1. Why implement traceability in an industrial environment?

At various times of the day and in all companies, whatever their field or size, managers and operators ask themselves certain questions: these relate to information on operations and products, upstream and downstream of their workstation.

Sometimes these questions are vital and require urgent answers, because people's safety is at stake.

Questions like these are commonplace, and it is the role of company managers to ensure that they are answered accurately and, above all, quickly:

• • "What are the serial numbers of the Rex300 model machines that include components from the series received on January 12, 2006?".

• • "Who delivered part number 372XZ28 to me on February 25?

• • "Which parts exactly were shipped to the Brest warehouse...