iTrade Traceability Customers Turn Food Safety Into Increased Profits

The results of a yearlong traceability pilot program with a major global retailer shows food traceability programs not only bring food traceability gains, but also drive up profits by an average of 55 percent

[Dublin, Calif.] iTradeNetwork,the leading global provider of supply chain software for the food and beverageindustry, is in the unique position of being able to independently study datafrom the dozens of traceability pilot programs it has championed with retailersglobally and domestically, and the findings are encouraging for growerprofits. 

New data from a traceabilitypilot with a major industry buyer shows that iTrade Transit customers increased their trading volumes onaverage by 55 percent, within 12 months – with some suppliers increasing volumeby as much as 300 percent. The iTrade data analytics team also studied theincremental value for new growers joining the same global buyer’s supplier baseand utilizing Transit. A sample ofjust four new growers added a combined $10 million in revenue over the sameperiod. 

Houweling’s Group, a world-renowned greenhouse grower andmarketer participating in the program, comments: “Increased traceability wasmandated by our buyer and met with a natural degree of hesitancy. We were concernedabout added hardware costs and increased workload, but iTrade made it easy forus to comply quickly. We initially considered this a box ticking exercise, butin fact, it has improved our supplier/buyer relationship, and provided us with atrackable food safety halo. Traceability has become more than simply acompliance need; it’s a differentiator that helps us grow our business,” notes DavidBell, CMO Houweling’s Group.

In response toincreasing regulatory, consumer, and industry pressure for food safety, iTradebuilt the Transit solution from the ground up, and integrated it intothe iTrade platform. The user interface is custom designed for simplicity withmaximum real-time visibility. Suitable for growers of all sizes, it is a onestop solution to help comply with more stringent traceability requirements forleafy greens and other produce. Transit’s mobile capabilities capturetraceability data at the source and transmit PTI Palletized Advanced ShipNotices from anywhere in the world. The tool impowers suppliers to offer buyerscritical information as early as possible in a product’s journey through thesupply chain--enhancing freshness, improving shelf readiness, and allowingbuyers to maximize inventory and extend shelf life.

“From improving supplychain efficiencies and ensuring food safety to helping family farms, our traceability suiteprovidesso many benefits to buyers, suppliers, and consumers alike,” said RhondaBassett-Spiers, CEO of iTradeNetwork. “It tracks commodities from field tofork, automates and accelerates receiving, improves shelf life, simplifiessubstitutions, and ultimately gives participants complete transparency intoevery step of a product’s journey.”

For more informationabout iTrade’s traceability suite, go to https://www.itradenetwork.com/. Growers interested in learning more aboutiTrade’s current ‘world’s safest food supply chain’ initiative and having anopportunity to experience a promotional offer of the iTracefresh traceability suite for a year, free of charge, shouldvisit https://www.itradenetwork.com/itracefresh/item/.