Towards a new traceability sphere of activity: foreword

"This book, dedicated to traceability, tackles this concept in all its dimensions, thanks to a systemic approach and a breakdown of the company into functional components. Through the analyses of specialists in specific contexts, we demonstrate the versatility of this concept within an industrial structure. In particular, it will be shown that traceability is not only useful during a crisis, but that there is a wide range of technologies, legal texts and methodologies for developing an effective and relevant traceability system". This was the introductory text of the 2006 version of this article. What is the situation today in 2017? First of all, the systemic approach has been confirmed: traceability is still a system. And, because traceability is a system, it's interesting to make the link between the 2006 and 2017 breakdowns, because there is indeed a filiation and this enables us to better understand both the whole and the evolution of the concept of traceability. This article presents the evolution of the concept of traceability in both form and content, based on the fifty-five articles currently listed.