Traceability

Retail PerspectiveTim Cassidy,

Best BuySr. Manager for Product Safety,

Exclusive Brands

Vastness of Retail Products

Complexity of Supply Chain - Upstream

Cap

Outer tube

Tip/Inner tube coupler

Tip

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Identifier

Inner tube (not shown)

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Viscosity

colorant

Simple Ball Point Pen

Downstream - Consumers

• How does traceability helps consumers?– Mostly in the event of a product withdrawal (public

recall)• What about privacy?– Consumers have an expectation of privacy

• Can credit purchases be used for tracking?– For safety recalls, yes. For other reasons, no.

• What about cash?– Many regions and certain types of purchases lead to

cash exchanges

When Does Traceability Matter

• It is largely an economic question– Products that require labor to return or repair or where the

cost of remediation must be controlled• The most important thing to know is the product

identification (model)– We can always withdraw them all and in many cases this is

best• Lot or serial traceability is helpful to scope withdrawal

when the cause is clearly known and the cost of not scoping is high– Cause is not easy to determine

Thank You!