Why is Product Traceability Important for Consumers?

Product traceability is an important business requirement. It enables brand owners in keeping a track of the movement of their products along the supply chain – from its point of origin to the point of sale or consumption.

But traceability can be a vital element for consumers as well. Today, consumers are conscious about what they buy and consume. If a consumer finds something wrong in a product and takes it online to various social media channels, it can directly hamper the brand’s reputation. But it is also equally disadvantageous for consumers as the product may pose risks. Traceability helps brand owners keep a record of the entire production and distribution system and helps in taking corrective measures in case of consumer complaints. But how does product traceability help a consumer? Let us understand.

Product traceability and consumers

When we look at traceability from the angle of perishable consumables, it becomes extremely vital for consumers. Products such as food items and medicines have a specified shelf life. Traceability helps in identifying the products from its date of manufacturing or its best before date and help trading partners to release the fresh products by following the principles of First-In-First-Out.

The same thing applies not just to food and pharmaceutical items but could even apply to industrial products such as LPG cylinders, etc. Some products need to be revalidated for safety after a few years. A consumer may check the genuineness pf recertification of LPG cylinders using the traceability system.

How can a consumer authenticate a product?

To authenticate a product, a consumer cannot just go by the claims printed on a product label. Those claims need to be supported by traceability information, so that there is a means to validate and verify what is being claimed.

Consumers can avail of Spot Authentication, wherein the consumer can easily scan the barcode of the product and verify information printed on product labels. The information comes from a trusted source like that of brand owner and come through all the supply chain partners. Traceability allows brand owners to share critical food product information with consumers such as hygiene checks, direct human contact with food, etc. This could be even be helpful for consumers considering the ongoing pandemic situations and the predictions of its on-and-off occurrence in the future.

Click here to learn more about traceability.

EPC-RFID Technology and the Industries

The EPC (Electronic Product Code) is a unique number / key assigned to specific products/items containing information about them in a supply chain.

These codes are similar to a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) which are imprinted on barcodes. However, unlike a GTIN, EPC can identify a specific unit of a product by its unique & universal ID number. The identification is made possible as the EPC number is encoded in a microchip of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. Radio waves can be used to capture the unique IDs at extremely high rates and at distances further than 10 meters, without line-of-sight contact.

RFID technology is leveraged to boost supply chain visibility and increase inventory accuracy. As per market research, integration of sensors and cloud-based abilities in RFID tags, offer lucrative growth opportunities to the market players across segments like- supply chain management, airline baggage handling, industrial logistics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, brand protection, libraries and media management.

GS1 identifiers are being used across industries as these unique & universal codes help in recording physical events of a product at various touch points in the entire supply chain. For instance, Indian Railways uses GS1 identifiers, encoded in radio frequency tags, to manage and identify the location of its assets – wagons, coaches and locomotives.

For unique identification of its rolling stock, Indian Railways uses EPC/RFID tags designed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) encoded with GS1’s GIAI-202 standard. Partially implemented system has benefited the railways tremendously which is why once the system is fully implemented, it will be crucial for the visibility of each vehicle that runs in the Indian Railways in near real time. This system will also help Indian Railways in predicting maintenance work schedules, freight traction, and coach maintenance.

GS1 EPC-RFID standards are also being used to facilitate the Electronic Toll Collection system in Indian under the name FAS Tag. The ETC is meant to provide a faster, efficient and seamless travel on the state and national highways.

Similarly, in healthcare, the movement of prescription drugs or medical devices is visible and can be monitored and traced backwards (history of the transfers and locations of a product, from the point of manufacture onwards) and forwards (to see the intended route of the product towards the point of care) using the RFID enabled management systems at multiple points through the supply chain, from source to shelves. This traceability, enables trading partners to share information about the whereabouts of the products in the supply chain. The tracking helps eliminate counterfeit products as well as ensures patient safety.

