Securing the durian export supply chain from Malaysia to China

In terms of size and potential growth, Hong Kong, China and greater China are key markets for the Malaysian durian export.

The durian export pilot demonstrated that cross-border traceability is possible when using GS1 standards supported by the EPCIS visibility platform. Outcomes from the pilot highlighted a significant improvement in overall supply chain performance and integrity. Time spent on tracking consignments’ positions in the supply chain was reduced by an impressive 98 percent.

Results

Time spent on tracking consignments has been reduced by 98 percent, and errors due to manual data entry have been eliminated.

Information about each shipment is now available in real time, and counterfeit products can be easily detected.

Supply chain visibility improved from 40% to 100%.

Situation

Authorities faced new challenges of facilitating yet controlling increased trade of durian. To effectively protect and monitor the market or, if needed, prohibit products from being distributed, authorities needed to put a system in place that enabled manufacturers, traders and end users to seamlessly communicate with governments. Furthermore, exporters needed end-to-end traceability and access to complete information about each durian shipment, including its real-time location and temperature. And as the Chinese market is particularly vulnerable to counterfeiting, there was a need to combat and reduce the risk of counterfeits for these premium products.

Approach

GS1 identifiers were implemented to uniquely identify each piece of the durian fruit as well as logistics units and consignments transporting them from Malaysia to China. Mi-Trace, based on EPCIS, provided access to information for farm-to-consumer traceability. Stakeholders were from Malaysia, Hong Kong, China and greater China. Malaysian stakeholders included representatives from the Malaysia Durian Exporter Association, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the Department of Agriculture, GS1 Malaysia and the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers.