PERSPECTIVE

IMPROVING MANUFACTURING
ENTERPRISE EFFICIENCIES THROUGH
TRACK AND TRACE TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract
Manufacturing enterprises are increasingly becoming global and face intense
pressure to improve efficiencies, enhance quality and reduce cost. This necessitated
the need to embrace new technologies continuously. ‘Track and trace’ is one such
technologies that can improve efficiencies across the manufacturing enterprise.
Tracking is popularly used to know the exact location of a product during transport
while traceability is a static approach and is usually preferred for stationary goods
or products. Several track and trace technologies are now available which include
Radio-frequency Identification (RFID), satellite navigation systems and barcodes that
monitor the movement of goods in real time. These technologies help organizations
plan and optimize their value chain in real time. This white paper presents an
overview of popular track and trace technologies, use cases in the manufacturing
industry and a perspective on how they will evolve in coming years.
 Need for Track and Trace and manually, posing several challenges does require timely arrival of all inputs
Technologies for the manufacturing enterprise such such as raw materials, components,
as excessive or sub-optimal inventory etc. This is where the proper tracking of
A typical manufacturing enterprise of raw materials as well as finished goods from all suppliers and inventory
consists of supplier ecosystems, goods. Operators or machines are becomes important. Manufacturing
manufacturing facilities and end-product unable to run owing to late arrival of products within stringent timelines
distribution ecosystems. Raw materials, goods, raw materials, components, could result in issues of non-compliance
components, sub-systems, and finished and other production inputs. As most and poor quality, leading to the recall
goods flow across the manufacturing current manufacturing organizations of components or even fatal accidents.
enterprise – from suppliers to are global, the entire ecosystem is In USA, the number of recalled food
manufacturing facilities and, finally, to spread across regions, countries and products and its associated costs have
the end-users as shown in Figure 1. These continents. Products are distributed
[1]
doubled since 2005 . Instances of fatal
goods and items are tracked continuously across this ecosystem based on demand- errors from well-known brands raise
through various systems such as supply supply dynamics. Thus, there are many the question: How can manufacturers
chain management (SCM), enterprise industry-specific nuances that need and supply chain executives ensure the
resource planning (ERP), manufacturing to be addressed such as ensuring the two main components of food safety,
execution systems (MES), and other quality of perishable goods before they namely, prevention and timely response?
information technology (IT) systems to reach processing factories. This makes it While some players still use antiquated,
improve overall efficiency. essential to synchronize the flow of these error-prone and manual methods, others
However, many of these systems are not materials or goods across the value chain are able to effectively leverage track and
connected to operational technology in real-time to improve overall efficiency. trace methods to reduce cost and ensure
(OT) assets on the manufacturing shop efficiency and quality.
Time-to-market is critical in the
floor. This means that the data flow from manufacturing industry. While this Once products are manufactured, they
OT systems to IT systems is done offline does not entail faster production, it are sent into the distribution chain for

Supplier 1 Customer 1

Production Production Production

Supplier 2 Facility 1 Facility 2 Facility 3 Customer 2

Supplier 3 Customer 3
Figure 1: Manufacturing ecosystem

transport to various locations and clients car manufacturers need to recall all the Current Technology
across countries. Keeping track of all cars manufactured during a particular Landscape
these products and their servicing is a period or in a specific plant even though
significant challenge, particularly when the actual number of defective cars could The advent of the Industrial Internet of
the product is immobile. In cases of faulty be much lesser. In the pharmaceutical Things (IIoT) is helping manufacturers
manufacturing practices or products, supply chain, the high demand for drugs, overcome these challenges through
organizations are forced to expend online drug shopping and inability to track and trace technologies such
significant time and money to inform trace a drug’s origins make it easy to as RFID, satellite navigation systems
affected customers and carry out repairs counterfeit drugs. Unfortunately, most and barcodes. Tracking is popularly
or replacements. supply chain executives are unable used to know the exact location when
to determine where, when and what transporting goods while traceability is
For example, in the automotive a static approach for immobile goods or
quantities of products are shipped. Thus,
industry, there are innumerable products. Location-based services (LBS)
the lack of real-time visibility during the
instances of product recall due to faulty can include geographical location-based
product lifecycle can impose a high cost
components. Without proper tracking, solutions for outdoor applications. These
on manufacturing companies.

