CBSe, a mate producer from Argentina, is using GS1 identification standards to provide full value-chain traceability and its benefits to its customers and, ultimately, consumers in many countries of the world.

The traceability system helps CBSé drive greater efficiencies in its business operations based on increased access to product and traceability data which ultimately improves customer and consumer attitude.

Arcor wanted to improve information flow in their supply chain, particularly to integrate all operational processes for efficient business operations.

A traceability system designed with consultancy of GS1 Argentina covered all areas of company operations in production and logistics. New identification and codification systems with GS1 standards were implemented that included raw materials, semi-finished products, consumer units, and logistic units. Also, the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) and GS1-128 barcodes were applied.

With the implementation of the new traceability system, operational processes have been integrated. Information and reporting have become faster and available in real time which  provides improvement in response time to attend to requirements, quality incidents, and recall requests. All the improvements help Arcor increase the quality of their products for customers and consumers.

SACICT*, an organisation with the mission to promote Thai arts and crafts in domestic and international markets,  did not have any system in place to manage their high-mix low-volume items inventory and flow.

With implementation of GS1 identifiers GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) and GS1 DataMatrix, SACICT’s inventory management has become easier and more efficient. Additional information added with GS1 DataMatrix has allowed for tracking the date and the place when and where each item is sold. Consumers can access all available information about products, from origin to product description.

* Support Arts and Crafts International Centre of Thailand

Efficient trace of food from “farm to table” is a topic of concern for government and business in Shunde District of China. Shunde District is the “Gourmet Capital of the World “recognized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation). There are more than 20.000 food production and service units in this region, and how to reduce hidden dangers of food safety and build a supervision mechanism for the entire food safety chain was the main problem faced by Shunde Administration of Market Regulation.

Shunde Administration of Market Regulation of Guangdong put in place a social co-governance mechanism for food safety: the National Food (Product) Safety Traceability Platform was set up to help control procurement, production and distribution of products, such as oil, rice, flour, wine from more than 200 manufacturers. The Platform is based on GS1 standards – GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) with a production date or a lot number that enable traceability of products. GTINs are widely used and recognized in China, so participation of manufacturers in the Platform does not require any investment or changes to their operational processes.

The initiative has created a new pattern of social co-governance of food safety with governmental authorities, food supply chain operators and consumers.

The National Food (Product) Safety Traceability Platform not only strengthens government’s supervision over the food industry but helps companies meet legal requirements and regulations and reduce risks. The National Food (Product) Safety Traceability Platform also allows consumers to directly access information about food products they buy and eat.

Manbulloo, an Australia’s largest grower of mangoes, wanted to improve the process of information flow in their supply chain, particularly the effectiveness and efficiency of communications and business operations between Manbulloo, their ripeners and their customers.

To address this, unique identification of products was required which was achieved by implementing GS1 serialised barcodes on tray labels. This allows every tray on every pallet from all seven Manbulloo farms and five pack houses to be tracked up and down the chain. With the use of an application developed by FreshTrack Systems, traceability information gets collected and uploaded to the Trust Provenance  blockchain system, in real-time and without any loss in performance.

Using GS1 standards in conjunction with other technology solutions, Manbulloo can now track every carton and every batch through the supply chain, from packing shed to retail shelf. Order rejections at the retailer’s DC have reduced to very low levels which is a major win for everyone in the supply chain as it saves an enormous amount of time and money. Improvements in data management have significantly helped Manbulloo increase the quality and integrity of their mangoes for consumers.

Today’s consumers are becoming more and more strict on food quality, they want to know all types of information about their meat products, clear indication of “who did what, when and where” to a meat product. They now want to know how the animal was raised, what it was fed, how it was slaughtered, processed and packaged . . . and how far the resulting meat product was transported. This growing demand for data made cattle breeding company Leocar EIRL from Peru think about a traceability system that provides up-to-date and accurate information throughout the whole production chain.

Leocar EIRL implemented GS1 traceability standards, particularly GS1-128 barcodes and the GS1 Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC). With the traceability system based on GS1 standards, Leocar EIRL has got access to all types of information about its cattle. GS1 standards enable to trace information about the cattle and products down to every production step in detail.

Leocar EIRL has reported livestock management improvement by 30% with respect to birth control, fattening, and other livestock benefits. The traceability system based on GS1 standards has allowed for 100% monitoring and follow-up during the whole process of production and transportation and has significantly improved customer confidence by providing detailed, complete information about origin of meat products.

For more than 50 years, Citrícola Lucato (Lucato) has been a pioneer in the citrus industry, supplying the tastiest oranges and tangerines to all of Brazil. The company’s packing house is equipped with the latest equipment and is located in the most modern industrial park in Brazil.  Yet, Lucato wanted to make additional improvements to its management of produce, from field to retailers.

