Traceability lectures to be translated

Traceability 2005 (Tracabilite 2005), to be held on 25-27 January 2005, includes a programme of 52 lectures, all of which will be simultaneously translated into English and French.

Traceability 2005 (Tracabilite 2005), to be held on 25-27 January 2005, is the only specialist trade conference fully dedicated to traceability issues in the world.

The conference will bring together 52 lectures, 78 hours of training, and 150 presenters.

Each lecture will include simultaneous French/English interpretation.

Expert presenters, solution providers and users working in diverse sectors will ensure the relevance of each session.

Traceability 2005 will provide concrete answers targeting all businesses affected by these issues, including the agri-foodstuffs, industrial, health, retail, trade and textile sectors.

For the first time ever, conference participants will have the opportunity to tour two facilities that use traceability every day in their businesses.

On Monday 24 January there will be a tour of the Saint Denis de l'Hotel Dairy Plant; the dairy plant has implemented a number of tools covering quality management, process and logistics.

On Friday 28 January there will be a tour of L'Echangeur Demonstration Centre for RFID and traceability from retail back-office to point-of-sale; this tour will allow participants to gain a better understanding of the future consequences of RFID on the value-added chain and customer relations.

Traceability 2005 will address companies' new awareness of the importance of traceability as a means of ensuring the quality of processes and products, especially in the agri-foodstuffs sector.

In 2005, this new awareness will lead to a number of changes.

Firstly, the regulatory framework will become increasingly strict in 2005 with the application of more specific regulations concerning traceability, GMOs and allergens.

In addition, pressure from large-scale retailers will have an impact as they strive to monitor the products they sell.

Finally, consumers will become increasingly aware of the issue of traceability, which they will perceive as a guarantee of the safety - and quality - of the products they use.

In a field where rapid change has become the norm, updating a company's knowledge of traceability-related issues is a key success factor.

Traceability 2005 will provide three days of training in order to optimise traceability systems.

Significant technological changes are currently affecting the field of traceability tools, the most spectacular change being the availability of electronic labels (still often referred to as 'chips' or 'tags') and the capacity of electronic labelling systems to replace traditional bar code systems operationally in certain sectors, such as supply chain, retail and the textiles industry.

A complete overview of these issues will be provided by experts (government authorities, consulting firms, legal experts and professional associations).

User testimonials will be backed up by solutions presented by service providers.

The focus will be on controlling traceability investment, an issue that concerns SMEs in particular.

One of the key issues to be addressed at Traceability 2005 is the European Union regulation 178/2002 that makes traceability mandatory for the agri-foodstuffs sector, and which is effective from January 2005.

The conference will consider various questions, such as: How can SMEs transform this requirement into an opportunity? What about import/export issues? How are the various upstream agricultural networks structured? What tools are available to ensure inter-company traceability? What are the repercussions for processes and logistics? Can effective traceability aid in fighting unofficial markets, counterfeiting and stock shortfalls? Approximately 40 per cent of all industrial products are affected by counterfeiting (according to the French Ministry of the Economy - statement reported in the 9 November 2004 issue of Les Echos, a French business newspaper).

Other conference topics include: Utopia or reality: how does 'legendary' RFID technology improve traceability performance, particularly for the supply chain and retail sectors and the textile industry? Moratorium on GMOs lifted: how will the different types of crops co-exist? Upstream textile networks: what are the traceability-related issues? The quality-traceability approach: HACCP, ISO 22 000, ISO 22 519? Health and the food industry: how do we optimise the traceability of the cold chain? Traceability and optimising processes in the automotive and aerospace industries.

Industry/trade relations: electronic catalogues and synchronising data.

Traceability 2005 (Tracabilite 2005) is the show covering all types and aspects of traceability, and a forum for the exchange of information as well as the sharing of experiences in the field of traceability.

The trade show will take place at CNIT - Paris La Defense (in Paris), and it will be open from 09:00 to 18:00.

The exact and detailed conference schedule is available on the web site.

Exhibitors can be expected to include auditors, consultants, training consultants and legal advisers; standards bodies, quality certification bodies and public authorities; research laboratories and related bodies; finally, software houses and equipment suppliers.

Visitors will come from a wide range of sectors, including the agri-foodstuffs industry, aeronautics, the automotive industry, the chemicals industry, distribution and mail-order companies, luxury goods, express delivery services, the pharmaceuticals and health sectors, transport and logistics, the manufacturing industry, consumer goods, electronics and telecommunications.

Attendees hold a variety of positions within organisations, from senior management, financial management, and quality control and quality management, to positions in research and development, logistics, production and information systems.

Visitors may also be heads of traceability projects, technicians, specialists in technology and methods and designers.

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