larger default weights than the other criteria. Changing only the weights while every score remains 3 does not change the 60 / 100 result, though it can change which criterion is named as the top gap.

Edge cases and limits

If every weight is zero, the calculator cannot normalize and returns an error stating that at least one criterion needs a positive weight. If every score is 5, the weighted score is 100 / 100 and the gap output is No scored gaps. A criterion with a zero weight does not affect the score or the gap ranking. The worksheet does not verify the quality of your evidence, audit a facility, certify a co-packer, set a pass threshold or guarantee performance. Treat it as a screening checklist and confirm facilities, references, process capability and traceability before contracting.

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