As the produce industry continues to evolve, the need for efficient and accurate traceability systems has become more pressing than ever. One crucial aspect of achieving this goal is labeling interoperability and proper formatting. In this week’s blog, we will talk about generating labels in Croptracker for products and pallets that support product industry traceability standards and efficient packed inventory management including adding a voice pick code. We'll explore the best practices labeling produce, for generating voice pick codes and ensuring seamless communication between different systems and stakeholders in the supply chain.
GS1 Standards: The Key to Interoperability
The GS1 system, supported by the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI), is a set of standards that provides a framework for identifying, capturing, and sharing information about packed produce products. The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), batch/lot number, and pack date are all essential elements of the GS1 standard and are used to generate voice pick codes.
Adopting more standard and digitized traceability processes for generating, formatting and applying labelling, can help growers ensure compliance in time for the upcoming FSMA204 deadline. And by adopting these standards, producers and distributors can ensure that their labeling systems are compatible with those used by other stakeholders in the supply chain.
Best Practices for Labeling Produce
To ensure labeling interoperability and proper formatting, producers and distributors should follow these best practices:
- Use GS1 recommended barcode formatting, GS1-128 barcode standard, which provides a data rich and unique identifier for each product and allows for efficient tracking and tracing
- Include the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), batch/lot number, and pack date on all labels, using the GS1 Application Identifier (AI) standards for data formatting - YY/MM/DD
- Ensure that labeling systems are compatible with those used by other stakeholders in the supply chain, using standardized data exchange formats
Voice Pick Labelling Processes
Voice pick codes are typically used in warehouse management systems to facilitate efficient and accurate order-picking processes. These codes are usually printed on labels and read by a voice-enabled device, which guides the picker through the warehouse to locate and pick the required items. The picker wears a voice-enabled device, such as a headset or wearable computer, which receives instructions from the warehouse management system. The device reads the voice pick code on the label and provides audio instructions to the picker, guiding them to the correct location and item. For large-scale produce distributors and food terminals, voice pick systems allow for much quicker order fulfillment and logistic management, as well as provide a critical component of produce traceability.
The voice pick codes are generated using a standardized algorithm, such as a CRC-16 hash algorithm, that, in the case of fresh produce products, takes into account the GTIN, batch/lot number, and pack date. The resulting 4-digit code is unique to each case lot and can be easily read and interpreted by different systems and stakeholders. By adding GTIN, lot # and pack date to labels made in Croptracker, a voice pick code can be generated to enable quick integration with existing voice pick systems.
The Benefits of Proper Labeling and Voice Pick Codes
By adopting these best practices, producers and distributors can reap numerous benefits, including:
- Improved efficiency and accuracy in tracking and tracing produce
- Enhanced food safety and quality control
- Increased visibility and transparency throughout the supply chain
- Better communication and collaboration between stakeholders
- Compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards
Creating Traceable Product Labels with Voice Pick Codes in Croptracker
As a part of Croptracker’s customized onboarding process, customers work with our expert support staff to determine the best labelling standard and style for their needs. This can often include generating custom sizes and information formatting, and increasingly, produce packers are choosing industry best practices outlined above. Using the Packing module, product names, weight/volume, packing material configuration and corresponding GTIN, UPC or PLU codes can be added to labels that will be applied to their products once packed.
To create a PTI-compliant case label and traceable inventory system with Croptracker, users will start with a module that generates harvested inventory records, like Field Pack, Harvest or Receiving. This will create a record of the variety, the harvest location and time and the harvested volume. Labels can be generated for the harvested inventory that can then be easily scanned to be into Storage or moved directly into a Packing event. By creating and consuming harvested inventory into a Packing event, FSMA204-compliant information is logged, including all relevant KDEs.
In the Packing event, by entering the pack date, location and lot number into the Croptracker app, users will generate updated labels for each packed product and can affix a corresponding voice pick code. Voice pick codes will differ for the same product packed at different times to ensure first-in, first-out inventory management is seamless. From there, when products are ready to be shipped, the pallets labels can be quickly scanned into a Shipping event and BOL and Waybills will be generated to include all traceability information needed for compliance in both directions on the supply chain. Additionally, the labels on the products shipped with be interoperable and can be used to carry information easily into the receivers' inventory systems.
Empowering the Produce Industry with Seamless Traceability
In an era of increasing regulatory demands and consumer expectations for food safety and transparency, implementing proper labeling practices and voice pick codes is more than a compliance requirement—it's a strategic advantage. By embracing GS1 standards, leveraging tools like Croptracker, and adopting best practices for labeling and traceability, producers and distributors can ensure their operations are efficient, interoperable, and ready to meet the evolving needs of the produce industry.
Efficient labeling not only enhances inventory management and supply chain transparency but also builds trust among stakeholders and consumers. With the FSMA204 deadline approaching, there's no better time to adopt these standards and empower your organization to lead the way in produce traceability.
