From Source to Shelf: Transparency Powered by SAP Business Network for Materials Traceability

Overview

SAP Business Network for Materials Traceability helps organizations to gain better visibility into material movement across supply chains. By leveraging advanced technologies such as IoT and blockchain, it enhances tracking capabilities, supports regulatory compliance, and improves operational efficiency. This solution is especially beneficial for industries that require strict adherence to quality standards and regulations, including pharmaceuticals, food, and automotive sectors.

Why Do We Need Material Traceability in Today’s World?

In today's world, as individuals, we have the right to know what we buy, whether it’s materials or food, and to understand the sources of raw materials ethically and transparently. Companies also need to build trust in what they sell. In today’s globalized supply chains, businesses face increasing challenges related to transparency, compliance, and efficiency. Material traceability has become a critical necessity, enabling companies to track materials from their origin to the final product. According to SAP, material traceability helps organizations minimize risks, ensure compliance, and improve decision-making by providing real-time data across the supply chain

Real-World Example of Material Traceability

Industry Focus: Food safety & quality assurance.

Use Case: A Chocolate manufacturer sourcing cocoa from multiple farms.

Traceability Goals

• Ensure Ethical Sourcing:
  Verify that cocoa is sourced responsibly, adhering to fair trade practices and sustainability certifications (e.g., Rainforest Alliance, UTZ).
• Track Cocoa Beans from Farm to Factory:
  Monitor each step—from harvesting and transport to processing and packaging—to maintain full visibility over the supply chain.
• Assign Unique IDs to Production Batches:
  Use digital identifiers (e.g., barcodes, QR codes) to trace ingredients at every stage of production, enabling precise tracking.

Benefits:

• Quick identification & recall during issues (e.g., contamination).
• Compliance with food safety regulations.
• Builds consumer trust through transparency.

Key Features and New Updates in Material Traceability

SAP BN4L - Material Traceability includes several key features designed to enhance supply chain visibility and compliance:

• Multi-Ingredient and Multicomponent Traceability: Tracks and manages multiple ingredients and components across different production stages, ensuring full traceability.
• Real-Time Dynamic Visualization: Provides an interactive visual representation of material flow, enabling quick analysis of product genealogy and supply chain transparency.
• Precision Alerts Through the Network: Enables real-time notifications to help businesses respond promptly to recalls, quality issues, or supply chain disruptions.

SAP continues to enhance Material Traceability with new updates that further improve tracking, automation, and collaboration capabilities. 

Genealogy Analysis

Genealogy analysis in material traceability allows businesses to track raw materials, components, and finished goods throughout their lifecycle using batch and serial number tracking. This ensures that organizations can monitor how raw materials are transformed into final products, which is essential for food production, the automotive, and pharmaceutical industries.

Genealogy analysis can be performed in two ways:

1.Graph View:

Provides a visual representation of material flow, making it easier to trace relationships between batches and serialized products.

2. Table View (Upstream & Downstream):

• Upstream Tracking: Identifies the source of raw materials and components used in a product.
  
• Downstream Tracking: Traces the movement of a product to its final destination, ensuring

By leveraging genealogy analysis, businesses can:

• Quickly identify affected products during recalls.
  
• Improve quality control by analyzing material usage patterns.
  
• Ensure compliance with industry regulations and standards.

Setting up Material Traceability – Quick Guide

Implementing SAP Business Network Material Traceability involves a few essential steps to ensure seamless tracking and compliance within the supply chain. The setup process includes:

1. Create BTP Subaccount: Set up a subaccount in SAP BTP with the correct region and subdomain.
2. Assign Entitlements: Add service plans like Premium Apps for Material Traceability and Authorizations.
3. Subscribe to Services: Subscribe to required apps (Material Traceability, Audit Log Viewer, etc.).
4. Assign Roles & Users: Create role collections, assign roles, and map users for access control.
5. Access Material Traceability Apps: Launch apps from your BTP subaccount and verify UI access.
6. Define Categories & Properties: Set up custom attributes and groupings for traceability data.
7. Integrate with SAP S/4HANA / ERP: Use APIs or Integration Suite to send genealogy data from backend systems.
8. Connect to SAP Business Network: Submit a support request to link your BN4L and Buyer accounts (provide LBN ID & ANID).
9. Enable Suppliers: Extend relationships with suppliers for traceability data sharing.
10. Communication Requirements: Share expected attributes and data format with suppliers.

With these steps, businesses can enhance visibility, improve compliance, and streamline material tracking across their supply chain.

Conclusion

Material traceability plays a crucial role in modern supply chain management, enabling organizations to enhance compliance, mitigate risks, and improve transparency.

SAP BN4L - Material Traceability offers a comprehensive solution to monitor materials from their origin to the final product, ensuring quality, efficiency, and adherence to regulations. As industries evolve, adopting robust traceability systems becomes crucial for optimizing operations and building consumer trust.

As a manufacturer/producer looking to earn your customers' trust, it's time to unlock the full potential of material traceability! ArchLynk is your trusted partner, offering end-to-end solutions from seamless implementation to full-scale integration. Connect with us for a demo today and see how ArchLynk can transform your supply chain!