Transforming Regulatory Workflows: AI-Powered SFDA Certification Automation
SFDA-Licensed Conformity Assessment Body, RiyadhResults
Per-application handling time dropped from an average of 4 hours to under 2 hours, freeing analysts to focus on exception cases.
Average processing time fell from 10 business days to just under 7 days, accelerating product-to-market readiness.
Automating repetitive tasks and reducing rework delivered direct savings in staffing and overhead, meeting the 20–25% target.
Tailored OCR/NLP models and a configurable rules engine ensured consistent accuracy, surpassing the <5% error goal.
Every decision, rule evaluation, and user override is captured in detailed logs for full SFDA and internal traceability.
Volumes previously requiring 12 full-time reviewers are now handled by just 5 users overseeing automated workflows.
A Riyadh-based SFDA-licensed conformity assessment body partnered with Figzol to automate its 5-step cosmetic certification workflow. The result: 55% less manual effort, 35% faster cycle times, a 21% drop in per-certificate costs, and 2.5× capacity with no new headcount.
About the Client
A Riyadh-based conformity assessment body (CAB) licensed by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) to evaluate and certify cosmetic products for regulatory compliance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As a recognized player in the regulatory and quality assurance space, the client enables cosmetic manufacturers and importers to bring products to market in full compliance with the SFDA's stringent guidelines.
Driven by a forward-looking vision, the client initiated a transformative digital innovation project aimed at fully automating its SFDA certification workflow. Their core objective was to eliminate manual bottlenecks across the product assessment lifecycle from document collection and compliance verification to final certification and replace them with a high-precision, AI-enabled system.
Recognizing the increasing complexity of regulatory standards, the client sought a robust solution capable of intelligently handling diverse documentation formats, extracting and classifying data, verifying product attributes against regulatory benchmarks, and producing compliant certification decisions with minimal human intervention. This initiative, centered on digitizing the end-to-end assessment process, reflects the client's commitment to operational excellence, compliance integrity, and digital transformation within the regulated product sector.
To realize this vision, the client partnered with Figzol to design and implement a custom AI automation system tailored specifically to the SFDA's five-step certification protocol, establishing a new benchmark for regulatory technology in the region.
The Challenge
The client's SFDA product certification process was highly manual and labor-intensive, spanning multiple stages of application review, laboratory testing, inspections, technical evaluation, and certificate issuance. The workflow required extensive human effort to process diverse document types including invoices, test reports, and product labels and was increasingly strained by five critical pain points:
- High operational overhead from manual document handling and decision-making at every stage
- Complex and evolving SFDA regulations that made compliance checks prone to inconsistency and human error
- Extended processing times creating costly delays in certification cycles
- Scalability limitations, where growing application volumes demanded proportional increases in headcount
- Inconsistent compliance application, raising regulatory risk and undermining quality assurance
What the client expected Figzol to deliver
To address these challenges, the client expected a fully automated, AI-powered certification system that would:
- Cut manual effort by more than 50%
- Accelerate end-to-end cycle times by at least 30%
- Reduce processing and compliance errors to below 5%
- Lower operational costs by up to 25%
- Enable 2× scalability without additional staffing
- Ensure consistent, fully auditable compliance with SFDA rules
- Position the client as a digital innovator in the Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) sector
Figzol's mandate was to engineer a modular, AI-powered solution covering end-to-end automation from document intake to intelligent data extraction, regulatory verification, and final decision issuance anchored in reliability, compliance, and enterprise-grade scalability.
Our Approach
Discovery and scoping
Figzol's engagement began with a focused one-week discovery workshop bringing together our AI Subject-Matter Experts, Solution Architect, and client stakeholders. Together, we mapped the five-step SFDA certification workflow in detail and finalized both technical and compliance requirements.
From that workshop, we defined a clear, modular scope across five components:
- File Upload and Intelligent Document Processing (IDP)
- Product Classification and Data Extraction
- Standards Verification
- Compliance Checking
- Form Completion and Decision Issuance
We produced a comprehensive architecture and implementation plan before transitioning into delivery.
Delivery model
We used an iterative Scrum-based cadence with one-week sprints, each aligned to a specific certification step. At sprint kickoff, our Project Manager and AI/ML Lead reviewed user stories and acceptance criteria. Daily stand-ups kept the engineering team on track, and strict version control, CI pipelines, and QA gates ensured consistently high-quality code.
