Sanderson has announced that its Sanderson Swords business intelligence solution can be configured to meet the upcoming requirements of Tobacco Track and Trace (TTT). Articles 15 and 16 of the Tobacco Products Directive 2014/40/EU (TPD) aims to address the illicit trade of products by improving the EU-wide systems for traceability and security. Users can configure the Sanderson Swords application to meet the traceability requirements. There are three specific requirements on traceability:
- All unit packets of tobacco products will be required to be marked with a unique identifier.
- Relevant economic operators involved in tobacco trade will be required to record the movements of these packets throughout the supply chain and transmit the related information to an independent provider (data storage contracts to be approved by the Commission).
- The data will then be made accessible to the authorities of EU countries and to the Commission for enforcement purposes.
The legislation comes into force on 20 May 2019 for cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco. It comes into force on 20 May 2024 for all other tobacco products. The Sanderson Swords solution will enable the bar code to be registered and with full traceability, ensures that goods are not sold to an ineligible buyer. Companies need to register with SGS ONTRACK by May 20th to comply.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
One of the challenges of working in specific vertical markets is that solutions need to be compliant. While most manufacturers will be aware of the legislation, Sanderson has stepped up by making this announcement. It has given enough time for companies using its software to register. They can also now make the changes necessary to comply with the traceability elements of the legislation. In addition companies must ensure that they are compliant with the new security criteria as well.
