This part starts with a description of when and how TINE Lettmelk is tracked, followed by a description of where, when, and how TINE Lettmelk is traced.
Tracking goods
The following figure 5.14 shows the actors, information exchange and type of information media involved in tracking TINE Lettmelk when in transport:
Fig. 5.14 Tracking Lettmelk when in transport to and from the diary
The milk farmer produces a planned or expected quantity of milk daily.
Therefore, there is no need to track milk at the farm since there is always Dairy and
distribution centre
Truck driver
Retailer Transport
routing plans
Queries using telephone
some amount of milk produced more or less in accordance with the quota system there. The flow of TINE Lettmelk consists of two distinct parts using different types of facilities to contain goods. Prior to production at the dairy, raw-milk is stored in a variety of tanks, and after production at the dairy the produced milk for consumption is packed in consumer packages that are combined with other-use packaging. There are three main areas where milk potentially may be tracked. First, milk may be tracked in its state as a raw material in transport between the producer and the dairy. Second, milk may be tracked when it is in storage and production at the dairy facility. Third, milk may be tracked in transport to the retailer.
The truck driver transporting raw-milk to the dairy follows a pre-defined transport route. Thus, the approximate location of a truck may be estimated.
If, for some reason, it becomes necessary to alter this route while the transport of raw-milk is underway, the truck driver may be contacted through mobile phone.
During production, milk from one specific silo-tank is always used, and it is therefore possible to ascertain whether milk from one specific farm is in production. This milk is, however, mixed with milk from numerous other producers. In the same manner, milk that has been filled into a carton may also be traced to milk from a specific silo. The production of milk is highly automated and controlled by the WILAB system, which system registers the volume of milk that is in the production process. In practice, tracking milk in production involves identifying which silo tank was used as the source of raw-milk.
At TINE Øst, tracking Lettmelk is carried out predominantly when a quality discrepancy has been detected. Only a few such incidents were reported in the past years and involved detecting a fault with a packaged, finished product that already had been delivered from the terminal facility. Quality control is carried out at the laboratory at TINE Øst. In most cases, a faulty product will still be in storage at the TINE Øst terminal when a test may reveal product quality discrepancies. In repeated or more serious cases, involving large volume of goods, a retailer may report product failures to the sales department at TINE Øst.
Tracking during transport from the distribution centre to the retailer is done using the MOVEX ERP system. This includes using continually updated transport routing plans with precise information regarding what type of goods are delivered to different retailers on a specific truck. If a product such as low-fat milk needs to be stopped en-route to its retailer destination, a form of, what is called by TINE “a detective’s work”, must be carried out since
MOVEX does not automatically provide tracking data. The personnel at TINE Øst, checking the MOVEX order, must go through freight bills, picking lists and production schedules, using the time of production as an indicator to estimate according to pick-up times of the products, which retailers most likely will be receiving a specific faulty batch of goods. Then the truck drivers carrying these goods must be notified by mobile phone to stop delivery. If delivery has taken place the retailers must be notified by phone. TINE admits this is not an efficient way to carry out tracking and says it would rather use its resources at developing production, storage, and goods handling routines to eliminate the need for tracking goods.
Tracing products
The following figure 5.15 shows the actors and main types type of information facilities involved in tracing TINE Lettmelk:
Fig. 5.15 Tracing TINE Lettmelk (Dotted boxes indicate types of information systems)
A limited amount of product information follows Letttmelk downstream through the supply chain. This information may be provided through documents provided from information systems at the same location as where the product is at present located and being handled. Here it is predominately
Milk
farmer Dairy Retailer
Household KSL-based:
Production records
Query using telephone
MOVEX ERP System:
Logistics records WILAB production
control system:
Production records Storage and
transport facility temperature records
Personal inquiry in store
information carried by the package and documents sent in relation to the shipment of goods that provide this information. If more detailed product information is needed, it must be sought by locating the actor that has the appropriate data records. Lettmelk is usually traced to a specific business unit upstream in the flow of goods.
At the farm, production is carried out in accordance with KSL-developed standards. Production of milk from each individual cow is registered to show its feeding and veterinary aspects. Consultants from TINE assist the farmers in organising how to ensure production quality and register this information.
The farm, therefore, may provide detailed information about production of raw-milk at the farm by accessing its, usually, paper-based production records.
Raw-milk is mixed into silo tanks at the dairy. The information provided on a carton of low fat milk may be used to trace this product to a specific production line at a dairy, as well as the exact time of production down to the minute. By comparing the information stamped on the carton with information from the WILAB production control system, the silo tank used to produce a specific product may be located, and thus also which farms delivered the milk from this silo tank. TINE Lettmelk is monitored by the MOVEX ERP system during transport, handling, and storage. This system does not register the storage temperature of TINE Lettmelk is stored in since these temperature logs are registered individually at the specific facilities.
If it becomes necessary to trace a carton of milk back to the farm, this will involve finding out which trucks pumped milk into a specific silo tank used on the date of production, and then finding out which farms this milk was collected from. Should there be an immediate need to locate a quality discrepancy reported from a retailer or consumer, the individual samples taken from each farm location may be used. The contents of the truck and the silo have, however, already been tested, hence it is only if a mistake has been made in this testing that such procedures will be used. This way, quality discrepancy from a 1-litre carton of milk may be traced back to an individual cow. This process is time-consuming and involves several different actors and informational resources.
Product tracing is mainly used to detect the origin of product discrepancies.
However, queries may be posed just to receive detailed product information not provided by the packaging. Consumers and retailers are the two actors in the supply chain that most likely may demand such information. Retailers have an established communication link with the sales department at TINE
Øst, and, occasionally, retailers call by phone seeking more detailed information about product characteristics.
TINE could not account for any actual direct consumer enquiries regarding the specific features of its milk products. Often, such information is related to the use of new products, such as “Biola”, a new form of yoghurt made from a specific type of culture. Lettmelk is, however, an “old” and well-known product that is not, in practice, involved in such queries. If consumers wish to enquire about the milk product, the most obvious source of information is on the milk carton. The combination of stamped and printed information on the carton provides the basic product characteristics information that a consumer may wish to know. If the consumer seeks more information, a phone number is printed on the carton. This is a toll-free number where consumers may make queries to a representative at the sales and marketing department of TINE regarding any TINE product. It is regarded as vital mainly when it comes to securing product traceability in accordance with government and consumer requirements.