A traceability system keeps track of what happens to every Lot of produce or product in your facility.

A Lot is a batch of produce, inventory products or finished goods, that originate from the same source, or were manufactured together, at the same time.

A Lot is identified by a single Lot Code. Every item in the Lot carries the same Lot Code, and each Lot is tracked separately.

The traceability system uses the Lot Code to reference, enrich and access the entire history of a Lot - this includes where it came from, how it was made, its ingredients and packaging, their origin and authenticity, the staff and equipment that came into contact with the Lot, and all the dates of various processes.

Also it shows all relevant expiry dates, whether based on the date it was received, expiry dates of ingredients, or expiry dates determined by the elapsed time after manufacture.

Such a system provides a wide range of accurate, detailed reports that will satisfy any regulator or auditor that your business is compliant.

Food and beverage processors need a traceability system to demonstrate that they are compliant with food safety regulations, and value-add certifications.

Additionally, many retailers and distributors require that you have a full audit trail of what is in your product, and expiry dates of both finished goods and ingredients.

You need traceability so that you can respond quickly to a targeted recall. Without detailed traceability, a business may have to recall a broad range of product to recover a limited outbreak or contamination issue. This can even bankrupt small businesses.

Any traceability system provides you with the data you need to be compliant with regulations, value-added certifications and supports rapid, targeted product recalls.

For example, auditors that check the authenticity of Organic, Kosher or similar credentials, will need to perform spot checks that demonstrate you can track and trace any batch of product at any time. A traceability system ensures that all this information is accessible, accurate and detailed.

Without a traceability system, contamination in a purchased bag of sugar, likely means the recall of every product containing sugar within a time period.

With a traceability system, you can immediately single out only the products that used the contaminated batch, and reduce your recall to the customers and inventory affected.

This depends on your jurisdiction. In most countries, including Canada, food policy is a priority.

In Canada, the Safe Food For Canadians Act (SFCA) governs the requirements for handling food commodities, and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) details agencies for food sectors, and their requirements for licensing, traceability and other aspects of food safety.

The Canadian Food Safety Inspection Agency offers a useful Toolkit for food businesses that helps Canadian food producers and processors understand the requirements for their business, and what licences are required.

The Province of British Columbia provides funding and education programs to help food business deploy traceability systems. Other states and provinces offer similar programs.

CadiTrack was designed to fill gaps found in other systems:

• easy to use, intuitive web interface

• easy to implement - no integration, no software installation or server equipment

• no impact on existing accounting and inventory systems

• applicable to a wide range of processing facilities

• affordable, manageable - even for the smallest SME

CadiTrack not only takes care of your traceability requirements, in doing so it tracks the work flow in your facility.

What does this mean? It means that every "product processing event" such as receiving, processing, packing and shipping, is captured in a detailed Work Order.

A supervisor can bring up real-time logs showing what production activities were completed today, yesterday, this week, or any time range she cares to see.

Supervisors can mark completed Work Orders as "Posted" indicating that it has been reviewed, checked, or approved.

It means that you can point a barcode scanner at any item in your inventory, and learn its entire profile and history, who has been in contact with it, what equipment it has been in contact with.

It means you have complete access to what happens in your food production or processing facility.

CadiTrack means you can monitor and control production effectively.

All the CadiTrack software is cloud based. So you don't need to hire an IT expert, buy a server , or become a database manager.

You will need at least one PC with at least one Zebra (or ZPL compatible) printer, a Dymo printer and a couple of barcode scanners.

You will need to learn the skills to connect printers to your PC, change printer stock and install printer drivers on your PC.

Most CadiTrack functions are available through any type of browser on any type of device. But some print drivers are only available on Windows, not Mac IOS or Android. You will need at least one Windows computer for label printing.

At the start of an implementation, we will give you a clear Implementation Workplan detailing "what we do", "what you do", what equipment you will need to procure, and what training you will do.

Depending on how long it takes us to get your data, and how long it takes to procure printers, an implementation can take from 3 to 6 weeks.

During this period your effort is minimal, mostly providing information and deciding on label options, while we configure your business rules in CadiTrack.

Zebra Technologies manufactures a wide selection of bar code and label printers for all types off labeling applications. They offer barcode label printers using thermal transfer (optimal) or direct thermal (require special stock) technologies.

Zebra Technologies developed ZPL II - a programming language that allows compatible printers to interface directly with labelling applications.

Other manufacturers have adopted ZPL II as a de facto industry standard.

CadiTr

No. CadiTrack is not an Inventory System. An Inventory System tracks the quantity, location and value of inventory and assets - only very high end inventory system will also have integrated traceability functions.

An Inventory System must integrate closely with your Accounting System, so that ledger asset account balances tally with inventory values.

CadiTrack tracks individual Lots of product, and follows them like threads through a fabric, so you always know the path that each Lot of product takes and where it came from. It does not maintain the aggregate value and quantity of your inventory.

Unlike many systems, CadiTrack also keeps a record of all the staff and equipment contact involved in the manufacture of a product.

No. CadiTrack is not a Bookkeeping or Accounting System.

These systems track the dollars, we track the product and manufacturing workflows!

It doesn't matter whether you do, or don't , already have an Accounting System or an Inventory System.

CadiTrack has a way to work with what you have, and leverage its functionality without replacing it.

Inventory System - CadiTrack can, but doesn't have to, use the same item/product catalogue that your Inventory System uses. If you don't have an Inventory System then you simply create an item list in CadiTrack.

In either case, CadiTrack intuitive labelling and Lot coding will enhance your ability to see what inventory you have, and manage First In, First Out (FIFO) procedures where required.

CadiTrack can work with any systems you have, you don't need to change or replace your existing business systems.

Even if you have a production environment without sophisticated Accounting and Inventory Systems, CadiTrack will immediately bring your quality control and compliance capabilities to a new level.