At each sprint's close, we held a structured demo and delivered a concise report covering completed features, velocity (story points), defect metrics, and updated risk assessments ensuring the Product Owner had full visibility and could provide timely feedback.
Technical execution
Over five core sprints, our AI engineers and ML specialists:
- Built and fine-tuned custom OCR/NLP models for accurate parsing of diverse document types
- Configured a rules-based engine for SFDA compliance checks
- Developed a user interface for exception handling and analyst oversight
- Integrated APIs for real-time regulatory standards lookups
- Automated form generation for certificate issuance
This structured-within-sprint approach guaranteed that each module was fully tested, documented, and production-ready before the next was built while remaining flexible enough to incorporate insights from pilot data and stakeholder reviews. By combining deep AI expertise, robust engineering practices, and transparent sprint-based reporting, Figzol delivered a turnkey, scalable SFDA automation solution on time and within budget.
Results
Upon successful delivery of the automated SFDA certification platform, the client realized measurable gains across every key objective.
Efficiency and throughput
55% reduction in manual effort per application. Routine document handling, data entry, and form-filling tasks that previously consumed an average of four hours per file were reduced to under two hours freeing analysts to focus on exception cases requiring human judgment.
30–35% faster end-to-end cycle times. From initial file upload to decision issuance, average processing time dropped from 10 business days to just under 7 days, directly accelerating product-to-market timelines for the client's customers.
Cost savings
21.28% decrease in per-certificate operational cost. Automating repetitive tasks, reducing rework, and minimizing manual interventions delivered direct savings in staffing and overhead meeting, and in several areas exceeding, the projected 20–25% reduction target.
Quality and compliance
Less than 3.59% error rate in data extraction and compliance checks. The combination of tailored OCR/NLP models and a configurable rules engine ensured high data accuracy and consistent application of SFDA regulations surpassing the client's stated goal of fewer than 5% errors.
100% audit trail coverage. Every decision, rule evaluation, and user override is captured in detailed logs, enabling complete traceability for internal reviews and SFDA audits.
Scalability and agility
2.5× throughput capacity without additional headcount. The system now handles peak submission volumes that previously required 12 full-time reviewers, with just 5 users overseeing automated workflows and exception handling.
Rapid regulatory adaptability. The modular rules engine can incorporate new SFDA regulation updates in under one week, ensuring the client's process remains future-ready as the regulatory landscape evolves.
What the Client Said
"Their professionalism and honesty were most impressive. The AI models they delivered provided us with accuracy, cost reduction, and time savings."
Mozan Atif, Business Development, Fahes Trading Company | Verified review on Clutch, May 2025
Fahes Trading Company is an SFDA-licensed conformity assessment body based in Saudi Arabia with 11–50 employees. The client rated Figzol 4.0 out of 5 overall on Clutch, with a perfect 5.0 for schedule adherence reflecting Figzol's commitment to deadlines and transparent communication throughout the engagement.
Key Takeaways and Best Practices
Embed AI expertise early. Involving subject-matter experts in discovery workshops ensures technical design is aligned with regulatory nuances from day one, avoiding costly rework later.
Iterative delivery for predictable outcomes. Sprint-based demos and structured feedback loops catch issues early, adapt to changing regulations, and keep all stakeholders engaged and informed throughout delivery.
Modular architecture for future agility. Designing independent components IDP, ML models, rules engine, UI means individual parts can be updated or extended without requiring a full system rebuild.
Transparent reporting builds trust. Weekly sprint reports covering velocity, defect metrics, and risk assessments create accountability across both the delivery team and the client organization.
Rules-first compliance. A configurable, rules-based engine allows new regulatory criteria to be onboarded in days rather than months, keeping the certification process genuinely future-proof.
Ready to Transform Your Certification Workflow?
If you are looking to turn your compliance or certification process into a competitive advantage cutting costs, speeding approvals, and strengthening regulatory assurance let's start the conversation.
By partnering with Figzol, you gain more than a technology vendor. You secure a strategic AI partner who embeds expertise directly into your team, accelerates delivery through proven sprint methodology, and ensures full transparency at every stage.
Imagine reducing your manual workload by over 50%, cutting cycle times by a third, and operating at 2.5× your current capacity without adding headcount all while maintaining an error rate below 4%.
