SGS and Trace One partner for supply chain transparency

SGS Supply Chain Solution powered by T Transparency claims to be the first B2B social network for supply chain transparency.

It will provide brand owners, manufacturers and suppliers with farm-to-fork visibility through the supply chain.

Using real-time supply chain data, the platform claims to reduce risk, identify ingredient origins and ensure compliance.

Supply chain complexity​

Chris Morrison, CMO for Trace One, said consumers are savvier and more curious than ever about the products they buy.

“With the rise in product complexity comes an increase in the size of the supply chain, which introduces many new players,” ​he told FoodQualityNews.  ​

As the supply chain increases, transparency into the supply chain can decrease significantly. This may lead to an elevation in food fraud, food crisis, unsafe facilities, and unknown sources.  ​

“Often, supply chain visibility reaches only one or two levels, leaving multiple levels exposed to risk.”​

Organizations can prompt partners to join their network to share information and documentation.

Users have their own profiles and can interconnect with various supply chains, while managing the security and privacy within each of those networks.

The cloud-based workflow ensures accuracy of data and information, helps partners communicate and react to recalls and industry alerts and provides brand owners with information such as overall supply chain risk, visibility and compliance.

Social networking architecture​

It is built upon a proprietary social networking architecture that allows each cell in the supply chain to manage its own data and share information with other cells.

The architecture, based on a graph database, is the same type of architecture that powers Google, Facebook, Twitter and others.

Morrison said it is designed to help brand owners ensure they have full visibility into the supply chain so that they can reduce risk and increase consumer trust.

“Private brand retailers who have a larger product portfolio and composite products like ready-made and prepared foods, oftentimes can lack the supply chain visibility that consumers expect.​

“By inviting all or a selection of partners to join their network, brand owners can access information including the number of partners in their supply chain, how much visibility they have into these partners and areas to improve for greater transparency​

“[It] offers a dashboard from which users can share raw material and audit information, send messages, search for supply chain partner and product information, and invite others… all​ stakeholders have access to dashboards that highlights supply chain visibility and compliance metrics.”  ​

Users login to the online cloud-based platform from a web browser, just like a social media platform, and can communicate with other partners within their private, supply chain networks.

When asked if there was anything to stop people entering fraudulent data, Morrison said SGS’s verification and certification solutions ensures the data is accurate and compliant. 

Trace One and SGS have not partnered at this level before but it will combine the firm’s transparency software with SGS’s expertise in risk management, compliance and verification. 

“The expertise, industry knowledge and solutions that SGS can offer, together with a platform like T Transparency, will validate real-time supply chain data to diagnose and mitigate risks, ensure compliance and protect our customers’ brands​,” said Francois Marti, EVP Systems and Services Certification at SGS.