Consumers who want farm-to-fork, supply chain information available to them on their smartphones while shopping at the grocery store may see this capability coming soon; some shoppers may already have a window to the supply chain. But such a system no doubt raises a few questions. Who pays for it? What supply chain members will want to participate, making their information public? What must processors do to make the system work? Who hosts the system?
One proprietary system, called CLEARthru, is an ERP-based solution that enables growers/shippers, producers, distributors, retailers and processors to move beyond traceability and offer consumers the ability to learn at the point of purchase the complete supply chain path their food takes on its way to the grocery store, from the plant or farm of origin to every processing or packing facility along the way.