Traceability: Know Where Every Product Is, and Where It Has Been
A recall that takes a week instead of an hour. A customer asking which lot their order came from. An auditor requesting the history of a batch. Traceability answers these questions in seconds, following each product from production and packaging through distribution to the final consumer.
Structured data captured at every step answers what, where, when and why for each item, and makes that history available to every partner who needs it.
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Why Traceability Matters
In a supply chain that crosses companies and borders, traceability is what keeps control in your hands. It lets you:
- Follow each product’s movement in real time
- Verify authenticity and block counterfeits
- Run recalls quickly and precisely
- Meet industry and regulatory requirements
- Earn the trust of suppliers, partners and consumers
GOLINE designs and implements traceability systems built on GS1 standards, keeps the data flowing between partners through GoTrust EDI, and runs them in production for fresh-food logistics through our GoFresh Suite.
Built on GS1 Standards
Traceability only works when every partner identifies the same thing in the same way. That is what the GS1 system provides: one set of identification keys, data carriers and event formats shared by manufacturers, logistics providers and retailers worldwide. Our systems use them end to end:
- GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) for products, combined with a lot number, a serial number or a best-before date through GS1 Application Identifiers
- GLN (Global Location Number) for companies, sites and delivery points
- SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code) for logistic units: pallets, cases and containers
- Data carriers: GS1-128, GS1 DataMatrix, GS1 DataBar and EPC/RFID tags, read by the scanners you already have
- EPCIS (Electronic Product Code Information Services), the GS1 standard for recording and sharing events: what happened, when, where and why
With these identifiers, every key event along the chain, from commissioning to shipping, receiving and sale, is recorded with the product’s status, location and processing details.
From Capture to Real-Time Sharing
Captured events are stored in an EPCIS repository as a permanent, queryable record. At any moment you can reconstruct the complete history of a product, a lot or a pallet, and share it with the partners who need it.
That shared record gives you:
- Full visibility for manufacturers, distributors and retailers
- Better coordination between every actor in the chain
- Real-time alerts when something is irregular
- Better customer service and after-sales support
Integrated with GoTrust EDI
Traceability data is only useful if it travels with the business documents. GoTrust EDI, the Swiss managed EDI clearing center engineered and operated by GOLINE, connects the two:
- EDI transactions with every trading partner: orders, despatch advices and invoices in EANCOM and EDIFACT, exchanged directly over AS2, SFTP or the Peppol network, with signed receipts and an immutable archive
- SSCC on every logistic unit: each despatch advice carries the SSCC of the pallets and cases shipped, together with lot and best-before date, so goods receipt is a single scan
- EPCIS events alongside the documents, so the physical movement of a product and its commercial record can always be reconciled
- Verified GS1 master data: GTIN and product attributes synchronised from the GS1 Switzerland firstbase catalogue
- Recall propagation: from SSCC to GTIN to lot, GoTrust identifies every partner who received the affected goods and propagates the recall in one click
The result is one chain of evidence, from the production line to the invoice, that your partners, your auditors and your customers can rely on. Discover GoTrust EDI.
What a Structured System Delivers
The value is measurable, for the business and for its customers:
- Transparency. Real-time data makes the whole chain accountable.
- Better processes. Visibility leads to better planning and faster decisions.
- Lower risk. Problems are spotted before they escalate.
- Compliance. Built on GS1 standards and ready for the audits that regulators and retailers require.
- Customer confidence. Proof of authenticity and quality control.
Built Around Your Operation
A cheese dairy and a pharmaceutical distributor do not need the same system. We analyse your operation and integrate traceability into the platforms you already use, from a paper-based warehouse to an ERP such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
Whether you manufacture, transport or sell, we guide you through:
- Choosing the right GS1 keys and coding system for your products and logistic units
- Integrating barcodes, RFID and scanning equipment
- Setting up capture and management workflows
- Connecting the system to your ERP and to GoTrust EDI for real-time exchange with your partners
- Support and maintenance for continuous improvement
Turn an Obligation into an Advantage
Regulators require traceability. Done well, it also cuts waste, speeds up decisions and strengthens the trust of everyone who buys from you.
Contact us to discuss a traceability system that fits your business.