The Geo-Trace System developed by IT Synergy with its set of unique features, will become a National Traceability System that will fulfill the needs and requirements of the Ministry of Trace and Industry (MTI), and the General Organization of Export and Import Control (GOEIC).

The experience and expertise obtained by IT Synergy at implementing the Geo-Trace System in the Green Corridor Initiative (http://www.green-corridor.com) has become valuable and at the same time, a testing platform for implementing standard procedures and best practices in the traceability industry for fresh produce.

Geo-Trace is a full featured traceability system, with the advantage of being a web based application in two different ways: It can act as a traceability system server or a traceability client. The latter can be used to exchange traceability information with a traceability server in XML format. It is worth mentioning that both features are nonexclusive, which means that a Geo-Trace application can work as a traceability client and server at the same time.

Geo-Trace can enable the GOEIC to become a traceability service provider, giving exporters the facilities of using the services from the central server at the GOEIC premises without having to install a system of their own. At the same time, it can be installed as a local system at the exporter company and be used just to send traceability information to the central server at GOEIC. This last option will enable the exporter company to maintain its own resources, while at the same time share traceability data with the GOEIC for monitoring and control of the traceability processes in the whole country.

By giving the exporter the ability to choose between installing a traceability system and using the resources of Geo-Trace application server at GOEIC, the exporter, depending on their budget, personnel and technical infrastructure, can decide to subscribe to the National Traceability System (NATS) as a system user (by using the traceability services directly from NATS) or as a system client (by using its own system and just exchanging traceability information). If there are companies already using a traceability system, they can update their applications by creating a module for sending traceability data (A standard XML file) to NATS, keeping security and confidentiality.

All users of the system, either system users or clients, will be provided with standard tools to query and create different type of reports from system. At the same time, customers can reach non-sensitive data from the Geo-Trace server, as a means to certify quality in all exported products, being able to trace fertilizers and pesticides used, farms where the products were cultivated, location in a GIS map, distribution of the products from the farm and packing house all the way to the destination city.

Through a web application based on a powerful CMS, the system can bring all actors involved in the Fresh Producing market into a single centralized system, capable of sharing traceability information providing trusted management and confidentiality.

With the help of Geo-Trace Application Server, the General Organization for Export and Imports Control (GOEIC), can start capturing the data of fresh producers at the national level into a centralized database server, maintaining appropriate access rights. This will allow the GOEIC to become an application server provider of traceability services to the export industry.

For the purposes of the project, IT Synergy intends to develop and adapt systems based on a Geographical Information System back-end supported by an industrial-class Enterprise Resources Planning – ERP – based on a solid relational database management system server. The reason for this fundamental technology decision is that the data created by the initiative and the ensuing information required to successfully operate it is spatial in nature; the district, the farms, the packing centers, the shipping beginning and end-points, the importers, and the ultimate markets are all entities which yield richer information when they are represented geographically as opposed to a traditional and less intelligent plain database. It will also provide to the stakeholders “market intelligence” and real-time information on all the stages of the process, from the planning phase to the final delivery to the consumer.

Providing an innovative approach to the traceability concept, the consumer will receive a wealth of information that will position the product well above the rest adding value to the certified quality.

Geo-Trace is a web based application, supported by a powerful Content Management System, completely database server independent, used to track traceability variables of different players in the fresh food industry. As a web application, the Geo-Trace System has the flexibility to be hosted in any web server and used from anywhere. The advantages are clear in terms of usability, because it can be used as an application server, with the appropriate access rights, by different exporters, either by transferring data from their own local traceability system, or by using the resources directly from Geo-Trace.

The combination of satellite images and the vector representation of the parcels used for cultivating the export products inside Geo-Trace will provide a great variety and rich information of the farms involved in the export process as well as the exporters. This will evolve into a GIS map of all national fresh producers.

Geo Trace will also provide a tool to monitor the cultivation process of the different products, that will enhance the quality of them and, at the same time, provide with a much easier way of controlling the fertilizers and pesticides that are used in the farms.

The real time monitoring will also allow a better control on the methodology and the resources used and transfer of the know-how from the consultants to the farmers and among them with the best practices identified for this kind of service.

The Open Source approach will also ensure easy replicability into different regions and contexts.

The NATS project is implemented in the framework of the UNIDO E-Trace project funded by the Italian Cooperation through the Italian-Egyptian debt swap agreement.