Written by Lonni Kieffer | Co-founder
SmartCert
Today’s business owners understand that traceability in the supply chain is crucial. This is particularly true of industries governed by regulations imposing quality control standards. Of course, quality control measures in fastener manufacturing are essential to identify and prevent potential defects, ensuring manufacturing integrity.
Supply chain traceability enables fastener businesses to ensure part compliance and quality control, identify potential defects, and better manage customer relationships.
Fasteners are subject to various industry standards and specifications, such as those set by organizations like the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Quality control verifies that fasteners comply with these specifications, ensuring compatibility, reliability, and safety in critical applications.
However, this often means a great deal of paperwork, where no stage of the supply chain is insignificant. The entire process must be visible and meet requirements for certifications like ISO 9001, AS9100, and AS9103.
Problems can occur when the documentation processes vary from one organization to another, which can lead to errors or misinterpretations.
To establish transparency, a supply chain must be traceable and enable product tracking throughout the entire fastener life cycle. Generally, traceability has been driven by industry regulations, but today’s supply chain sector benefits from traceability beyond compliance. Accessibility, digitalization, and costs also factor into the process.
Transparency enables businesses to:
- Safeguard quality and products
- Protect consumers
- Streamline the location of inventory
- Ensure fast and efficient delivery
- Reduce the risk of counterfeit and falsified goods
- Speed product recalls
Additionally, transparent supply chains lead to reduced costs over time because it’s easy to track and trace product movement and verify its authenticity. It also allows manufacturers and distributors to build trust with their customers.
Mapping the chain
Supply chain mapping is one of the first steps toward creating a standardized and visible supply chain. For the uninitiated, this is the process of creating a complete picture of the supply chain — identifying all of the suppliers and actions within it. Then, each actor on the map can be accounted for.
Mapping is an important tool to enable a more thorough risk assessment that covers product compliance, sustainability, and quality control. A supply-chain map should also verify the approved products and processes.
Transparency challenges
Supply chain mapping is an important first step, which can help highlight potential bottlenecks or barriers to full transparency. Three common obstacles organizations face when establishing best practices around traceability include:
- Information silos: Every touchpoint across a supply chain increases the chances of errors. One reason for this is that these touchpoints typically only pertain to one specific aspect of the products and processes. As a result, information silos form, especially where paperwork is concerned. This can make it more challenging to trace documentation and the product’s origin and life cycle.
- Extended networks: Supply chains typically handle data across vast, multi-tiered networks. This exposes them to potential fraud, counterfeits, variability, and compliance violations.
- Internal commitment: A traceable supply chain demands internal commitment. Unfortunately, the long-term effort required is too often discarded in favor of short-term ROI.
Going digital is the answer
Despite the digital world we live in, many supply chains are still dominated by paperwork. This is an antiquated process that’s slow, inefficient, and error-prone. Supply chains are most affected by paper documentation when this antiquated system fails.
Digital documentation creates a traceable supply chain in which all actors in a distribution life cycle can review a product’s history and legitimacy. As a result, your organization can significantly reduce the risk of counterfeit or defective products making their way to your customers.
Paper results in a lack of visibility, traceability, and efficiency. There’s a chance important documents could get lost, misplaced, or damaged. The wrong item might get sent to the wrong recipient. A further risk for businesses is when distributors and brokers act independently, without the shared paperwork, increasing the threat of obtaining counterfeit items.
Digitalizing the supply chain can reduce all of these concerns. In fact, studies show that digital certification solutions offer better scalability and efficiency to global supply chains.
To reduce the risk of missing paperwork and counterfeit parts, it’s important to create an unbroken chain of custody, where digital documentation is shared between stakeholders. This makes it easier to authenticate the origins and history of a part. It also protects the credibility of a business by ensuring supply chain traceability.
When sourcing a digital solution, look for one that allows your business to securely capture, store, access, and share vital documents and certifications quickly and easily.
Overall, transparency should provide a clear and complete view of the supply chain, from raw material sourcing to the final product. Such visibility can be efficiently attained and maintained by going digital, mapping, and documenting a traceable supply chain.
Filed Under: Fastening + joining