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mainly use GPS or mobile IDs for services Designing a single solution for all supply factory inventories, cars, people, etc.
while micro location-based solutions are chain track and trace problems is not
• Near Field Communication (NFC) –
used for indoor applications. These track- easy. It requires a unique identification for
The protocol uses electromagnetic
and-trace technologies can monitor the various products or batches of products,
induction to communicate between
movement of goods in real-time and help which can be RFID, QR codes or any other
two devices, usually smartphones.
organizations improve real-time planning unique number. These can also help
NFC-enabled devices can use
and optimization across the value chain. with product (or batch) manufacturing
applications to read tags, make
Here are some advantages of track and classification. Smart devices or sensors
payments, etc., and is quite popular
trace technologies: can be used for this as explained below:
for smartphones and other portable
1. Provide exact information of • Bar code – This is the most traditional devices. From a security standpoint,
goods such as location, quantity and, probably, the most cost-effective it has a better and bigger role to play
and estimated time for delivery of track and trace technology. It is compared to RFID. However, these
inventory or new orders denoted by set of parallel lines with devices can only communicate across
varying widths and heights and is short distances (up to 4 inches).
2. Offer visibility into customer usage
used extensively in many commercial
information such as how often the • GPS-tracked smart device/sensors
utilities such as post office parcels,
product is used, system failures, – This is a navigation system to
shopping items in supermarkets, etc.
product security, safety and servicing determine the location and time of
requirements • Radio-frequency Identification (RFID) any GPS-enabled device using GPS
– RFID is a wireless track and trace satellites. It is an advanced track
3. Help organizations understand
method that uses electromagnetic and trace technology and is used
exactly how many products need to be
fields to transfer data. Used as an extensively for high-end commercial,
recalled for service in case of product
alternative to bar codes, the main telecommunication and military work.
failures
benefits include read-write operation However, this technology works only if
4. Improve the overall product quality on tag, durability, ease of use, etc. there is clear line of sight to at least 4
during fabrication, thereby increasing RFIDs include many types – passive, GPS satellites
customer confidence and loyalty active, etc. – and are widely used in for

Selecting the right track-and-trace technology depends on many factors as shown in Table 1.

Features Bar Code RFID Tag NFC GPS device

Line of Sight Scanner must physically Can only be used within Needs to be within the Long range is allowed
see and scan the bar the read range read range of about 4
code inches

Reading work Manual Automatic Automatic, only tapping Automatic

is required

Ambient lighting Works well in well-lit No ambient lighting No ambient lighting No ambient lighting
arrangement areas needed needed needed

Durability Is easily scratched and Has better protection Not durable and is Can be kept inside a
cannot be read if the barcode and can withstand harsh mainly used for strong container or box
is dirty, greasy or wet environments smartphones

Ability to store Read-only Includes a read-write tag Includes a read-write tag N/A
information

P2P communication Not possible Not possible Possible Not possible

Cost Cheaper than RFID Costlier than bar code Costlier than RFID tags Most expensive option
technology but cheaper than GPS
devices

Security Highly secure Possible security risk due More secure than RFID Secure
to wireless technology tags

Handheld device Easy to support a bar code Extra hardware needed, NFC device can be a tag Supported by mobile
support reader on any camera-ena- which can be costly as well as a reader devices
bled mobile

Typically used in Non-critical assets, preferred Can easily handle Smartphones and for Logistics-related work,
in the retail industry industrial and harsh credit card payments navigation and military
environments applications

