Principal Investigator Abel Sanchez
oday’s supply chains are global, complex and involve many parties. Tackling smuggling is a shared problem which requires international collaboration. Any attempt to implement a tracking and tracing system should therefore facilitate and support the exchange and interrogation of information among all key supply chain stakeholders, including law enforcement, brand owners, distributors, importers, retailers and consumers, both within and across national borders.
Suppliers of technologies that purport to be able to track and trace products are starting to engage with governments all over the world in an attempt to sell their systems and support compliance with the Protocols.
Many suppliers, however, are providing questionable and at times conflicting advice to governments about how to both meet the obligations of the Protocol and what constitutes a track and trace system. Such activity typically includes promotion of proprietary, country-specific technologies and systems.
Leveraging our experience in systems architecture, supply chain, and RFID, we are currently testing and evaluating various models to support external stakeholder engagement efforts on track and trace related issues.