Help Shape FEDA’s Draft Industry Standards: Share Them With Your Team

Developing practical industry standards takes input from the people who understand the work firsthand. As FEDA’s public review period for its Product Data Standard and Shipping, Packaging, and Handling Standard (SPHS) continues, members are encouraged to share the draft documents internally and invite employees to provide feedback. 

While company leaders can offer valuable perspectives, employees who work directly with the processes addressed by these standards often have insights that are essential to making the guidance useful and realistic. Their day-to-day experience can help identify what works well, where challenges arise, what may be missing, and which recommendations could be difficult to implement. Employees do not need to review both standards. FEDA encourages members to direct each draft to the employees whose responsibilities are most closely connected to its subject matter. 

By involving employees across departments and levels of the organization, FEDA members can help ensure the final standards reflect the realities of the foodservice equipment and supplies industry. 

Involve the People Closest to the Work 

The two draft standards address different areas of the industry, and FEDA encourages members to involve employees whose responsibilities align with each one. This may include department managers, frontline employees, technical specialists, and others who regularly work with the processes covered by the standards. 

Shipping, Packaging, and Handling Standard (SPHS) 

The SPHS addresses practices related to freight damage during less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping. Employees involved in warehouse operations, inventory control, packaging, shipping, material handling, and supply chain management can offer valuable insight into how equipment is prepared, handled, and transported. 

Consider these examples:  

1. A warehouse employee may notice that certain types of equipment are more likely to arrive damaged after LTL shipping. Based on firsthand experience, the employee could identify packaging concerns, handling challenges, or points in the shipping process where additional guidance could help protect the equipment. 
2. A shipping coordinator may recognize challenges that arise when equipment passes through multiple handling points or when different carriers have different operating requirements. 
3. A warehouse supervisor may identify recommendations that could be difficult to implement because of space constraints, available equipment, staffing, or existing workflows. 

These experiences can help reviewers assess whether the draft reflects real-world shipping and handling conditions and whether its recommendations are feasible across different operating environments. 

Employees reviewing the SPHS might consider: 

• Do the recommendations reflect what actually happens when equipment is packaged, handled, and shipped? 
• Are there common causes of freight damage or handling challenges that the draft does not adequately address? 
• Could any recommendations be difficult to implement with existing warehouse layouts, equipment, staffing, or shipping practices? 
• Are any steps unclear, impractical, or open to interpretation? 
• Based on your experience, are there other practices that could help reduce freight damage? 

Product Data Standard 

The Product Data Standard focuses on the creation, management, maintenance, and exchange of product information. Employees involved in product management, data management, technology, e-commerce, purchasing, quoting, product content, and digital systems can help evaluate whether the guidance reflects how product information is used throughout the industry. 

Consider these examples:  

1. An employee responsible for product information may encounter inconsistent product descriptions or specifications across a manufacturer’s files, internal systems, and online catalogs.  
2. An e-commerce specialist may understand how incomplete or inconsistent product information affects online listings. 
3. Employees in purchasing or sales may understand how missing specifications or conflicting information complicate product comparisons, quoting, and order processing. 

These employees can help identify where information becomes difficult to maintain, transfer, or use, and whether the draft provides sufficiently clear and useful guidance for the processes they manage. 

Employees reviewing the Product Data Standard might consider: 

1. Does the guidance reflect how product information is created, updated, maintained, and shared across organizations and systems? 
2. Are any product information requirements unclear or difficult to interpret? 
3. Are there common data issues that the draft does not address? 
4. Are the recommendations realistic given the different systems, technologies, and workflows used by manufacturers and distributors? 
5. Are responsibilities or processes unclear when product information needs to be updated or shared? 
6. Based on your experience, what would make product information more consistent and useful for the people and systems that depend on it? 

What Can Different Employee Perspectives Reveal? 

Employees who encounter these processes in their daily work may identify viability considerations that others overlook. 

For example:

Note: These examples illustrate the types of pragmatic insights employees may contribute. They are not intended to suggest that a particular issue or requirement appears in either draft. Reviewers should evaluate the actual documents and provide feedback based on what they encounter.

Firsthand Experience Makes the Difference 

The goal of the public review process is to ensure the standards reflect the realities of the foodservice equipment and supplies industry. Feedback from employees at different levels and across different functions can help FEDA identify unclear language, overlooked considerations, implementation challenges, and opportunities to strengthen the guidance. 

A manager may understand the broader goals of a process, while the employee responsible for carrying it out may recognize an obstacle that is not immediately apparent. A recommendation may make sense in principle but require additional clarification to work across different business environments. Employees may also identify recurring problems or successful practices that deserve greater consideration. 

This is why FEDA encourages members to share the draft standards beyond company leadership. The people who work directly with shipping, packaging, handling, product information, and related processes are well positioned to assess whether the proposed guidance is clear, relevant, and workable. 

Useful feedback does not need to include a complete solution. Identifying an unclear recommendation, explaining why a particular practice may be difficult to implement, or pointing out an important consideration that appears to be missing can all help improve the final standards. 

Share Your Feedback by Nov. 13 

FEDA’s public review period closes Nov. 13, 2026. Members are encouraged to share the draft standards and comment forms with colleagues and submit feedback before the deadline. Employees may submit comments individually using the appropriate comment form, or companies may consolidate feedback into a single submission. The appropriate FDC group will review submitted comments as part of the revision process. 

Download the draft standards and corresponding comment forms using the links below. Completed forms should be emailed to FEDA Director of Industry Programs and Professional Development Ashley Mueller at ashley@feda.com. 

By involving the people closest to these processes, FEDA members can help shape standards that are clear, relevant, and practical for the industry.

For additional information, visit FEDA’s industry standards FAQ or reach out to Ashley Mueller at ashley@feda.com.