Table 1: Comparison of different track and trace technologies

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 Organizations require an accessible data • Workflow-based operation execution Industrial Use Cases
store, preferably a cloud-based one,
• Data fetching based on any user- 3.1 Asset Service Tracking System
to easily store and access all relevant
defined filters
product information. It is also essential Asset maintenance and support is a
to have a user-friendly, data-driven • Data collection for different significant challenge for manufacturing
and multi-device-centric application to parameters and scenarios to create organizations. Track and trace
retrieve information about any product historical use cases technologies can simplify this by using
or product batch with the option of information about the service status of
• Data analytics on real-time/fetched
applying any number of filters. This all assets to notify organizations about
data
application should include features such upcoming service or maintenance
as: • Alarm/fault management tasks. The recommended approach is to
[2]
• Continuous asset tracking • Reporting services use RFID where all asset history and
information is stored at a centralized
location and pre-defined algorithms
generate and share information on
scheduled maintenance events. Further,
System Hardware - Back End System Software - Back End the service status can be updated at
each stage of service or repair and can be
followed up anytime and anywhere. Such
System Software - Front End an asset service tracking system will also
Access Asset Reports &
Search
Inspection optimize the procurement of spare parts
Control tracking Analytics history
for maintenance

Ethernet Networking The business value of this use-case

includes:

Part • Regulatory maintenance and

RFID Tag Supplier
RFID Tag serial # compliance
attachment imprinting
• Accountability for the job performed
Customer
Work station Field staff / Customer service
• Lower turnaround time
RFID Tag • Improved asset visibility and utilization
Supplier
3.2 Improving Airline Operations

In the aerospace industry, airline

Field / Manufacturing Solution Server Enterprise Systems operations depend heavily on tracking,
Floor
real-time data management, data
Desktop prognosis analytics, alerts for scheduled
Application maintenance events, and real-time flight
status. These functionalities can be
.Net enabled through location-based services.
web Integrated
services with For instance, GPS or cloud-based sensors
Oracle server
can provide real-time data for any flight
Client Network Lan Wifi (TCP / IP) while web and mobile-based applications
can track all of the above parameters
from anywhere. Some of the advantages
of this approach include:
Hand-held scanner
-software used by
field staff • Easy tracking of maintenance plans

RFID Tag,
• Reduced number of foreign object
Barcode, damage (FOD) incidents
Serial Number server
Attachment Database server
• Quick asset search
Figure 2: Asset Service tracking system
• Optimized production process and
process visibility

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 • Real-time asset location and
positioning
Telecom
• Data analytics on asset data GPS

3.3 Improving Component Traceability

In Automobile Factories Server
GPRS Traitment Center
Automobile manufacturers have to trace GSM
and track their vehicles during recall
situations. Without a dedicated system
to locate vehicles from a particular batch,
this is an expensive affair and can be a
drain on valuable time and resources.

To overcome this, an automobile

Internet
manufacturer has installed a 3D laser-
etched bar code to track details of
the entire manufacturing process of
components – from the supplier, billet
cutting, blasting, forging, grinding, etc.
This has helped the manufacturer trace
and track vehicles in case of any recall
situation. This track and trace solution
enables the car manufacturer to:
Figure 3: Location based track and Cartography
• Find and recall only those cars that trace technology

