Tool tracks financial impact of traceability in seafood industry

To help the seafood industry understand the financial impact of implementing traceability, the Global Food Traceability Center (GFTC) has launched a Seafood Traceability Financial Tool.

Developed with input from seafood business leaders and owners, and as part of its service to the seafood industry, the tool is freely accessible online at www.seafoodtraceability.org.

The tool can be used by any seafood business, but will be especially helpful for smaller businesses that may lack the time and resources to execute a detailed business case. It produces simple results within a few minutes; alternatively, the user can choose to conduct a more detailed analysis.

“From retailers and foodservice companies, all the way back to the catch, the entire food industry is becoming more concerned and conscious about traceability and how to help protect the public,” said Brian Sterling, managing director of the GFTC.

“In addition to providing a way to verify the source of products, traceability also offers tangible financial benefits for companies. It’s a proven business tool that can drive new market opportunities, lower costs and increase margins.”

To use the tool, businesses input details such as industry segment, revenue, current traceability level and reasons for investing in traceability. The tool then outlines how traceability may impact the business, including such items as:

• new market access and customer growth
• lawsuits and liability insurance costs
• recall management costs
• information management
• scrap/waste/shrink costs
• quality management

The tool calculates the net present value of investment over the user-selected time horizon and then displays a confidential results page with a forecast of return on investment at the selected level of traceability. This report can be saved and printed, and includes the breakdown of annual benefits selected on the previous pages.