Wholechain for Different Business Types

When implemented across a full supply chain, Wholechain helps companies document and verify claims related to quality and sustainability, while enabling compelling storytelling for both stakeholders and consumers. But how can you take advantage of Wholechain given each business’ specific and unique context in the product journey?

• Business Type Overview
• Wholechain for Producers/Suppliers
• Wholechain for Processors
• Wholechain for Distribution / Transport Businesses
• Wholechain for Retailers
• Wholechain for Third Parties

Business Type Overview

Given the varied types of stakeholders that comprise the chain of custody in a given product's journey, the ways users trace in Wholechain can vary dramatically. For example:

• A producer/supplier may log events related to the raw materials harvest (Commission) and shipment to the processing facility (Internal Ship/Receive). 
• A processor will likely need to capture the event that describes processing of the goods from inputs to outputs (Transform), followed by a shipment to another storage facility (Internal Ship/Receive), and then on to a retailer’s distribution center. 
• A retailer will likely have a distribution center, which will need to receive the product shipment (Receive) and send lots out to individual stores (either External Ship or Decommission). 
• An upstream supplier/producer or distribution partner would likely not utilize Sourceview, since they do not control the product's final presentation, while a retailer is most likely to utilize Sourceview since they control packaging and marketing. 

In an attempt to cater our support accordingly, this article provides some relevant starting points for users to best take advantage of our event-based traceability system. Here's an overview to help you familiarize with the various functions to identify where how your business' context fits in: 

Wholechain for Suppliers

Products

As a supplier, you’ll likely be dealing with raw materials, or otherwise unprocessed forms of goods. Here are some general tips when setting up a product at this stage of the supply chain:

• It’s likely your products will not be assigned a GTIN at this point in the process, so you can leave that box unchecked.
• At the farthest points upstream, it’s likely that your products items will not be characterized by defined units yet, so simply select No in the Defined Units field. This way you can enter the variable lot sizes with whatever UOM you use at this stage in the supply chain.

Companies

• The companies in your Network will generally all be your downstream processors, retailers, or other buyers. 

Logging Events

Here are the events you’ll likely need to log: 

• Commission, which represents the farthest upstream point in a supply chain - i.e. harvest, catch or other origin point for a product. 
• Internal Ship/Receive, which means moving product from one location to another (i.e. from a landing dock to a processing facility)
• External Ship, which represents sending product to another company in your Network (buyer)  to reflect the change in custody as the product moves downstream. 

Wholechain for Processors

As a processor, manufacturer or other value-add service provider in a supply chain, there will tend to be certain traceability activities you’ll perform in Wholechain. Below is an overview of some helpful tips for navigating your Wholechain account in this function. 

Products

As a processor, you’ll likely be dealing with the transformation of one product to another. All transformations in Wholechain consist of input product items (received from upstream companies in your Network) as well as output product items. Here are some general tips when setting up products at this stage of the supply chain: 

• Input products - these will likely be raw materials, so may not have uniformly defined units. If your input products are coming from an upstream company in your Network, we recommend coordinating with them to make sure you set up the product with the same units of measure. This will avoid problems with conversions. 
• For each output product you add that happens to be organized in identical units, you might want to select Yes in the Defined Units field, and specify the quantity per unit. The output products might also be associated with a GTIN if downstream companies in your Network are GS1-compliant.

Companies

• The companies in your Network will include your upstream suppliers and producers, as well as distribution centers or buyers.

Logging Events

Here are the events you’ll likely be logging: 

• Receive, which represents receiving physical product items from your suppliers. 
• Transform, which represents the actual processing, or irreversible changing, of the product. Each transform event will start with input products and result in different output products. 
• Internal Ship/Receive, which is simply moving product from one location to another (i.e. from a processing facility to a storage warehouse)
• External Ship, which represents sending product to another company in your Network (a buyer) to reflect the change in custody as the product moves downstream. 

Wholechain for Distribution / Transport Businesses

If your business would be considered a distribution center, third party logistics partner or freight forwarder, there will tend to be certain traceability activities you’ll be performing in Wholechain. Below is an overview of some helpful tips for navigating your Wholechain account in this function. 

Products

As a distribution or transport business, the products you receive will usually stay the same (same packaging and GTIN). Here are some general tips when setting up a product at this stage of the supply chain: 

• Since you’re likely transporting products to a retailer, you’ll want to coordinate to make sure product information - i.e. GTIN and units of measure - is consistent with that of the downstream company in your Network

Companies

• The companies in your Network will include your upstream suppliers and processors, as well as downstream companies, such as retailers.

Logging Event

Here are the events you'll likely be logging:

• Receive, which represents receiving physical product items from your suppliers or processors. 
• Internal Ship/Receive, which is simply moving product from one location to another (i.e. from one DC to another)
• External Ship, which represents sending product to another company in your Network (a buyer) to reflect the change in custody as the product moves downstream. 

Wholechain for Retailers

If your business would be considered a retailer, or the farthest downstream point in the supply chain, there will tend to be certain traceability activities you’ll perform in Wholechain. Below is an overview of some helpful tips for navigating your Wholechain account in this function. 

Products

As a retailer, the products you receive will likely be finished goods, ready for consumption. They will therefore not need to be transformed. Here are some general tips when setting up a product at this stage of the supply chain: 

• Make sure to set up your products with a relevant GTIN (if GS1-compliant)
• You may want to utilize defined units by selecting Yes the defined units field. This is because usually downstream the products are grouped uniformly.

Companies

• The companies in your Network will mainly be your suppliers - either the distribution centers or processors that have delivered finished product to your facilities.

Logging Events

Here are the events you'll likely be logging:

• Receive, which represents receiving physical product items from your suppliers or processors. 
• Internal Ship/Receive, which is simply moving product from one location to another (i.e. from one store to another)
• Decommission, which represents products exiting the traced supply chain. This would typically occur once the product is considered used or “consumed”. 

Sourceview

This is the business type most likely to utilize Wholechain's storytelling tool, Sourceview. This is because it is typically downstream retailers who interact with consumers, control packaging and handle marketing. 

Wholechain for Third Parties

If your business is not directly involved in the traceability events of the products in the supply chain, but play a role as a certifier, an NGO or another type of stakeholder, you would be considered a Third Party in Wholechain. Your function differs quite a bit from the companies in your Network trading product between one another. Below is an overview of some helpful tips for navigating your Wholechain account in this function. 

Products

As a Third Party, you won’t actually create any products. In the Products page, the products you’ll see listed are those that your companies from your Network have opted to grant you access to via the Inventory Access feature. 

You won’t be able to modify the products, log events or change their settings. You’ll merely be able to view the companies in your Network's Current Inventory, Shipped Inventory and Supply Chain Diagrams to view the journeys of products moving through their supply chains, and the accompanying data. 

Companies

The companies in your Network will be businesses with whom you have a partnership that would require your access to their traceability data. You might connect with a company in your Network for whom you are a certifier, final retail brand or other external stakeholder. 

Logging Events

As a third party, your function will be to view event records and inventory data, not to log events. You can view event records via each product page’s Current Inventory and Shipped Inventory tabs. Simply click on a product item to view its most recent event record, as well as the supply chain diagram that links you to all previous event records since the item was first commissioned.