have the faulty components

• Quickly identify affected vehicles

control and security are some of the and user management, a complete
instead of manually searching through
services available with this solution. IoT-based application can be developed.
paper-based records
Cloud computing, data analytics and data
LBS enables all stakeholders in the value
• Improve visibility and automation storage can also be implemented using
chain subscriber, location provider,
within the supply chain cloud-based data with platforms such
map provider, and service provider – to
3.4 Location-Based Services as Azure PaaS, IBM Bluemix, AWS, etc.
collaborate and provide location-based
Figures 4-6 present a typical IoT-based
A location-based service (LBS) is an services.
track and trace architecture view,
information service that is accessible functional view and data flow.
through mobile devices using mobile
networks. It leverages the geographical
Technology Architecture Deployment of these applications
position and sensor proximity of the Typically, a layered IoT approach is useful is simple and is shown in Figure 7.
mobile device to transmit contextual for track and trace use cases where the Responsibilities can be divided among
information. bottom-most layer is the smart device cloud-based vendors such as Microsoft
such as RTU or SCADA. Smart devices (for Azure), IBM (Bluemix), Amazon
1. Geographical location-based (AWS), etc. The cloud infrastructure will
can directly push data into the cloud.
solutions: These use mainly GPS or be provided and maintained by cloud
For devices with other communication
cell ID for services and are applicable platform providers and vendors.
protocols and interfaces, a middle
for store locators, store invitation,
gateway (adapter pattern) layer can be In some situations, ensuring continuous
resource tracking, behavior tracking,
added that acts as a middle agent to internet connectivity is difficult. Here,
emergency tracking, etc.
pass data to the cloud. Once the data is organizations can use an active RFID tag
2. Micro location-based solutions: This in the cloud, different applications use for supply chain management. Asset data
is primarily an indoor solution that is different techniques such as service- can be stored locally in a handheld device
suitable for in-store applications and oriented architecture (SOA) and platform and, upon receiving network availability,
home automation applications. Indoor dependent technology to consume the data can be passed on to the cloud.
navigation, emergency evacuation, the cloud services and get data. By Figure 8 depicts this use case and data
customer in-store experience merging other service facilities such as flow.
enhancement, and home appliances authorization, information management

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 Industries

Information Managemenet User Managemenet Authentication Authorisation

Application
Managemenet Services
SOA Cloud Computing Platform Enhanced Technology

Gateway

Gateway / Network Internet Telecommunication Private Network

Gateway
SCADA / HMI
Mobile MOM / MES PLC / DCS Historian Smart Devices
Sensor / Device
Connectivity
Sensor Actuator 2D Code RFID

Figure 4: Layered IoT-based architecture for track and trace technologies

Data Collection

Analytics

Service Apps
Presentation
Analytics
Devices

IoT Solution Mobile App

Real Time Monitoring

Cloud Analytics
Gateway Web App
Web Dashboards
Event Hub
RFID Tags and
RFID Reader
HDInsight Storage
Storage

External Systems
Web Dashboards
Figure 5: Functional architecture

Mobile Apps Web Dashboards External Systems

Web Service

Predictive Analysis Trends

SQL
Mobile Real Time
Notifications Monitoring Analytic Engine
Analytics
NoSQL/
Data Hub Historian
Store data

