Trace Tech: 2023 Q3 Highlights

Originating as an ambitious 2019 pilot for a single nutmeg batch, this initiative has now evolved into a comprehensive traceable supply chain for all Verstegen nutmeg products in the Netherlands. The nutmeg farmers have experienced a 4% increase in their income, attributable to premiums for quality and their willingness to share data, which in turn facilitated traceability. Verstegen nutmegs, featuring Trace QR codes, will be on supermarket shelves from early October.

We aim to release our entire platform as an open-source project by the close of 2023. As part of this endeavour, we have been actively modernising our technology stack. During the third quarter, we executed a substantial upgrade to the frontend framework of our web application, transitioning from Angular version 11 to the latest version 15. This upgrade delivers a multitude of benefits, such as heightened performance, the introduction of new features, enhanced stability, and a more resilient development environment. In addition, considerable effort has been dedicated to unit testing and comprehensive documentation.

Excel serves as a universal language for sharing data, but the challenge arises from the fact that different entities refer to the same information using different terms, such as “farmer ID” or “cooperative ID.” To address this issue, we devised a straightforward solution. As long as your data is in Excel format and contains the necessary information, we handle the rest for you. With our updated data import feature, all you need to do is upload your Excel sheet to Trace. Trace will then automatically read the sheet and allow you to map the relevant fields to the corresponding columns before importing the data. It’s as simple as specifying that column A represents the Farmer ID and column B corresponds to the Farmer name. The rest is taken care of by Trace.

Enthusiastic collectors embrace the app, and farmers adore the sleek Trace card for its exceptional data digitisation capabilities. However, a lingering question remained: what about receipts? We’ve now seamlessly integrated receipt printing into the app. You can easily pair your smartphone with any compact portable Bluetooth printer, allowing you to print elegant receipts on the go, eliminating the need for handwritten records and duplicated efforts. Plus, you can effortlessly share receipts as PDFs. One of the greatest advantages is that you have the flexibility to use any Bluetooth printer available in the market.

We are dedicated to enhancing the flexibility of Trace Mobile to accommodate diverse use cases. Previously, the app only supported fixed premium amounts. However, during our collaboration with an Agroforestry project partner, we encountered an interesting scenario. They reward farmers based on various conditions, such as product moisture levels and density ranges, thereby motivating them to deliver top-quality produce. In response, we’ve introduced new premium types within the Trace app. The beauty of this is that you can define these premiums and their corresponding values directly from our server, without the need for app updates. The next time the app connects to the internet, all necessary information is automatically updated. During the next purchase, collectors can conveniently select value ranges from a dropdown menu, and the premium amount is seamlessly added to the total.

For us, claims transcend mere proof documents; they represent the narrative you wish to convey to your consumers, articulating a company’s philosophy and the reasons driving its actions. In our Trace storytelling interface, we’ve enhanced the claim details section, enabling you to elaborate on the backstory behind the claims you make. Furthermore, you can now specify the activities and interventions you’ve undertaken within your supply chain in connection with these claims, thereby sharing your commitments with greater transparency. In addition, we’ve introduced a feature that allows you to share company-specific claims with your supply chain actors. These claims will be prominently displayed in proximity to the actor’s section, facilitating better communication and understanding among all stakeholders.