DCH Logistics Company Limited

"As a leading logistics service provider, food safety is always our top priority when we handle food products, especially temperature sensitive ones. We believe that food traceability and supply chain visibility are the keys to ensure food safety. Each step taken within the supply chain needs to be recorded clearly. The GS1 HK traceability platform enables us to track and trace every process along the supply chain. The visibility of cold chain management demonstrates our ability to deliver the best and safest food products, which enhances the consumers’confidence."

--Mr. David Kuk, Managing Director 

Challenge

An increasingly globalised food supply chain has brought a much wider choice of food to consumers in China. Yet, it poses an unprecedented challenge to food suppliers and distributors in their efforts to ensure food safety. DCH Logistics is one of the suppliers of a leading e-tailer company in China, and together they (DCH and the e-tailer) teamed up to introduce a traceable food supply chain from farm to fork with the goals to:

1. Be a pioneer and industry model in   implementing a traceable food supply chain that will ensure food quality and promote   brand confidence
2. Boost sales volume by improving customer loyalty
3. Increase process efficiency by enabling better product receiving and reducing administrative cost
4. Enhance visibility along the entire food supply chain

Both parties have been concerned about the risks associated with frozen food which is temperature sensitive. Although the mainland is now aggressively expanding cold-storage facilities and has plenty of large cold warehouses and transport equipment, irregularities in cooling operations are not uncommon. Without an effective modern management systems, the security and quality of goods are at risk, and ultimately damaging the reputation of the brands and consumer confidence.

GS1 Standards used

• Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) 
• Global Location Number (GLN) 
• GS1 Global Traceability Standard (GTS) 
• Serial Shopping Container Code (SSCC) 
• Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS)

Solution(s)/Service(s) applied

• Cold Chain Solutions 
• ezTRACK™ 

Solution

GS1 HK conducted a traceability project on crossborder shipment of grapefruit last year for DCH Logistics. DCH turned to GS1 HK to build up an integrated traceability solution for DCH to have traceable logistics services which live up to the requirements of its buyer, a leading e-tailer in China. 

DCH adopted GS1 Global Traceability Standards, GS1 ezTRACK™, an EPCIS standard-based globalised track and trace platform and RFID-based cold chain solution. Starting from January 2016, DCH started to implement a full traceability logistics services when managing frozen products from Argentina to Shanghai and to Shenzhen door-to-door services. 

GS1 Hong Kong acts as a process consultancy and traceability platform provider to ensure GS1 Global Traceability Standards are strictly followed. DCH is responsible for sourcing overseas products, food processing and logistics services whereas the e-tailer is responsible for  distributing frozen products to its outlets or consumers directly. Through adaptation of Global Traceability Standards, each party will share traceability information onto the ezTRACK™ platform in which the information can be retrieved anytime and anywhere. Information includes Certificate of origin (CO), Purchase Order (PO), best before date, temperature records, delivery time and date, etc.

Additionally, a logistics label using global standards - SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code) is deployed to uniquely identify each distributed logistics unit and its content.  Together with the adoption of the QR Code at the item level, consumers are able to retrieve quality traceability information through mobile scanning.

Upon the successful completion on the joint shipments, DCH and the leading e-tailer have expressed the interest to extend the solutions to other product types and regions.

Benefits

With enhanced traceability achieved by ezTRACK™, DCH could readily monitor the entire food supply chain and food quality. Combined with the use of QR Code effectively providing consumer interface, DCH can now:

1. Ensure the product quality, and hence   consumer safety, by closely monitoring   the product temperature via cold chain   management 
2. Record information in electronic forms   and improve the reliability and efficiency of   information exchange 
3. Connect various stakeholders along the   supply chain seamlessly and enjoy a speedy   communication with e-tailer 
4. Achieve full supply chain visibility from farm   to fork and winning the confidence of both   trading partners and consumers

About the company 

DCH Logistics provides one-stop professional logistics services to customers in the mainland and Southeast Asia, including transportation and shipping of general merchandise as well as coldchain logistics in the delivery of various highend frozen foods, cosmetics and other frozen products. DCH Logistics specializes in food and cold chain management and consultancy services, operating physical facilities including multitemperature warehouses and delivery trucks with advanced refrigeration-monitoring technologies. Great importance is placed on employing modern cold-chain logistics management systems and operation processes to comply with the stringent requirements of multinationals to ensure food hygiene and safety.