Tracking and tracing

Tracking and Tracing

Logistics

Presented by:
Jenny Paoline Perez Parra

Chia, February 7, 2011

Tracking and Tracing

Before talking about tracking and tracing, first of all is necessaryto know other concept that is very important, known as traceability. All three concepts are really important in logistics and can be seen as a 3T equation, where:

Traceability = Tracking + TracingBasically “traceability is the ability to verify the history, location, or application of an item by means of documented recorded identification.”[1]

But talking about traceability in logisticsit can be said that this term “refers to the capability for tracing goods along the distribution chain on a batch number or series number.”[2] That capability for tracing goods is framed in a “set ofactions, measures and technical procedures that allow in both, quantitative and qualitative terms identify and register each product.”[3]

It is important to mention that the information to tracefrom a particular product is linked to its characteristics, but as mention before that information can be taken based on the batch number or serial number, within certain parameters that have to betaken into account such as dates of production, places and all the people involved, origin data, transportation references, etc.

As mentioned before, traceability is composed by two: tracking andtracing. In logistics both make part of a process of monitoring the location and status of property in transit.

“Tracking is the capability of record the identification of each product unit within thefacility where it is located a certain amount of time, and its dispatch to the next point in the chain.”[4] In order to do the track of a product is important to identify the product with its specificbatch or serial number, then record the different stages of marketing to reach the final customer and finally relates the number of the product with the customer. This whole process is just to know...