A New Traceability System for SMEs with Open Source Software

Corporations are currently making progress in their efforts toward traceability, against the backdrop of practical realization of the automatic identification technologies such as RF tags and 2D barcodes. In order to consistently manage and access various types of product-related history information throughout the supply chain, it is necessary to develop information networks and databases for sharing that information between firms, and EDI systems play a central role in that context. The main contribution of this paper is to propose a new distributed traceability system based on open source software which is particularly suitable for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In this paper, we first conduct an exploratory analysis of factors involved in the adoption of traceability systems by small and medium enterprises, based on a review of previous research on traceability and questionnaire survey data. And then we examine the current situation and issues of RF tags, 2D barcodes and EDI systems, and their linkage with in-house backend systems. Furthermore, we propose a new model of the traceability system using open source software which is suitable for small and medium enterprises based on the above analysis, and discuss the model's managerial implications. Key-Words: Traceability Systems, Small and Medium Enterprises, Open Source Software, Supply Chain, 2D barcodes, EDI