Once again, Russia’s Center for Research in Perspective Technologies (CRPT) has named rfxcel an official partner, this time for software and integration for dairy, bottled water, footwear, wheelchairs, tires, perfumes, bicycles, and light industry. We’re pretty excited about this. We had already been named an official software, integration, and tested solutions partner for medications. Our team in Moscow has worked hard to make us the leader in Russian serialization and track and trace for all industries; you should contact them if you have any questions about doing business in Russia.
The CRPT is a public-private partnership that manages Russia’s National Track and Trace Digital System, known as Chestny ZNAK. Our rfxcel Traceability System (rTS) works seamlessly with the system, including a Russian-language user interface that makes integration and startup much quicker.
Let’s take a quick look at what’s going on with the dairy and bottled water industries in Russia, and why we’re leading in Russian serialization and track and trace.
The CRPT and Russian Serialization/ChestnyZNAK “Experiments”
The CRPT follows best practices by conducting “experiments” — what we would call pilots — for products before the officially enter the ChestnyZNAK system. The pilot for dairy ran from July 15, 2019, to February 29, 2020; for bottled water, the pilot began April 1, 2030, and is scheduled to end March 1, 2021.
A pilot for bicycles wrapped at the end of May 2020, and a current one for wheelchairs is expected to end June 1, 2021. Pilots for children’s goods (e.g., baby food, clothing, toys, and games) and medical devices will apparently be announced soon.
Requirements for Dairy and Bottled Water
Russia’s supply chain regulations are notoriously strict. This is one reason being named an official CRPT partner is a feather in our cap: We’ve demonstrated that our solutions, particularly our signature rfxcel Traceability System (rTS) and Compliance Management (rCM), can meet the requirements and ensure companies stay compliant.
We’re currently working on some other materials about the regulations for dairy and bottled water (and tires and other products), so check back soon to see those. In the meantime, however, here’s some basic information to tide you over.
Dairy
All products must be labeled with a DataMatrix code. The code must contain the following:
- The goods code (14 numerical digits)
- An individual serial number (13 digits) generated by the CRPT or a company’s economic agent
- A verification key provided by the CRPT (4 digits)
According to the language in the regulations, companies may include an expiration date (6 characters for non-perishables, 10 for perishables), but that is not mandatory.
Product packaging mush have a 15×15 mm space for the codes. If a product has a cap, such milk in a PET bottle, the material and surface texture must be able to accommodate printing (e.g., ink or laser).
Bottled water
The regulations recognize six categories of bottled water. In addition to three unexplained “other” categories, these include:
- Waters, including natural or artificial mineral, carbonated, free from sugar or other sweetening or flavoring substances. (The regulations also mention “ice and snow” under this category.)
- Mineral and carbonated waters, including natural mineral waters:
- Non-carbonated waters
The DataMatrix code must contain the same information as the codes for dairy. And like dairy, companies have the option to include other information, such as an expiration date or a minimum retail price.
Final thoughts
Our success with the CRPT is due to a lot of hard work and our commitment to designing the best solutions for Russian serialization, track and trace, aggregation, and compliance.
When Chestny ZNAK was enacted into law on December 29, 2017, we began honing our operations in Russia. About this time last year, we reported that we had doubled the size of our team in Russia; since then, it’s tripled in size. We’re one of very few supply chain solution providers with active implementations in Russia, and we’re working with more and more companies as our reputation grows.
Our continued success with the CRPT, ChestnyZNAK, and Russian serialization boils down to the quality of our solutions and the knowledge and skill of our people, who have expertise in key areas of supply chain management and technology. They all speak Russian, of course, and they know the regulations inside and out. They understand how to meet our customers’ needs while ensuring they’re fully compliant with Russian serialization, aggregation, and supply chain compliance requirements.
Contact us today learn more about how rfxcel can help you with Russian serialization and the ChestnyZNAK regulations. And be sure to ask about our other track and trace and compliance solutions. Sure, we’re the leader in Russian serialization, aggregation, track and trace, and supply chain compliance solutions, but we can optimize any supply chain anywhere in the world. Ask us how!
