By Saravanan Parisutham, COO and Co-Founder of TrusTrace
According to reports, the fashion sector generated 97 million tonnes of garbage annually as of 2023. Manufacturers and retailers face a difficulty in implementing the necessary technology and business structures to satisfy the high ESG standards set by the sector, which is changing quickly to address sustainability, circularity, and fairness.
Consequently, product traceability and supply chain transparency are more crucial than ever. Making a meaningful difference in the supply chain requires having a comprehensive understanding of how it operates. Supply chain visibility allows brands to gather the information required to back up sustainability claims while keeping a close eye on the origins of commodities and satisfying customer and regulatory needs.
The Goal of All-Digital
The best approach for businesses in the fashion sector to access the data they require to satisfy ESG standards is through fully digitalized supply chains. They make records shareable, are simple to track, and facilitate easier data validation. However, very few businesses have the infrastructure required to create an all digital supply chain; in reality, while the sector is actively working towards this goal, it is still a ways off.
By adopting a hybrid solution that combines procedures for digitizing and transcribing physical data with already-existing digital records, forward-thinking companies may take control of supply chain efficiency. Making this shift to top-to-bottom traceability is necessary for many.
Bridging the Gap with a Hybrid Solution
The hybrid model will combine procedures to convert hard-copy records into digital format with real-time data collecting for digital records as the industry navigates this transitional period where both physical and digital records are common. Traditionally, this process has been completed by data entry, but more sophisticated systems that make use of artificial intelligence and optical character recognition are starting to gain traction.
Attempts to implement entirely digital solutions will be able to optimize workflows as long as data collection processes can differ between different parts of a supply chain, with some being highly digitized and others being paper-based. However, this could lock businesses into procedures that eventually make data sharing more challenging.
Some solution providers are already promoting fully digital solutions, but even the most advanced offerings cannot yet eliminate or automate the analog or physical records present in most supply chains, as that would require every single actor to be connected to the system. Hybrid traceability solutions offer faster, easier access to more data than early digital-only solutions, resulting in time savings for compliance needs and audits.
Moving Towards the Ideal All Digital Supply Chain – There’s Work to Be Done
The hybrid model will combine procedures to convert hard-copy records into digital format with real-time data collecting for digital records as the industry navigates this transitional period where both physical and digital records are common. Traditionally, this process has been completed by data entry, but more sophisticated systems that make use of artificial intelligence (AI)
Attempts to implement entirely digital solutions will be able to optimise workflows as long as data collection processes can differ between different parts of a supply chain, with some being highly digitised and others being paper-based. However, this could lock businesses into procedures that eventually make data sharing more challenging.
Our Measured Approach to the Future
Until full digitization becomes standard across the industry, we expect a range of data sharing permissions to persist among different levels of the supply chain, such as small vendors that largely rely on paper and major corporations that are already heavily digitized. Therefore, making data migration easy will be a necessary facet of any future open-source solution.
