The purpose of Phase 0
The first mistake is inviting a buyer into a messy evidence room. Phase 0 is an internal readiness scan that finds the obvious gaps before they become credibility damage.
The output should not be a generic audit score. It should be a route decision: what can be shown now, what needs remediation, and what would block a serious GACP or GMP-interface conversation.
Minimum self-audit lanes
A useful Phase 0 review checks the farm against operating lanes that map to buyer questions.
- License and site identity: entity, license scope, site map, responsible person.
- Batch traceability: room/plot, cycle, harvest, drying, trimming, storage and sampling links.
- People: role matrix, training records, task qualification and hygiene discipline.
- Inputs and environment: water, nutrients, pest controls, cleaning agents and monitoring logs.
- Quality events: deviations, complaints, CAPA, rejected material and OOS/OOT follow-up.
- Buyer package: documents that can be shared without overclaiming certification status.
Decision language
Ready means evidence exists and can be shown without major reconstruction. Conditional means the route may be valuable but needs named remediation before buyer review. Blocked means a core record, role or license basis is missing.
This language is useful because it preserves commercial momentum while preventing fake readiness claims.
GACP/GMP feasibility check
Representative batch can be walked from cultivation record to buyer snapshot without reconstruction.
Evidence: Phase 0 checklist, batch evidence map, gap register.
Core practices exist but evidence is fragmented or inconsistently signed/date-controlled.
Evidence: Remediation list with owners, deadlines and retest criteria.
Farm presents Phase 0 as a GMP certification or release decision.
Evidence: Needs downstream GMP/import/QP route ownership.