Lucato decided to implement GS1 identification standards and barcodes to uniquely identify its produce as well as shipments traveling to retailers. Lucato implemented GS1 Global Trade Item Number® (GTIN®), GS1-128, Serial Shipping Container Code® (SSCC®). When scanned, Lucato collects information to better manage and control numerous processes throughout its supply chain.

With GS1 standards, Lucato has realised a significant reduction in returns due to misidentification during packaging and shipping. Lucato has reported a 98% reduction in volume return while sales and shipped volumes had grown by 54%. These results have had a clear impact on Lucato’s revenue and margin.

At Dalat Milk and its partners, all processes and documentation were manual and paper-based, there was no systematic way of tracking and record keeping. At farmers level, documentation was 100% manual. At the milk collection centre, track and trace data capture was 85 % manual, data were not linked together: could not be traced back to the origin - the farmer, the raw milk cylinder, and the cow. At the Dalat Milk factory, at the distribution centre and at retailers, production and procurement planning were all 70% Excel-based.

With the implementation of GS1 standards, including Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), Global Location Number (GLN), Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC), Global Individual Asset Identifier (GIAI), information from all milk production stages has become fully available. The introduction of the Information Sharing Traceability System has enabled producers and other supply chain actors to electronically input product history information into a central database, control information exchanged, and communicate verified information about product hygiene, safety and quality - in order to reduce cost, minimise paperwork errors and save time.

The Dalat Milk reported that the introduction of the traceability system provided better traceability of products, supported the QA team’s quality control activities, and improved the efficiency of accessing, retrieving, processing, managing data more quickly and conveniently. Manual operations and paperwork reduced: at the milk collection centre, processing time by employees reduced to 50% and paperwork reduced by 70%. At the Dalat Milk Factory, manual paper-based documentation decreased by 80%.

Riba Smith, a chain of supermarkets in Panama, were facing a challenge of incomplete product information of supplies coming from farmers: products were not identified properly, there was no consistent product database in place. Therefore, the need to standardise processes and introduce a traceability system for farmers’ products came up clearly.

With the implementation of GS1-128 standard and GS1 identifiers, information from all production stages of farmers’ products starting from cultivation and harvesting through packaging, storage, distribution up to receiving by retail stores has become fully available. Over 50 vegetables and fruits are traced this way.

At Riba Smith, they are confident that with the traceability system they serve their consumers products of highest quality and freshness. Consumers can also access information about vegetables and fruits by a simple scan of the GS1 QR code.

La Juvenil, a producer of fresh pasta and Italian food specialties in Argentina, was seeking for a traceability solution that could guarantee high quality of its products. In addition to that, La Juvenil was struggling with paper-based processes resulting in operational inefficiencies.

With the objectives to better serve customers, improve operations and set the company for further growth, La Juvenil relied on GS1 standards to automate ordering and fulfillment operations, and to enable traceability.

La Juvenil adopted a range of GS1 standards, including GTIN, SSCC, GS1-128 barcodes encoded with lot numbers and expiration dates, and GS1 EDI order-to-cash. Implementation covered complete digitalisation of the production process, including orders from customers and deliveries.

With digitalisation of the production process, efficiency rates went up to 95%, returns due to errors went down to zero and, as a result, customer satisfaction improved. With improved processes and spared resources, La Juvenil can now focus on innovation development that grows business and revenues.

Swiss retailer MIGROS wanted to gain more transparency throughout the supply chain of fruit and vegetable products and establish a collaborative information exchange. To do this, the company decided to take a cross-company approach with trading partners to exchange complete and accurate event driven data from harvesting to distribution into retail stores.

MIGROS and its trading partners have implemented EPCIS, a GS1 standard, along with GS1 identifiers to enable a traceability system for its products. With benefits especially for fruits and vegetables, GS1 identifiers and EPCIS provide all stakeholders with information about the “what, where, when, why, and who” of product shipments as they travel throughout the supply chain.

MIGROS sees improvement in control over product quality, increase in efficiency of internal processes with end-to-end data integration. EPCIS enables suppliers, as well as consumers, to benefit from quality product data.

Imagine trying to navigate a city with no addresses. The only information you have to go on is what the building looks like, or what landmarks it’s near. With identifying information it would be so much easier. Johnson & Johnson Supply Chain (JJSC) is leading the work of mapping the products from the Johnson & Johnson companies. By using a variety of tools and mediums we are working to identify, trace, and make the products that the Johnson & Johnson companies create easily locatable.

Read the full Johnson & Johnson case study, page 89