The importance of traceability in manufacturing and supply chain
Explore how integrating tracking and tracing strategies into your production process enhances compliance, transparency and accountability
Now more than ever, manufacturing and supply chain traceability is becoming an increasingly important part of the production process. While many might think that traceability only applies to industries that more commonly face product recalls, like beverage and food production or the automotive industry, the simple truth is that manufacturing and supply chain traceability can benefit any manufacturer.
What is traceability in the manufacturing industry?
Traceability can be described as processes and systems that help locate products or components of products throughout the production and manufacturing process. A simple example would be a product's serial number or unique identifier (UID).
There are 
different levels of traceability, and all businesses have unique measures for their traceability, but a common understanding of traceability levels is as follows:
Basic
The traceability meets (but does not go beyond) current standards within the industry and requirements by legislation.
Standard
The traceability meets (and somewhat goes beyond) current standards within the industry and requirements by legislation.
Advanced
The traceability meets (and vastly goes beyond) current standards within the industry and requirements by legislation.
Why is traceability so important for production processes?
As more organizations and producers of products switch from manual to digital manufacturing and production methods, it's apparent that advanced traceability is the best way to do things.
Advances in technology allow for consistent upgrades within the manufacturing process to be possible. These upgrades in the manufacturing process can save businesses money and time in the long term, and the same thing can be said when it comes to traceability systems.
Full traceability is vital in manufacturing for a variety of reasons. Below are a few examples of scenarios where proper traceability would help a business.
Recalling of products
A product recall can be a headache for any business, but it can be especially difficult for those that do not have sound traceability systems in place. With a solid traceability system in place, a product can be easily identified and tracked through the production process, making an effective recall much easier to manage.
Quality control
Product quality can improve when a business implements a sound internal traceability system. Defective products become easier to track down. If the product's defectivity can be traced back to a specific part of the production process, implementing necessary changes can happen more quickly than checking the entire production line.
Efficiency improvement through waste reduction
Waste is a significant factor at play within the production and manufacturing process. The less waste that can be produced, the better. Tracking waste production becomes more manageable when appropriately implemented traceability systems and procedures. In many manufacturing and production scenarios, by implementing comprehensive traceability systems, waste can be reduced, but this, in turn, allows for operational efficiency to be increased.
Higher levels of customer satisfaction
The foundation of any business typically relays that a top priority is always to keep your customers feeling satisfied. With the help of robust traceability systems, businesses become more equipped than ever before to improve existing manufacturing processes. These improvements will undoubtedly help the production and manufacturing side of things, but the customer also benefits as higher quality products become increasingly achievable.
Benefits of traceability in manufacturing processes
Root cause analysis
When you have access to proper internal traceability, comprehensive analysis of manufacturing processes can be performed if problems ever arise. With a comprehensive analysis of the manufacturing process so easily accessible, root causes can be found and fixed in a timely fashion. Root cause analysis is also a great tool to use when trying to identify strong and weak performing production processes. Optra offers the best solution available.
Let's say that your business is making coffee cups, and inspection results show that some of the finished products turn out to have cracks in them. With proper product traceability in place, you have easy access to real-time visibility of the production process, allowing you to figure out precisely where defects in the coffee cups are coming from. The flaws found during quality checkups could be occurring for a variety of reasons, for example:
- The coffee cups missed a quality check because an employee was absent
- A new employee made a mistake
- There is an issue with the raw materials used to make the coffee cups
- The coffee cups were not heated to the correct temperature due to the same machine continuously needing repair
Regardless of what the reasoning for a product's defects turns out to be, root causes are much easier to find when proper traceability systems are in place.
Continuous improvement
Additionally, to root cause analysis, another great benefit that can come from proper traceability systems would be the implementation of continuous improvement. Continuous improvement works when you take a production and manufacturing process that has already been established, and then you look for a wide variety of ways to improve it. Continuous improvement can come in many different forms, such as improving efficiency, product quality, manufacturing time, etc.
What makes traceability important is how quickly issues are found and resolved. Traceability systems within your manufacturing processes will allow you to gather timely and precise data measurements on various parts of the business. With this easily accessible information, you can feel confident knowing what is working well and what can use improvement.
Engagement
Introducing proper product traceability systems in your manufacturing processes gives you and your business a competitive advantage. Optra traceability systems set your business apart by enabling you to engage more with the company and its many processes. When you understand how your business is genuinely functioning, better understanding and engagement between you and your team members can be achieved.
Go above and beyond
Certain industries must have traceability systems in place, either due to local, state or federal legislation. If your business serves an industry where these regulations are necessary, better traceability can help you grow more than you realize. Suppose you are already obligated to implement these systems to meet legal requirements. What's stopping you from exceeding the current standards within the industry and requirements by legislation?
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