In what is described as an industry first that underpins the ‘golden thread’ of product traceability, CCF says it has taken the first steps towards offering its customers greater visibility on the journey products take from manufacture to site.
The leading insulation, drywall, and ceiling products distributor has developed a process to provide a detailed ‘end to end’ report that tracks products from the manufacturer, at manufacturing batch level, through the distribution process and delivery to the goods-in location on a site. After months of in-house testing, CCF is currently trialling the new product traceability programme on a live project working with its supply chain partners Kingspan and Berkeley Group.
Within this first phase, CCF is focusing on batch-level traceability of full pallets containing three Kingspan products for use at two of Berkeley Group’s sites. Utilising the unique GTIN (Global Trade Item Number), linking up with the manufacturer’s batch code, CCF is able to pull together a bespoke report showing which batch was delivered and where it was delivered to. The results of this first phase will help shape the next stage of this initiative, with CCF aiming to launch phase two which will expand the scope of the trials in the early part of 2024.
Catherine Gibson, CCF Managing Director, said: “In a world where we expect sustainability and product safety to be verifiable, the traceability of building materials from the supply chain is becoming increasingly important. We know this is an issue that really matters to our customers, and that the majority of traceability checks currently are done manually.
“CCF, with its extensive and trusted supply chain, will play a key role in developing a more accurate, data driven solution that will provide the detailed information customers require in a much smarter way.”
Catherine continued: “Our suppliers have expressed a desire for us to develop a system for batch traceability, and our customers are searching for a first-step to batch level identification on site. In order to explore this, we created a working group with a manufacturer – Kingspan Insulation – and a customer – Berkeley Group; both of whom share our determination to create solutions for our customers that are innovative by design, practical to implement and above all, drive positive change.”
She added: “We are extremely proud of the work our teams have done so far and we are excited to be commencing this trial and eagerly await the outcomes that will enable us to take this initiative to the next level.”
The details of CCF’s new product traceability initiative were first announced at the recent UK Construction Week event, where Catherine spoke about the importance ‘getting product information right’ alongside Amanda Long, formerly CEO of Considerate Constructors and founder of the Building a Safer Future Charter, who now leads CPI, the body that administers the Code for Construction Product Information.
