Seamless Traceability: Developing a Track & Trace Solution for Laetus
Challenge
Laetus was mainly focusing on the pharmaceutical industry and providing track and trace solutions for them.
Track and trace is a process of following each product's path from factory to the end customer. This is a system that ensures that each product that leaves the factory gets followed through the whole transporting process and is delivered to the sellers.
This is ensured in a way that every product gets a specific barcode or QR code. With this code, manufacturers can determine exactly in which box and where in the warehouse a specific product is placed. Also, they can track where each product from a certain series is sold and sent to. This enables manufacturers to easily withdraw certain product series from the market when needed.
This system also enables users to check where the specific product was manufactured and by whom. This is extremely important because selling a faux pharmaceutical product can cause a lot of difficulties for the company and can be extremely dangerous for users.
Due to emerging needs for the products to be tracked and traced in the food industry, Laetus wanted to expand its solutions to satisfy this industry’s needs. In terms of the number of products that are being produced daily, the food industry is much more demanding than the pharmaceutical industry. Because of that, Laetus needed a different solution to be able to implement a track and trace system in food factories.
The food industry is far more challenging regarding the Track and Trace process due to multiple reasons:
The number of products that are produced daily is much higher than in the pharmaceutical industry.
Any error that causes the production line to temporarily stop is extremely expensive. Because of that, the new system needs to be less prone to errors.
Food can be kept in the factory for a short period of time due to expiration dates on the products.
The sizes and shapes of the product packaging in the food industry are diverse. This makes it difficult for the manufacturers to print QR codes and OCR text on the package. To satisfy this need, new scanners need to be used for this industry.
Laetus was mainly focusing on the pharmaceutical industry and providing track and trace solutions for them.
Track and trace is a process of following each product's path from factory to the end customer. This is a system that ensures that each product that leaves the factory gets followed through the whole transporting process and is delivered to the sellers.
This is ensured in a way that every product gets a specific barcode or QR code. With this code, manufacturers can determine exactly in which box and where in the warehouse a specific product is placed. Also, they can track where each product from a certain series is sold and sent to. This enables manufacturers to easily withdraw certain product series from the market when needed.
This system also enables users to check where the specific product was manufactured and by whom. This is extremely important because selling a faux pharmaceutical product can cause a lot of difficulties for the company and can be extremely dangerous for users.
Due to emerging needs for the products to be tracked and traced in the food industry, Laetus wanted to expand its solutions to satisfy this industry’s needs. In terms of the number of products that are being produced daily, the food industry is much more demanding than the pharmaceutical industry. Because of that, Laetus needed a different solution to be able to implement a track and trace system in food factories.
The food industry is far more challenging regarding the Track and Trace process due to multiple reasons:
The number of products that are produced daily is much higher than in the pharmaceutical industry.
Any error that causes the production line to temporarily stop is extremely expensive. Because of that, the new system needs to be less prone to errors.
Food can be kept in the factory for a short period of time due to expiration dates on the products.
The sizes and shapes of the product packaging in the food industry are diverse. This makes it difficult for the manufacturers to print QR codes and OCR text on the package. To satisfy this need, new scanners need to be used for this industry.
Solution
Due to the food industry's diverse packaging—often circular or undefined in shape—the system needed to support multiple printers and scanners simultaneously. Given the speed of production lines in food factories, printing and scanning had to occur in under a second for each product, requiring multiple devices to work on one product at a time.
Laetus sought developers to work on this technology, leading to our collaboration starting in 2013. The new system had to be nearly flawless, with a target of discarding only one product out of every 10,000. Since Track and Trace involves multiple levels of communication both within and outside the factory, different systems were implemented for each level, resulting in several simultaneous projects.
The Track and Trace system consists of various Windows service applications running on different machines, managing the entire process. The factory system has multiple levels:
Level 1: Devices—scanners, cameras, printers.
Level 2: Production Line software that controls Level 1 devices.
Level 3: Plant—controls multiple production lines.
Level 4: Interfaces with various departments like planning, security, and quality control.