RFID Tags and Readers

Figure 6: Data flow diagram

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Future of Track and Trace of these devices operate in harsh organizations can address the above
Technologies conditions as they are integrated with issues. To handle concerns over security
the product. Since these components in cloud-based solutions, several cloud
Track and trace technologies provide do not possess self-diagnostics or platform vendors are offering various
organizations with the flexibility to reporting mechanisms, there is no security measures for industry data
enhance inventory maintenance and way of knowing when a track and that include data encryption, device
product distribution. However, in the trace device fails unless a physical discoverability, authorization and
future, track and trace technologies inspection is conducted. In this authentication, secured protocols such as
will need to address the following situation, RFID tags are a better option OAuth2, etc.
considerations. compared to bar codes.
Currently, RFID and NFC technology
1.Cost: Track and trace technologies 4.Technology: As most of the track and solutions are the most popular. Going
need dedicated hardware such as trace components use internet/GPS/ forward, track and trace technologies
RFID or barcode, which can be an RFID, they inherit the limitations of will adopt a hybrid approach. New
additional cost. Hence, the overall cost these systems as well. For example, technologies such as biometrics, nano-
of track and trace technology-enabled it can be challenging to provide technologies, WI-FI/WLAN, thermal
products is high, making it essential continuous internet availability for an imaging, etc., will also play an important
to drive down their cost. Currently, internet-enabled product. Similarly, role. IoT is set to become popular for
bar code is the most cost-effective. signal processing may be difficult track and trace when used with NFC/GPS
However, owing to high demand, RFID when the product is deployed in solutions and will offer a real-time, data-
is fast becoming affordable. harsh conditions. To overcome these centric and secure solution.
2.Database management: In addition challenges, several IP-enabled devices
to the hardware, the data collected provide support for ‘store and forward’.
from track and trace technologies This allows data/messages to be Conclusion
needs to be stored and maintained stored in the device and, once the
Track and trace technologies such as
for warranty and other purposes. connectivity is available, the data will
RFID tags and barcodes have a much
This can be a sizeable overhead for be pushed over to the next layer, i.e.,
larger role to play than merely tracking
organizations. To reduce this cost cloud.
raw materials before they reach the
burden, cloud platforms such as Azure, 5.Security: Any device connected to manufacturing shop floor. They need
AWS, etc., are providing cheap and internet is prone to hacker attacks. to be associated with products in
better scaling options for databases Products that deal with safety are at the production line after assembly.
and their corresponding setup. higher risk if not provided with robust Enabling this requires using hybrid IoT
3.Maintenance: While track and trace security measures. technologies before the production
components make it easy to uncover In the future, the success of track and line and after the product is ready for
product-related information, most trace technologies depends on how use. For higher efficiency, organizations
must strategically select one or more
technologies that can be combined and
Online Mode : Connected to Internet Cloud Data Offline Mode : Device not Connected to Internet used across all the phases of product
base
manufacturing and distribution. Several
companies find cloud computing to
Scan RFID Serial Scan RFID. Basic
Number will be details will be be effective for their lines of business.
retrived RFID tag retrieved from RFID
tag Cloud presents an interesting avenue
for hybridization as existing cloud
infrastructure can be re-used to provide
Modify asset data
Find asset details
and push the efficient track and trace methodologies
Search for asset update request to
from cloud based
app details based on Cloud cloud service for products. Despite the potential
Serial Number
based for track and trace technologies to
Database
Fetch Return line (SQL / Store data in local
drive efficiencies in the manufacturing
details from Repair
order Logistics Line NoSQL) XML file system ecosystem, it is still a heavy cost burden
for enterprises. As track and trace
Modify Asset data
Update repair Find asset
becomes crucial for better business
and push the
update request to order with new
details and
details from
cloud based app
operations, the related technologies
cloud service
update status
and platforms are continuously evolving
Status updated Modify Asset Whenever internet
to make them cost-effective for easy
from booked to data and push
Received and the update
connectivity is
there, update DB
acquisition.
confirmation request to cloud from XML file
received service

Figure 8: Use case of supply chain industry for hybrid IoT

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References 1. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-summaries

2. Gordana M., Mirjana C. and Tadija L., RFID and Supply Chain Management for Manufacturing Digital
Enterprise, In: Supply Chain Management – New Perspectives, ISBN 978-953-307-633-1, 2011

We thank Santosh Kumar C. H. for meticulously compiling the available literature for this paper. We also
Acknowledgments thank Amrit Raj (Senior Project Manager, Engineering Services, Infosys) and Deepa Bellary (Technology
Architect, Engineering Services, Infosys) for their valuable inputs and reviews.

About the Authors Kumar Vikas Singh is a Senior Technology Architect with Infosys from the Advanced
Engineering Group (AEG). He has 12 years of experience in the energy sector across
various projects such as oil and gas data acquisition, optimization, digitization of oil
fields, and asset tracking and management. Kumar holds a degree in metallurgical
engineering from BIT Sindri, Dhanbad.

Dr. Ravi Kumar G.V.V. is Associate Vice President and Head of Advanced Engineering
Group (AEG) at Infosys with 24 years of research and industrial experience. His areas
of interest include aircraft structures, knowledge-based engineering, composites,
structural health monitoring, and Industrial IoT. He has authored more than 40
technical papers and has filed a patent. He has worked on various prestigious projects
related to engineering design and development as well as KBE tool development
for military and commercial aircraft programs. He holds a PhD from IIT, Delhi and
has worked with Tata Research Design and Development Center (TRDDC), Pune, and
Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Bangalore, before joining Infosys.

For more information, contact [email protected]

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