Beneficial to the industry, RFID once implemented across industries will enable brand owners in immediate and effective product withdrawals/recalls. This will further help in achieving the increased consumer trust, brand integrity and consumer safety through product authentication and counterfeit detection. For more information, visit: https://www.gs1india.org/

GS1 Traceability Service Enables Complete Track and Trace of Their Products Across the Supply Chain

In today’s consumerist economy, the sale of a good or service is not merely a transaction – it is a brand promise that what is being sold to a consumer is genuine. The idea that a product isn’t what its seller claims it to be is highly detrimental to consumer perception. The trust that is built gradually over time depletes instantly and damages the brand, delivering a possibly fatal blow to future sales.

Long term sales, an important parameter of overall business success, is compromised when a consumer is given a product that is inauthentic, inferior, or unsafe. A brand’s social dimension, defined by the information shared by consumers online and through word-of-mouth, also takes a hit. With their aggressive focus on product data quality, today’s consumers are also acting as activists, taking action against brands that do not deliver on what they promise.

Counterfeit products like medicines, faulty medical devices, contaminated foods and unreliable sourcing practices threaten the safety of the public and erode consumer confidence in the brand and destroy its reputation. 

Counterfeit medications, faulty medical devices, contaminated foods and unsustainable sourcing practices threaten public safety, waste precious natural resources, erode consumer confidence, and destroy brand reputation. If companies refuse to invest in due diligence, they will suffer the brunt of superfast exchange of information about their products on social/ media and its adverse effects on the brand image. Along with affecting those who sell through shopping websites, brick-and-mortar retail will also be affected. Consumers will instantly switch their loyalties to companies who can build and sustain a sense of trust and transparency among consumers. 

Traceability is the ability to verify the history, location or status of an item by means of documentation. In the process of traceability, serialization along with unique identifiers are assigned to consumer goods/complex medical devices as the first step towards complete, end-to-end visibility over supply chains. 

Disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain and collaborative platforms, can take traceability systems to another level by offering detailed reports on any product’s status and movements and creating direct links between the various stakeholders along the supply chain, from producers to end users.

Traceability can be adapted to any industry. In fact, some sectors, such as the pharmaceutical industry, are subject to legislation that requires it, such as the European Union’s Falsified Medicines Directive (EU FMD) and the United States Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA).

GS1 Traceability Service:

GS1 India, a supply chain standards organization, has launched its traceability service for businesses. The service seeks to provide brands with complete track and trace of their products across the supply chain. 

Created in response to growing demands of establishing end-to-end traceability of the products in the supply chain and the consumers’ questions on the product origin, the service enables brands to gain end-to-end supply chain visibility and an ability to give access to this information to consumers for product verification.

Based on the principles of linking physical movement of good with the information flow, it ensures product information transparency. Besides, traceability also helps in reducing counterfeits by enabling counterfeit detection right at its source.

Empowering Consumers Through the Smart Consumer App

With the rapid growth of e-commerce, detailed & accurate product attribute information becomes more crucial since consumers became highly dependent on what they see online to make purchase decisions.

Additional product information in terms of what is mentioned on the product label, such as food ingredients, consistency, its life, calories, recipes and much more, becomes inaccessible in case it is not provided in product description.

That’s why national repository of product information plays a critical role in storing and sharing consistency, complete, accurate and trusted information on products from across categories. This information gains further trust as it is provided directly by manufacturers/brand owners.

India’s national repository of product information is DataKart, which is also linked to Smart Consumer mobile app that empowers billions of consumers with digitally access of product information.

The Smart Consumer mobile application (free for Android and iOS) is developed by GS1 India, a global supply chain standards organization. It lets consumers scan the product barcode using their mobile phones, to access complete product information before making purchase decisions. Besides product information, the app also provides information about the consumer care details of the company, and an option to file complaints or share product feedback directly with brand owners.

Smart Consumer app also enables consumers to validate product licenses, including FSSAI, AGMARK, BIS, etc.

Please note that only product barcode numbers starting with 890 could be scanned using the app since these are unique product IDs, provided by global supply chain standards organization – GS1 India.

Additionally, regulatory compliance authority on food – FSSAI & AGMARK, recently directed food companies to upload their product information along with their license numbers and expiry dates, on the Smart Consumer mobile app.

To know about how this app works, click on this link

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