Insulation, drywall and ceiling products distributor CCF is testing a product traceability initiative on site with Berkeley. It claims this is an industry-first.
CCF has developed a process to provide a detailed end-to-end report that tracks products from the manufacturer, at manufacturing batch level, through the distribution process and delivery to the goods-in location on a site. After months of in-house testing, CCF is now trialling its product traceability programme on a live project, working with its supply chain partners Kingspan and Berkeley Group.
In this first phase, CCF is focusing on batch-level traceability of full pallets containing three Kingspan products for use at two of Berkeley Group's sites. Using the unique GTIN (Global Trade Item Number), linking up with the manufacturer's batch code, CCF is able to pull together a bespoke report showing which batch was delivered and where to.
The results of this first phase will help shape the next stage of this initiative, which will expand the scope of the trials in the early part of 2024.
Catherine Gibson, managing director of CCF, said: "In a world where we expect sustainability and product safety to be verifiable, the traceability of building materials from the supply chain is becoming increasingly important. We know this is an issue that really matters to our customers, and that the majority of traceability checks currently are done manually. CCF will play a key role in developing a more accurate, data-driven solution that will provide the detailed information customers require in a much smarter way.
"Our suppliers have expressed a desire for us to develop a system for batch traceability, and our customers are searching for a first-step to batch level identification on site. To explore this, we created a working group with a manufacturer – Kingspan Insulation – and a customer – Berkeley Group, both of which share our determination to create solutions for our customers that are innovative by design, practical to implement and above all, drive positive change.
Source; BIMPLUS