Automatic Identification-Enabled Traceability in Supply Chain Management

Traceability defined as the ability to trace dependent items within a model and access the identity and attribute of the physical supply chain´s objects plays a vital role in the supply chain management (SCM). However, achieving end-to-end traceability across the supply chain is currently quite a challenge from a technical, a co-ordination and a cost perspective. To identify suitable traceability methods, possible automatic identification technology (Auto-ID) is clarified by analyzing alphanumerical codes, bar codes, and the radio frequency identification (RFID). Its purpose is to study the different requirements of traceability in the SCM, and to provide a general framework for the identification of the product whole lifecycle information. Furthermore, the architecture and information models of the traceability system, the relationship of the presented Auto-ID technologies and how the methods work are presented to address the different stages´ requirements together with their advantages.