KROGER TO TEST NEW FRESH STANDARD

The Kroger Co. will conduct a pilot project in the first quarter of 2012 to validate new enhancements to a standard for fresh item management (FIM) developed by the Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS), the standards division of the National Retail Federation.

The FIM Standard, when incorporated by technology suppliers, enables data on fresh foods, such as lot and batch data, to be transmitted across systems throughout the supply chain and into the store, promoting traceability for food items. Following the Kroger test, ARTS will publish the enhanced standard for use by the industry.

The enhanced standard, version 2.0, will allow mapping of specific electronic transactions, including purchase order, advance ship notice and invoice. Also, the FIM Standard data format will make it easier for companies to capture precise tracking information from product source to consumer purchase. In the case of recalls, this level of detail will permit retailers and manufacturers to identify only potentially contaminated products without destroying safe items, said ARTS. The standard also offers the ability to track food items through multiple transformations.

“Ensuring food safety by being able to quickly pull products from shelves in the event of a recall is a priority for every food retailer, so this new standard will help us protect our customers,” said Francisca Vicente, IT Business Analyst at El Corte Inglés and a participant in the team that developed the standard. “It’s extremely valuable to be able to hone in on only those products that are being recalled and will help minimize the disruption that customers experience when a product becomes unavailable as a result of a recall. This will also help companies avoid lost sales from pulling too much product.”

The standard has the potential to allow retailers to notify loyalty-card consumers directly in a recall event and to prevent sales of recalled product at the POS, said Frank Urbaniak, consulting principal, C-Core Consulting Group, during a presentation at the NRF’s Annual Convention and Expo.

Source: Supermarket News