Tracking&Tracing-systems in the Wood Supply Chain: Opportunities and Challenges

Tracking&Tracing-systems have been used for years in the logistics and food industry for the monitoring, control and management of processes. In general, the usage of systems includes applications such as finding the source of recalls, proof of product quality and origin, improving logistics and production processes. The benefits of these systems in the specific environment of the wood supply chain have not been explored to this point. Whether the data from Tracking&Tracingsystems could contribute to overcoming wood-specific challenges such as fulfillment of legislative requirements, certification of wood origin, minimizing illegal felling, support of sustainable forest management and thus the environmental sustainability is the main question of the investigation carried out in this paper. The investigation includes a comprehensive overview of possibilities and challenges of these systems in the wood supply chain.