Vlaamse Visveilingen traces all fish boxes

In response to the European directives concerning the traceability of fishing products and the follow‑up throughout the entire chain, the ambitious tracking and tracing project of the CVBA Vereniging Vlaamse Visveilingen (VLV) was put into service in Zeebrugge in July 2017. After the launch of a European tender in 2015, the overall innovation project was designated to Aucxis, based on price, experience, technical elaboration and action plan. Using Aucxis RFID technology, VLV is able to trace and efficiently manage all fish boxes and their content.

Durable fish boxes and RFID tags

The company Didak from Grobbendonk manufactured the new, nestable fish boxes in HDPE (high density polyethylene). After the production process, the 40.000 boxes of 40 kilos and 86.000 boxes of 20 kilos were equipped with RFID tags. Aucxis developed in its RFID lab the most suitable tag for the application, as well as the exact location of the tag on the fish boxes. Throughout the chain, the boxes are moved in different positions and the RFID tags must be easily readable during all transitions.

GS1 standard for perfect traceability

Each fish box can be identified on the basis of a unique identification number. This number is generated according to the GRAI (Global Returnable Asset Identifier) standard of GS1. It is available on the RFID tag in 4 different forms: it is visually recognisable as a linear number and it is encoded as a QR code, bar code and RFID signal. In this way, the ID number is accessible for all actors; they can link all necessary and mandatory information to this number.

Box pool management

The stock and pool management was also optimised by the use of RFID and Aucxis software. In this way, the loss of fish boxes could be restricted.

F-Track web portal

For the management of the track & trace data, Aucxis developed a web portal, called F-Track, on which the location of all boxes and their content can be consulted in real time during all steps in the chain (vessel, auction, buyer, transporter, processing company).
At VLV, the buyer and the box are linked to one another after the sale; by means of the Aucxis F‑Track web portal, the auction has a clear view at any time of which boxes are located at which customers.

RFID hardware and middleware

Beside the track and trace software and box pool management, the RFID solution of Aucxis also contains the delivery of the following equipment: 15 terminals for fork-lift trucks, 14 RFID portals, 2 industrial input terminals for box management and 12 RFID handheld scanners.
Hertz, the Aucxis middleware, processes all data collected via various data collectors for the above lying applications.

About VLV

CVBA Vereniging Vlaamse Visveilingen (VLV) was established in March 2014 and combines the forces of the nv Vlaamse Visveilingen Oostende en Zeebrugge and the urban fish market of Nieuwpoort.  The aim of this cooperation is to promote and to support innovative developments within the sector.  Other objectives are to promote projects which contribute to a sustainable fishery and to offer a reliable service to suppliers and buyers.

Every year, the auctions trade together more than 17 million kilos of fish. The fish is sold in real time on the internet via a network which connects the 3 bidding clocks of the auctions. This sales network  was also realised by Aucxis.