Frederik Degryse, CEO, iTraceiT, ink down his Key findings in the report of DMCC’s Provenance, Traceability and Technology. Frederik wrote, Traceability solutions can combat modern diamond industry challenges! Traceability is one of the key developments that will shape the future landscape of the luxury industry. The journey and origin of a product are key building blocks for any sustainability reporting, provenance programmes and for meeting changing consumer demands.
Achieving this full supply chain transparency will require technology partners to work together and ensure that all companies along the supply chain are able to contribute to the story of the product and no-one gets left behind.
Considering the significant and existential challenges facing the diamond industry, traceability can act as a bulwark to trends like LGDs and sanctions by ensuring transparency, accountability, and adherence to ethical and sustainable practices. It is essential for combatting conflict diamonds, identifying counterfeits, and upholding government sanctions without harming upstream supply chains – driving credibility and reputation in the process.
Continuous collaboration among all stakeholders is essential to build trust, sustainable practices, and value for all participants, ensuring the industry’s long-term prosperity. This includes mining companies, manufacturers, retailers, regulatory bodies, and technology partners.
The industry’s ability to adopt and integrate advanced traceability solutions and continue to embrace new digital innovations as these emerge will be key to addressing current challenges and future-proof the diamond supply chain.
Here the point is, Should traceability compliance be made compulsory for all mining companies? Frederik say, Trust in a process or product is difficult to establish without necessary control and secure verification mechanisms at the origin. However, different mines and companies have varying thresholds for technological and economic viability.
Compulsory compliance should focus on industry agreed, Minimum Viable Levels of Traceability and Transparency- and remain technology-agnostic to ensure inclusivity and practicality across diverse operations.
Is there any value to commencing traceability further along the pipeline if not captured at source? Ideally, traceability should be comprehensive from the source, but some data is better than none. Implementing traceability further along the pipeline still adds significant value by enhancing transparency and accountability at various stages.
It is crucial that the pursuit of perfection does not impede the adoption of practical solutions that can mature and evolve over time. By starting with available data, groundwork is laid for more robust traceability systems that can eventually encompass the entire value chain.