The Australian Rail Industry has a massive task to ensure the optimum quality of Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) processes. Efficiency is heavily reliant on effective supply chain management practices to assure material availability of the right quantity, the right quality, at the right place and time with minimum effort and cost.
Today, our industry is far from best practice when it comes to inventory management and stock control; manufacturers, operators and contractors alike agree that a collaborative industry approach to improving the inbound materials supply chain to the rail industry will have significant, positive bottom-line effects for individual organisations and for the industry.
The Australasian Rail Association (ARA) has been driving an industry initiative in partnership with GS1 Australia to standardise the way objects in the rail industry supply chain are identified and marked. This will help all stakeholders to effectively identify products, electronically capture information about them and then share that information with relevant parties. The ability to do this at optimal cost relies on open global standards that all parties in the rail industry value chain can leverage.
The objective of this project is to set an industry standard for those organisations who wish to digitise and harmonise their organisations and value chains.
Project i-TRACE represents a significant step forward for the rail industry in Australia, providing a robust framework for asset management and supply chain efficiency. It delivers tangible benefits such as enhanced asset visibility, optimised inventory management, improved safety and compliance, and greater industry collaboration.
The Project i-TRACE team is encouraging the broader industry to reach out to see how easy it is to get started.
