The ‘track and trace’ trend is becoming increasingly important in the manufacturing industry. This is because track and trace ensures greater transparency in the production process, allowing you to view the progress and status data along your production line at any time.
Above all, however, it enables the digital traceability of individual components, which is often necessary due to legal requirements, standards or to fulfill certifications.
In this article, we explain exactly what the term means and what benefits it brings for companies.
What is ‘Track and Trace’?
In short, Track & Trace can be defined as a method for determining process progress and locations using status and localization data.
A study by ESB Business School summarizes the ‘Track & Trace’ trend as follows: “In addition to status data, local or global localization data is also important for determining process progress and delivery times, determining locations and thus simplifying access to resources and making them easier to plan.”
How does Track and Trace work? And how is it used in the industry?
The trend is becoming increasingly important in the manufacturing industry. This is because it is essential to know where components or products are currently located in the production line at all times.
There are various technologies and tools available to make Track and Trace work. The following technologies can be used, for example:
- Barcodes, Data Matrix codes or RFID chips
- Real Time Locating Systems (e.g. GPS)
- Scanners, tablets or smartphones
- Software solutions
The trend is being applied in many places. Here is an excerpt of possible use cases for track and trace in companies:
- Progress tracking in production or in the production process
- Traceability of components
- Locating tools, machines, testing and measuring equipment
First select the use case and then decide which technology is best suited to your use case.
Why ‘Track and Trace’? What advantages does this trend offer?
Having your process progress and locations available at any time at the touch of a button with the help of status and localization data brings a number of benefits. Above all, however, Track & Trace offers two main advantages:
- More transparency in the production process: The current status is immediately visible. You can see at a glance where a product is in the production chain.
- Digital traceability is essential, especially in manufacturing companies. Manufacturers can quickly trace which individual components have been installed in which product at any time.
Practical example Testify: How to use checklist software to generate data for Track & Trace.
Testify can be used during production. Employees can record relevant data, such as serial numbers or whether a work step has been completed, directly at the workplace.
In order for the Track & Trace principle to be applied, the checklists must be used in a structured and workplace-related manner.
If the structure of the digital checklists is set up and organized by workstation, it is immediately clear what needs to be processed in series. It is therefore possible to find out at any time where what was last processed, what the current status is and which processing step the product is currently in.
Or to put it another way: You can see where the product currently stands in the checklist workflow (or at which work step).
This way of working also allows a much higher level of detail than before. This is particularly advantageous for traceability or complaint management.
Conclusion
The trend known as “Track & Trace” is becoming increasingly important for manufacturing companies. Small investments and conversions are often enough to benefit from the advantages of the ‘Track & Trace’ principle in operations. As with most digitalization projects, small pilot projects can be used to get started.
However, one thing is certain: traceability and transparency will continue to play an increasingly important role in companies in the future. As a result, the importance of the “track and trace” trend is also growing.
