Traceability : why is it important for your business ?

Product traceability is an indispensable industrial process. For several years now, logistics centres have been responsible for stock management, order preparation, shipping and item customisation.

The increasing volume of references makes logistics operations more complex. This can be due to poor control of incoming and outgoing goods and poor tracking of items. 

What is traceability ?

Logistics traceability is the process of tracking the origin and route of products from the very beginning of the supply chain to the end customer.

Traceability includes all the procedures that make it possible to know at any moment the location of a product from its arrival in the chain until its exit.

Having a good traceability system for your products helps to respect :

- Quality assurance : the monitoring of each process will further reduce the number of errors, which guarantees the quality of the items intended for the customer.

- The regulations in force : traceability makes it easier to check compliance with the legislation specific to each product design, manufacturing and distribution process.

- Hygiene standards : all product traceability procedures must take into account performance and hygiene at each logistical stage.

The different types of product traceability

Traceability can be broken down into 4 forms:

- Tracing

It allows a batch of goods or a unit load to be identified and to explore all the stages through which it has passed. Tracing is particularly effective in the event of a health scare to trace the origin of the raw materials used by trying to understand at what stage the problem occurred, to detect the defective batches and to withdraw them from the market.

- Tracking

This involves following the itinerary of products thanks to registered identifiers in order to calculate delivery times. Tracking is what will allow consumers to follow precisely and in real time the routing of a purchased product, from the preparation of the order to its delivery.

- Internal logistics traceability

This traceability covers the entire itinerary of products throughout the production chain and up to their dispatch.

- External logistics traceability

This is an identification and registration system that will enable products to be tracked throughout the supply chain, including transits in foreign countries operated by external carriers.

Automation: essential for successful traceability ?

The automation of traceability is an effective and ingenious way to create and track batch and serial numbers, for this it is necessary to use traceability software. Indeed, a traceability software will allow to manage efficiently the errors and risks.

Here are 4 advantages to be found when automating traceability:

- Quick and simplified management of warranties, recalls, thefts and counterfeit problems,

- Lower costs and fewer disputes,

- Reduced wastage through automated monitoring of expiry dates,

- Maintain relationships with suppliers and customers by removing expired or defective merchandise.