Scared of recalls and the damage they do to your brand?
You're not alone.
Minimizing product failures and customer complaints is a priority for most manufacturers. It doesn't matter how good your processes are, some issues will slip through the net.
In fact, FDA product recalls in the US shot up by 11% in 2023, hitting a seven year high.
When the inevitable does happen and you get complaints or need to recall products, it's best if you have a robust traceability system in place to pinpoint the issue and rectify it.
What is traceability in manufacturing?
Traceability in manufacturing means following each part and product from the raw materials coming in through to final products shipped out.
A good traceability system includes detailed info on each step.
- Where each part was
- Who handled it
- Quality tests and inspections it went through and the results.
When you receive customer complaints or products are recalled, you should be able to trace the process back to find out where things went wrong.
A traceability system also makes it easier to do root cause analyses, as you can find the core reason for faults and defects, then fix it fast. It also helps with mapping out your value stream and continuous improvement - how well your production processes are running and how to make them better.
A fully traceable quality system keeps everyone on their toes, producing the best possible products. In some industries, such as food and beverages it's mandatory to have a traceability system in place.
Modern tools help with traceability, such as using barcodes, RFID, and digital records instead of manual logs.
The role of integrated QMS in enhancing traceability
An integrated QMS (Quality Management System) connects all the dots in your manufacturing processes, from raw materials coming in to products going out the door.
The integrated part is important as it pulls in data from every phase of the supply chain. You get a map of all the inspections, documents, and quality actions for every product batch.
When you get a customer complaint or product recall, you can simply filter through to the relevant record on your QMS, then trace the history of the product to find out where and why things went wrong.
A QMS also acts as quality tracking software, helping to keep records and maintain compliance with safety and quality regulations, such as FDA and ISO standards, making audits smoother and less stressful.
Taking an integrated traceability approach saves time and reduces the risks associated with non-compliance and operational errors.
Key features of integrated QMS for traceability
There are three key features you should look for when choosing an integrated QMS that enables traceability - real-time data monitoring, centralized database, and automated reporting and alerting.
Real-time data monitoring
A good QMS captures data as things are happening on the shop floor. This means that if a quality issue pops up, you see it in real-time and can stop problems before they escalate.
Centralized database
Storing all process and quality info in one place makes traceability much easier. If you use a cloud-based QMS, you can pull up any data you need, anytime, and on any device. Whether it's production details, test results, or compliance data, it's all at your fingertips.
Automated reporting and alerting
The moment something goes off track, you want to know about it. This could be a failed quality check, off-spec product, process deviation, or customer complaint. With an automated system in place, you're always on top of it without having to manually check piles of data.
Automated reporting also means that if a product recall happens, all the records will be there ready for you to trace things back. No more scrambling around trying to link up different forms or follow email threads back to their source.
You can find out more about how to use a QMS for end-to-end traceability in this video.
How Crop Alliance digitized traceability
Crop Alliance is a food industry leader, specializing in preserved vegetables. But they faced a challenge - their lab processes were manual, time-consuming, paper-heavy.
With over 300 recipes and mountains of data to manage, it was tough to maintain accuracy, draw insights, and keep track of everything. They needed a smarter way to handle quality management.
Improved data tracking with AlisQI
Crop Alliance chose AlisQI's flexible, no-code QMS as it was easy to tailor to their exact needs. The system digitized their entire lab process, linked data to their ERP (Microsoft Dynamics NAV), and automated routine tasks, such as recipe calculations and tracking supplier certifications. The onboarding process was smooth, and because the system felt like their own, the team quickly adopted it.
Paperless Quality Management & traceability
With AlisQI, Crop Alliance has gone fully paperless, freeing up space and reducing lab workload from 1.8 full-time employees (FTE) to 1 FTE. Data is now accessible and actions are clearly trackable, improving quality control and engagement across the organization. Integrating AlisQI with their ERP has also enhanced traceability, making it easier to link batches, supplier data, and production records.
Crop Alliance isn't stopping here. They're working on automating dosing instructions directly from AlisQI to their production equipment for next-level efficiency. Read the full case study here.
AlisQI's linked up approach to traceability
In AlisQI, everything is tagged and linked - every batch, every test result, every piece of compliance data.
Therefore, if a customer raises a complaint or there's a recall, you can trace back through each step to pinpoint exactly where the issue started. Automated traceability helps you solve the problem and prevent it from happening again in the future.
This kind of precision and efficiency minimizes risk and improves overall quality management, ensuring you meet customer expectations and regulatory requirements without fail.
Watch a demo of AlisQI's traceability features in action here.
