Purpose

This paper aims to present an emergent framework that proposes the strategic importance of supply chain (SC) traceability beyond the traditional role in supporting product safety, recalls and sustainability initiatives.

Design/methodology/approach

A grounded theory (GT) approach with 22 in-depth interviews with managers from 10 countries/territories and 3 different echelons of the food SC is employed to arrive at the strategic traceability framework and framework's propositions.

Findings

The framework suggests that traceability can sometimes help expose and modify firms' core and non-core SC capabilities and provide an opportunity to align them better with SC strategies. This alignment may require a complementary execution of human coordination and the adoption of technological traceability components.

Practical implications

The research suggests that firms may be able to extract greater value from the firms' traceability investments. While traceability continues to serve the key purposes of preventing and mitigating the risks of recalls, this can sometimes illuminate sustained business growth opportunities.

Originality/value

The study extends traceability beyond a means to meet the requirements of product safety, recalls and sustainability. Rather, this study establishes traceability's role in exposing and aligning firms' capabilities for business gain and not merely recall risk mitigation. This reframing of the premise for traceability can invigorate both research and practice on the subject of traceability.

中文翻译：

---

使供应链可追溯性成为战略性的：来自食品行业的见解

目的

本文旨在提出一个新兴框架，提出供应链（SC）可追溯性的战略重要性，超越了支持产品安全、召回和可持续发展举措的传统作用。

设计/方法论/途径

采用扎根理论 (GT) 方法，对来自 10 个国家/地区和 3 个不同食品供应链梯队的管理人员进行 22 次深度访谈，得出战略追溯框架和框架主张。

发现

该框架表明，可追溯性有时可以帮助暴露和修改公司的核心和非核心供应链能力，并提供机会使其更好地与供应链战略保持一致。这种协调可能需要人类协调的补充执行和技术可追溯性组件的采用。

实际影响

研究表明，企业或许能够从企业的可追溯性投资中获取更大的价值。虽然可追溯性继续服务于预防和减轻召回风险的关键目的，但这有时可以揭示持续的业务增长机会。

原创性/价值

该研究将可追溯性扩展到满足产品安全、召回和可持续性要求的手段之外。相反，本研究确立了可追溯性在揭示和调整公司能力以获得业务收益方面的作用，而不仅仅是召回风险缓解。这种对可追溯性前提的重新构建可以激发可追溯性主题的研究和实践。