Implementation

The following key steps should be followed by each company and/or industry:

Traceability can be achieved with various technologies. Depending on the choice or constraints of each trading partner, items may be tracked and traced at different levels of precision: generic, by batch or serialized. Barcodes and RFID can be used to automate data capture. “One up, one down” is often considered as the information exchange model to achieve full chain traceability yet some supply chains choose to go further because of specific objectives. In this context of multiple technologies available, GS1 Traceability enables each company to choose what is the most relevant in its environment. It is the solution to ensure interoperability between all traceability systems and to facilitate the implementation. See supporting technologies and GS1 standards for traceability.

To further develop GS1's capability to assist GS1 System users, we have defined key traceability principles and produced the implementation grid shown below, which links them to enabling technologies and relevant GS1 System tools.

Need support? Contact the GS1 Office nearest you.