From a legal perspective, the safety of food produced and distributed to the market makes traceability a requirement. Therefore, in business-to-business (B2B) relationships, this element is an axiom of sorts, for which specific requirements exist and companies must meet them. However, the situation is slightly different in B2C relationships, where the consumer is the market link that shapes the need and sometimes creates specific requirements that the entrepreneur must meet. Conscious consumers are increasingly thinking about product safety. Buyers need much more extensive information about food than they did a dozen or so years ago.
In a company subject to traceability requirements, an IT system often operates to handle processes that require data collection and processing, thus also supporting traceability. We receive added value here. What is actually associated with this added value? What are the specific elements of added value? However, to present this, one must first consider what it means for a system to support traceability, i.e., what features it must possess.
The most important of these are:
– recording and processing data of tracked units, including the production batch or raw material number,
– links between data on tracked units (referring to the attributes of these units, such as: unit identifier, batch number, expiry date),
– internal communication regarding all processes occurring in the company, as well as external communication with business partners (one step back and one step forward),
– generating traceability reports in case of the need to withdraw specific batches of raw material/finished product,
– archiving records in a database,
– using GS1 standards and their correct interpretation.
It is worth noting the last element on the list, i.e., the use of GS1 identification and communication standards, which not only support traceability but also enable achieving higher efficiency of the systems that use them. A dedicated solution in this area is the Global Traceability Standard (GS1 GTS), in its latest version 2, which defines the principles and requirements that must be met when designing and implementing traceability systems. GS1 GTS2 places traceability-related data at the center of the supply chain, enabling effective sharing of it to track items and entities in that chain.
Returning to the questions related to added value, it should be remembered that the answers to them must be presented from two perspectives: value for the B2B channel and the B2C channel. Considering the B2B channel, the elements that create added value are as follows:
– process automation,
– enabling better management of product flow,
– more effective supply chain management,
– greater compliance with regulations.
These elements improve a number of processes in the company, i.e., they affect the efficiency of warehouse and distribution processes (receipt and dispatch). This, in turn, enables cost sharing in the supply chain between individual links, i.e., companies.
In turn, with regard to the B2C channel, the elements creating added value are:
– reliability of product data,
– greater brand trust,
– certainty of faster withdrawal.
Currently, it is the consumer who, having the appropriate information about the product required by law, decides and consciously chooses a product. Entrepreneurs for whom the B2C relationship plays an important role in conducting business must certainly provide the consumer with reliable information about the product. Undoubtedly, in this area, it will be useful and often necessary to use GS1 standards both for collecting and sharing data in the supply chain by companies in the food industry.