1. Traceability

The ISO definition of traceability states that the history of events in the life of a product must be traceable at any time by means of recorded information. This means identifying a good, a service or a person, and associating the events that have transformed it over time. These events can themselves be identified and therefore traced.

Good traceability must be continuous and unbroken. As in any chain, a weak link lowers the overall level of performance.

Traceability takes different forms depending on the application: logistics, food safety, health safety, counterfeiting, falsification, deconstruction, recycling, etc. The choice of architecture and technology depends on the issues at stake.

Traceability is based on three functions: identify, authenticate and locate. A range of associated services is linked to these...