osapiens ftrace is a traceability solution for different stakeholders along the supply chain with different use cases:
– Retailers or brand manufacturers: transparency about origin and other batch-related product data for quality assurance and communication to customers
– Processors and producers further up in the value chain: Efficient sharing of the batch data

The solution is currently mainly used in the food sector, for products of animal origin (fish, meat, dairy products, eggs, honey), fruit, vegetables, oils, beverages and multi-ingredient products. Technically, however, all products can be traced on a batchlevel, including technical products, textiles and pharmaceutical products.

osapiens ftrace is based on a decentralized approach. This means that each company provides the information for which it is responsible. For example, slaughterhouses submit information on the origin of the animals and the slaughtering event. Companies downstream in the supply chain can access this data as needed, as well as transmit additional traceability information on their own processing step to link it to the data from the respective upstream stage. This avoids data redundancy for all supply chain participants, as companies only need to provide the information once. If upstream suppliers are not yet osapiens ftrace partners, you can also enter data on their behalf after consulting your ftrace contact person.

GS1 standards are used to identify companies and products. Companies need a GLN (Global Location Number – type 2) for the registration. For product identification GTINs (Global Trade Item Number) are used.

The rights to the data lie with the company that transmits it. A rights management system allows the company to choose which partners can view data in the system. This ensures that companies in the supply chain only see the data that is relevant for the product batches they received.

The data transfer is done manually via website or automated via web service. Thus, a suitable solution for data transfer is available for large corporations with the appropriate IT infrastructure as well as for small companies. In addition, you have the option of connecting your own EPCIS repository to ftrace if required.

osapiens ftrace is a solution for batch traceability. Consequently, the traceability data is transmitted to the system for each batch of the respective products, e.g. slaughter/catch date or origin. Static data, such as the product name or the fish species do not have to be transmitted per batch and are initially stored in the master data when the product is created.

First, register your company with osapiens ftrace and submit your master data. Then define the products for batch-traceability. If you have the required information already,  you can enter it in the system. Alternatively, ask your suppliers to provide the data via osapiens ftrace. Your suppliers will get access to the system in an onboarding process. If you want to use the information for communication to your customers, the design for the corresponding homepage will also be defined and potential changes to product labelling be discussed.

Transfer your master data to osapiens ftrace and then start the data transfer for the relevant products. In the case of automated transmission via web service, an interface is set up for this purpose. In the case of manual entry, the procedure will be explained to you in a webinar. Manual entries are suitable if only a small volume of data needs to be transmitted.