This slideshow is from a workshop about traceability and barcode decoding. It outlines the benefits of having an end to end traceability system, how to use traceability to gain a competitive advantage and how to decode GS1-128 Barcodes.

1. Traceability to Profitability
with Judith Kirkness

2. About Judith
• Over 20 years experience working with
food manufacturers in her family
business, Minotaur Software
• Small Business Owner, Traceability
Matters
• Uses software and technology to solve
problems, gain efficiencies
• Author of The Traceability Factor

3. Today’s Goals
1. Understand barcodes and their use in
traceability and recalls
2. Learn the benefits of using traceability
information for a competitive
advantage
3. Discussion of current traceability
technology and practical ideas for how
to capture and use lot and serial
information in your business

4. Step 1: Understanding Barcodes

5. GS1: The Global Language of Business
• Barcodes are the most commonly used
method of communicating information
up and down the food and retail supply
chain, worldwide.
• Visit this non-profit industry led
organization:
– www.gs1.ca (Canada)
– www.gs1us.org (USA)
– www.gs1.org (World Site)

6. Is your company registered with GS1?
• ECCnet is GS1 Canada’s national
product registry
• It is a one to many product information
sharing tool – you set the details up
once and decide who sees your info

7. RETAIL BARCODES
There are three main types of:

8. 1. Retail Barcodes on Produce
• GS1 Databar: A stacked barcode
a barcode often
includes
information in
human readable
format that is not
encoded into the
barcode – This is
important to
remember when
we get to
traceability!

9. 2. Retail Barcodes on most
other items
• A GTIN-12 also known as UPC-12
Check
Digit
Item number
GS1 Global
Supplier Prefix

10. How much does a GS1 Company Prefix Cost (per
year in Canada)?

11. GS1 Company Prefix

12. • All UPC and EAN codes have an implied
unit of 1
Used primarily
outside North
America

13. 3. Deli Barcodes (price or weight
embedded)
• Different brands/models of machines
can be set up in different ways

14. BARCODES ON TRADE
ITEMS

15. The SCC-14, now called GTIN-14
• Any combination of trade items
packaged together for storage and/or
transport purposes, for example a case,
pallet or parcel needs its own GTIN-14
• The GTIN-14 number means a specific
product and package quantity
Note: This only
identifies an
item and
quantity!

16. GDSN – Global Data
Synchronization Network
• The GDSN is the GS1 service that
retailers can subscribe to, to sync and
receive up to date product data on
products they buy
• You set up once in ECCNET, make
changes once and retailers you share
with can receive those changes
automatically

17. Serial Shipping Container
Code (SSCC-18)
• The GS1 SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Unit) can also
be used to identify a logistic unit, as opposed to a trade
unit
• However, unlike the SCC (GTIN-14) which is the same
for each logistic unit, the SSCC-18 is different for each
carton and shipping container, regardless of its
contents. It can represent a mixed pallet of product,
for example

18. An SSCC is only useful if…
• The details of what are on that skid or in
that container are relayed to the
customer in some manner. Such as:
– EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
– ASN (Advanced Shipping Notice)

19. EDI Skid Label – MH10
• Loblaw in Canada requests
MH10 labels on most skids
and ASN’s from most
suppliers shipping to their
distribution centres
(currently just warehouses –
not DSD)
The SSCC code will be scanned
to match up with the skid detail
from the ASN

20. MEAT INDUSTRY
BARCODES

21. GS1-128
• The GS1-128 barcode (also called EAN-
128) is the industry standard barcode
used to communicate multiple pieces of
information in one scan.
• It is multi-segment:

22. GS1-128’s Require Software
to Interpret
• Unless you have software to break apart
the segments and know what to do with a
given segment, the number a scanner will
show is the entire long number, which
won’t be useful unless parsed.
• GS1-128 barcodes CAN be used for
traceability because they link a given
GTIN with its lot number (10), serial
number (21) or date (production packed
on or expiry)

23. Your supplier will recall by date, lot or serial
number
• In the XL Recall of 2012 CFIA issued recalls to consumers
based on best before date
• And recalled to trade based on packed on date

24. Which Segments Should You Use?
• You may be asked to put different
segments in your Gs1-128 barcode by
your customers based on what
information their computer scanning
system can separate and use
– Item Code (GTIN)
– Country of Origin (for exporting)
– Weight (if catch weight)
– Lot or Serial Number
– Production, expiry or packed on date

25. ALTERNATIVE BARCODES

26. • 2D Barcodes • RFID Tags

27. Limitations of Barcodes
• Readability (300 dpi printer
recommended), white labels best
• Damaged (cut, wrinkled)
• Label Size (4” wide label is typically
required)

