Jargon. For better or for worse, it’s a fact of life — more so for people like us who work in the highly technical field of supply chain management. From ANSI to XML, an alphabet soup of shop talk can rain down upon us without warning, often leaving us scratching our heads (or at least searching online). L1-L5 solution provider? What does that mean?
And if we say rfxcel is an L4 and L5 solution provider, what does that mean? With as little jargon as possible, let’s find out.
What does the “L” stand for in L1-L5 solution provider?
The “L” in “L1-L5 solution provider” stands for “level,” as in the level of serialization in a supply chain. To put a finer point on it, it means the level of serialization and information management in a supply chain. And if you hadn’t guessed, there are five levels:
- Level 1: Device
- Level 2: Packaging
- Level 3: Site
- Level 4: Enterprise
- Level 5: Network
The list above progresses from the smallest or most localized level, the L1 device level, to the most expansive and all-encompassing level, the L5 network level. Generally, L1, L2, and L3 are grouped together because they’re happening where products are created and packaged; L4 and L5 are paired together in the realm where those products enter the greater supply chain to make their way to their final destinations.
When talking about L1-L5, let’s work backwards from largest to smallest. This way, we can “zoom in on” the details and put everything in a more vivid context.
Level 5: Network
L5 is where rfxcel has its roots and where we built our reputation for supply chain excellence. The network level is where all serialization and regulatory data is managed, including with your trading partners, regulatory authorities and their repositories, and customers. It ensures you’re communicating with partners and complying with regulations.
Level 4: Enterprise
rfxcel’s roots also run deep in L4, which manages and verifies all your serialization and regulatory data/compliance reporting before sending it to L5. It also generates your serial numbers and manages all your business processes. When you design your solutions for L1, L2, and L3, you must decide how they will integrate with your L4 solution.
Level 3: Site
This is where we enter your actual manufacturing facilities and processes. L3 manages the line systems (i.e., L2) at your site to ensure that they are working optimally. L3 is optional; if present, it serves as the “middle man” between L4 and L2, requesting serial numbers from the former and allocating them to the latter. L3 will also verify the L2 data before it is submitted to L4.
Level 2: Packaging
L2 systems control the L1 hardware and manage the serial numbers which are printed and applied on packages by L1 devices. L2 systems will communicate with the L4 (or L3,f present) to send/receive serial numbers as needed.
Level 1: Device
L1 comprises devices on a packaging line that enable serial numbers to be affixed to packaging and products, such as barcode printers, label printers, and labelers. It also includes cameras and scanners used for quality control, such as visual inspections of products and labeling.
rfxcel is an L4 and L5 solution provider that integrates with L2 and L3
As we said above, we’ve built a reputation for excellence for L4 and L5, the enterprise and network levels. This is our business: Creating innovative software solutions that optimize key supply chain requirements and functions — from the nuts and bolts of serialization and regulatory compliance to environmental monitoring and data analytics — and bring true end-to-end track and trace capabilities to any supply chain.
Our solutions ensure you’re communicating with all your trading partners, all regulatory bodies and their repositories, and your customers. We’ll help keep your lines running smoothly. We’ll yield rich, actionable data that you can use to improve your operations, connect with your customers, and build consumer trust and brand reputation.
We create one uniform, harmonized supply chain that takes care of everything from unit-level serialization and global compliance network needs to closing the last mile all the way to the person buying your product.
Final thoughts
All levels are important. They rely on one another to make things work. When you’re planning a serialization solution, you have to think very carefully about how they’ll interact and communicate.
rfxcel makes sure your data is accurate, travels quickly between and among levels, and meets the requirements of your partners and government authorities — no matter what systems you have in place now or will get in the future. Interconnectivity and interoperability are the cornerstones of all our implementations.
If you have questions about L1-L5, are looking to build a solution, or are considering switching solution providers, contact us today to talk with one of our supply chain experts and see what our award-winning rfxcel Traceability System can do.
