Material Traceability Statement
Material traceability is the process of ensuring that the raw materials or components of a product have a record of origin, production, and destination or consumption to support traceback or recall analysis after receipt, production, or distribution. Material traceability is an essential part of supply chain analytics playing a critical role in quality, manufacturing and planning, legal and compliance, brand management, and sustainability functions, among others
As the process of capturing information to know the origin of the elements of a product, the composition of that product, and distribution or end-use of that product, material traceability most commonly results in product stewardship benefits to safety, sustainability, and product design. Material traceability enables the transparency needed for supply chain accountability to support safety, quality, compliance, and brand integrity. Accurate and efficient material or product traceability is essential in food and beverage, agriculture, consumer packaged goods, life sciences, and regulated industries, among others.
Material traceability origin and product attribute data can come from suppliers at every level of a supply chain, sufficient to meet a manufacturer's or brand owner's requirements and objectives. Critical material and product traceability data can also come from the manufacturer and its distribution and retail partners, as well as customers and consumers, for full end-to-end traceability.
Material traceability enables faster and more accurate recalls and tracebacks when quality or safety issues arise. Manufactures and brand owners are able to meet compliance and brand integrity requirements more efficiently and demonstrate product stewardship and authenticity more accurately. The benefits of material traceability enhance the effectiveness of quality, compliance sustainability, and supply chain analytics functions of a business.