Product traceability is the ability to track and identify a product unit through each stage of the production, processing and distribution process.
Product traceability plays a very important role in production and business activities, especially with agricultural products in the Vietnamese market because fake, counterfeit, and poor quality products are increasingly widespread. No business wants its products to be evaluated the same, to be equated with good products and poor quality products. So what is product traceability?
Concept of Electronic Traceability
Product traceability is a solution for users to access and learn about the origin information of the products they have purchased, trace back from the product on the shelf to the original place of production, and review each stage in processing and distribution.
Traceability technology has been applied by many developed countries for a long time, as a mandatory step for products if they want to be circulated on the market. In Vietnam, traceability has only been of interest in recent years, especially after the Government's policy of implementing traceability stamps on agricultural products, vegetables, fruits, pork, etc.
For example, when buying a piece of pork, you need to know chain information such as: which batch of pork it comes from, which unit produced it, what feed the pig ate, what medicine it used, when, which unit produced it, what certificate it has... or transaction information (date of sale, production, packaging, expiry date...). All are logged in real time, date and time with clear numbers.
The need for traceability
Counterfeit goods with poor quality and unclear origin are the "nightmare" of millions of consumers. Although authorities and businesses have tried many ways to prevent poor quality goods, they still appear in every corner, from alleys to supermarkets and infiltrate people's lives.
Following the development trend of the market, in addition to the increasingly high demands from businesses on product quality, consumers have gradually become aware of protecting their own interests and health. That is also the time when traceability, especially for products that directly affect health such as food, cosmetics, household appliances, etc., becomes a mandatory standard.
Why is traceability necessary?
Through traceability, consumers can directly learn and collect information about the products they have purchased in the most complete and detailed way. Thereby, limiting the purchase of poor quality, fake, counterfeit goods, especially products that directly affect the health of consumers such as food, pharmaceuticals or clothing...
For businesses, traceability helps control risks that arise when tracking and verifying the entire path of goods. This is not only a step for businesses to create trust with customers but also a "wall" to protect the reputation of products and businesses, thereby helping businesses aim to conquer the international market which has very strict requirements on traceability of goods in both production and trade. For state management agencies, this is a useful tool for managing and controlling the commodity market.
In addition, traceability of goods also contributes to facilitating trade activities. For exported goods, if the requirements for traceability are not met, the competitive advantage will be lost. When applying traceability to exported goods, it means taking a step further in integrating deeply into the common value chain. As for imported goods, through traceability, the quality of imported goods can be better controlled, creating trust for consumers and equal competition between imported goods and domestically produced goods.
In summary, product traceability serves three purposes:
The first is to serve the supply chain to make information of a product transparent through the stages of production, processing and distribution;
Second is to serve consumers with peace of mind and information to choose genuine goods and be smart consumers;
Finally, it serves state management agencies in the process of managing and controlling goods on the market.
Benefits for businesses when implementing product traceability
1. Protecting the brand, enhancing business value
One of the first benefits of traceability is to protect the reputation of the brand and effectively enhance the value of the business. In fact, there are many famous businesses in the world that are exploited by bad guys, mixing real and fake products, destroying the trust of consumers in products that the business has spent a lot of effort to build the brand before. Traceability is a short way to effectively protect the reputation of the business, while conveying all messages from the manufacturer to consumers through just a simple code scan.
2. Increase competition, stimulate purchasing behavior
The next benefit to mention is that it helps increase competitiveness and stimulate purchasing behavior. Consumers are increasingly demanding on the quality of goods, especially for agricultural, forestry and fishery products, etc. Therefore, applying traceability will contribute strongly to improving the competitiveness of businesses' products in domestic and foreign markets, thereby promoting sales.
3. Maximum savings on system investment costs
Many businesses are still hesitant to use traceability stamps because they are worried about increasing input costs. However, the reality is completely different because most of the units providing traceability stamp services today have quite cheap fees, each stamp usually only costs around two or 300 VND to nearly one thousand VND (for fragile stamps, scratch-off covers, etc.). Meanwhile, businesses will be provided with an entire traceability system that integrates the features of warehouse management and sales management software systems, which are two very important and necessary features for businesses. That means that businesses only need to spend an investment cost but receive software with 3 specialized features. In addition, the traceability software system is usually operated quite simply, if you know how to make good use of all the features, businesses can also save significantly on management human resources.
4. Platform for exporting goods internationally
Vietnam is a country with many valuable agricultural products, however, its export market share to the international market is quite low. The main reason is that the products have not been proven to have a clear origin, the form of production is small, lacks concentration, and the scale and methods are still limited. The application of traceability will help support the strong development of product export activities, helping businesses reach the world. In addition, for some fields such as agriculture and aquaculture, traceability of aquatic products is a mandatory factor for all businesses wanting to export to the international market. The fact that Vietnamese businesses are often given a yellow light every time they export aquatic products is an alarm bell for businesses operating in this field.
5. Protect the community, boycott counterfeit goods out of Vietnam
For each enterprise, the application of traceability is not only of economic and political value, but it is also a way for enterprises to join hands to protect the interests of the community and push counterfeit goods out of the Vietnamese market. This is also an extremely important message that is extremely meaningful to the whole society.