Our developers worked on a new version of the system for Levels 1 and 2, called Laetus New Technology (LNT), which met the food industry's fast-paced production demands with greater accuracy. Another version, the Unified Platform (UP), works alongside LNT depending on specific device needs.
The External Communicator (EC) connects Level 4 to Level 3, translating messages between them. Other departments communicate via one interface to issue production orders. Due to the high cost of production line errors or stoppages, the communication with production lines is secure and complex.
Communication flows both ways: Level 4 issues orders via EC, which are translated to Level 3 (Plant) and distributed to production lines and devices. Once the order is completed, Levels 1 and 2 send confirmation back through the same channels.
Our team is responsible for software maintenance, developing new features, customizing versions for specific Laetus customers, server installations, supporting software testing, and troubleshooting client systems.
Due to the food industry's diverse packaging—often circular or undefined in shape—the system needed to support multiple printers and scanners simultaneously. Given the speed of production lines in food factories, printing and scanning had to occur in under a second for each product, requiring multiple devices to work on one product at a time.
Laetus sought developers to work on this technology, leading to our collaboration starting in 2013. The new system had to be nearly flawless, with a target of discarding only one product out of every 10,000. Since Track and Trace involves multiple levels of communication both within and outside the factory, different systems were implemented for each level, resulting in several simultaneous projects.
The Track and Trace system consists of various Windows service applications running on different machines, managing the entire process. The factory system has multiple levels:
Level 1: Devices—scanners, cameras, printers.
Level 2: Production Line software that controls Level 1 devices.
Level 3: Plant—controls multiple production lines.
Level 4: Interfaces with various departments like planning, security, and quality control.
Our developers worked on a new version of the system for Levels 1 and 2, called Laetus New Technology (LNT), which met the food industry's fast-paced production demands with greater accuracy. Another version, the Unified Platform (UP), works alongside LNT depending on specific device needs.
The External Communicator (EC) connects Level 4 to Level 3, translating messages between them. Other departments communicate via one interface to issue production orders. Due to the high cost of production line errors or stoppages, the communication with production lines is secure and complex.
Communication flows both ways: Level 4 issues orders via EC, which are translated to Level 3 (Plant) and distributed to production lines and devices. Once the order is completed, Levels 1 and 2 send confirmation back through the same channels.
Our team is responsible for software maintenance, developing new features, customizing versions for specific Laetus customers, server installations, supporting software testing, and troubleshooting client systems.
Results
Enhanced Efficiency: EC acted as the missing link, enabling swift and accurate data exchange between Laetus' track and trace system and clients' ERP platforms. This synchronization eliminated data silos and streamlined operations.
Operational Agility: The integration of EC empowered Laetus' clients to adapt swiftly to market changes. The streamlined data flow facilitated quicker adjustments to production schedules, inventory levels, and supply chain management.
Holistic Traceability: The seamless integration between the track and trace system and ERP systems facilitated end-to-end traceability. This was critical for both regulatory compliance and quality assurance, bolstering client credibility in their industries.
Customer Satisfaction: The integration of Laetus' track and trace system with ERP ecosystems through EC enhanced the overall customer experience. Clients could confidently offer seamless operations to their end customers, enhancing satisfaction and loyalty.
Enhanced Efficiency: EC acted as the missing link, enabling swift and accurate data exchange between Laetus' track and trace system and clients' ERP platforms. This synchronization eliminated data silos and streamlined operations.
Operational Agility: The integration of EC empowered Laetus' clients to adapt swiftly to market changes. The streamlined data flow facilitated quicker adjustments to production schedules, inventory levels, and supply chain management.
Holistic Traceability: The seamless integration between the track and trace system and ERP systems facilitated end-to-end traceability. This was critical for both regulatory compliance and quality assurance, bolstering client credibility in their industries.
Customer Satisfaction: The integration of Laetus' track and trace system with ERP ecosystems through EC enhanced the overall customer experience. Clients could confidently offer seamless operations to their end customers, enhancing satisfaction and loyalty.