Annual Report 2009-2010 - GS1

Traceability
Helping companies implement traceability
Food safety, product tracing, and product recalls are
currently at the forefront of both government regulations
and industry concerns around the world. Technology
offers a wide variety of ways of achieving traceability and
many solutions already exist. Neutral global standards
can help ensure the smooth interoperability of all these
traceability technologies and systems. That’s where GS1
comes in: GS1 offers traceability standards and supports
their implementation to enhance companies’ business
processes.
GS1 Global Traceability Standard
As it can enable the unique identification of trade
items, assets, logistic units, parties and locations, the
GS1 System is particularly well suited for traceability.
GS1’s collaborative standards development process
has allowed suppliers and retailers across the world to
define and produce the GS1 Global Traceability Standard
(GTS), a business process standard which links enabling
technologies to the relevant elements from the GS1
System.
GS1 Products & Solutions
The GS1 GTS helps user companies meet legislative and
business needs to cost-effectively trace back (one step up)
and track forward (one step down) from any point along
the supply chain, no matter how many trading partners
are implicated, how many business process steps are
involved and how many national borders are crossed. In
brief, the GTS provides the food industry with a common
and understandable traceability language to use when
sharing traceability information between trading partners
across the extended supply chain.
Powerful assessments and checklists
Companies that manufacture consumer products work
hard to establish the value of their brands and meet the
needs of customers, regulations and efficiency in the
supply chain. GS1 has developed a Global Traceability
Programme to support their efforts. This Programme
trains and accredits GS1 Traceability auditors, and uses
a standard checklists to allow companies to assess their
traceability system and determine their readiness for
introducing a GS1-based traceability system. Businesses
can have their current traceability system evaluated
and audited, in compliance with the requirements
of key customers, with global standards, with major
international traceability regulations, and with food
industry requirements and best practices. The Programme
is designed for any stakeholder that handles goods in
the food supply chain, as well
as for companies providing
implementation services related
to traceability.
Download an overview of the
Global Traceability Programme
from www.gs1.org/traceability
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