28. If moving toward scanning,
consider the following:
• Choose your software first
• Hardware often depends on the
software you will be using (what
operating system – like a phone?)
• Do you need long range or short
range scanners?
• Do you need 2D barcode or RFID
capabilities?
• Trust experts to help you establish a
wireless network in cooler and
freezer environments

29. Questions?
Let’s decode some barcodes
• Please refer to the question
sheet with some example
barcodes.
• Take a few minutes to try and
work through the questions and
then we’ll take them up
together

30. Barcode Decoding Activity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

31. Answers
1.
(01)  GTIN  14 Digit Number
(3102)  Net Weight (kg)  25.89 kg

32. Answers
2.
(01)  GTIN  14 Digit Number
(15)  Best Before Date  YYMMDD
= 2015/JAN/31
(10)  Batch or Lot Number  01A

33. Answers
3.
(02)  CONTENT  14 Digit Number
(13)  Packaging Date  YYMMDD
2014/MAY/21
(422)  Country of Origin  124 (Canada)

34. Answers
4.
(02)  CONTENT  14 Digit Number
(17)  Expiration Date  YYMMDD
2015/JUN/26
(425)  Country of Disassembly  840 (USA)
(21)  Serial Number  W85040nD6

35. Answers
5.
(01)  DTIN  14 Digit Number
(13)  Packaging Date  YYMMDD
2013/DEC/12
(3103)  Net Weight (kg)  22.7 kg
(10)  Batch or Lot Number  01B

36. Congratulations,
You’ve just become Barcode Certified!
Let’s take a 10 minute break!

37. Step 2: Using Traceability
Information for a Competitive
Advantage

38. Traceability Perception
• Done to satisfy government inspectors
• Something QA/QC takes care of
• Requirement of GFSI certification
• It’s just a Cost

39. Traceability Opportunity
• Given that you are tracking the
information anyway, how can you get
that information working for you to give
you a competitive advantage?
• How you tackle traceability will
determine the possible business
benefits!

40. The Operational Traceability Flow

41. When Traceability is tested…
Recall reporting is the most important feature for protecting
your brand – time is of the essence
• CFIA recalls for year ending March 2013
• 109 allergen related
• 13 due to chemical residue
• 47 due to extraneous matter
• 99 due to microbiological or other food safety concern
• 268 Recalls total

42. • Being able to pull product quickly might
be the least used feature of automated
traceability
• Can traceability technology offer more
than just fast recall?

43. Benefits of Traceability Technology
• Recall Prevention
• Food Safety
• Costing
• Yield Calculations
• Inventory Knowledge
• Profitability

44. What kind of Technology?
• ERP software – integrating front office
with plant floor scales and warehouse
• Handheld warehouse management
• Verified traceability (not just an open
field)
• EDI for communicating between
suppliers and customers

45. Allergen recall prevention through
scanning
• Item attribute and item substitution
tracking/alerting, supplier approvals

46. Food Safety
• QA/QC Information storage
• Use information for release of product
for sale
• Linking batches to their test results for
production history to determine cause

47. Costing
• Knowing your true costs
• How are you calculating your costs right
now?

48. Costing using lot information
• What goes into your raw material costs?
• Do you assemble or disassemble
products, or both?
• Costing by batch is a RESULT of entering
quantities of inputs and outputs
• Timely, accurate costs and automated
depletion of raw materials or WIP as
finished goods are created

49. Yield Calculations
• Regular, timely comparison of inputs vs.
outputs
• How did yield knowledge help
Halenda’s?

50. Inventory Knowledge
• Inventory control that includes
traceability and expiry information
combined with reporting can alert you
to approaching dated product
• Damaged product can be adjusted out
or scanned to a damage location
• FIFO suggestion can help determine
missing units from a lot

51. Profitability
• If the system knows your costs and
knows what you sold each item for to
each customer, it can compute PROFIT
across your items and your customers
• Computers can track and deduct
marketing program costs to give you
true profit figures?

52. Step 3: Practical Take Home Ideas
for improving Traceability

53. Halenda’s
Bingo Dabber System
http://minotaursoftware.com/halendas-bingo-dabber-system/

54. Media – Labels, Tags
Direct Thermal
vs.
Thermal Transfer Ribbon

55. Technology to bring information
together
• ERP or integrated business
management systems
• Customer portals and dashboards
• Barcode scanning and handheld
warehouse management
• Plant floor equipment (scales, PLCs)
feeding your ERP system
• Touch screen plant floor weight label
stations
• Mobile worker tablets, scanners and
printers

56. How to Pay for it?
35%
50%

57. Questions -
What are your current traceability
challenges?
How can I help you?
judith@minotaursoftware.com
www.minotaursoftware.com
www.traceabilitymatters.com