Industry Leaders Join Forces to Help Retailers Meet New FDA Requirements While Driving Operational Efficiencies for Grocery Stores

ReposiTrak (NYSE: TRAK), the industry leader in supply chain compliance and food safety solutions, and Upshop, a leading provider of store operations technology, have announced a strategic partnership to extend end-to-end food traceability capabilities to the store level. This collaboration addresses a critical gap in food safety compliance while delivering operational benefits to retailers.

The partnership comes as retailers face increasing industry pressure to ensure complete traceability from the supply chain to the store where the product is sold to the end consumer. Store-centric traceability is imperative for several reasons:

• According to the FDA’s FSMA 204 food traceability final rule, Retail Food Establishments (RFEs), including supermarkets, must maintain traceability records for the foods they receive. The purpose of FSMA 204 is to “allow for faster identification and rapid removal of potentially contaminated food from the market, resulting in fewer foodborne illnesses and/or deaths.” Traceback investigations start at the store, and therefore the data must follow the product all the way to the store.
• Food passes through Distribution Centers (DCs) at a tremendous volume and pace. For example, the average DC handles about 800,000 cases per week at a throughput of 100 cases per hour worked – the equivalent of 8,000 hours worked per week. If traceability added just 10 seconds per case, that would be an additional 2,200 hours per week (27.5%). That increases cycle time (the amount of time from order placement to store delivery) by more than 20% and for facilities already at or near capacity, that “today's work” won’t be completed until tomorrow.

"Many retailers don't realize that traceability requirements don't stop at the distribution center – data must be captured at the store," said Randy Fields, chairman and CEO of ReposiTrak. "Our partnership with Upshop creates a comprehensive solution that delivers operational value while enabling retailers to meet the FDA’s requirement and remain competitive in an industry that’s rapidly adopting food traceability.”

Upshop and ReposiTrak make it easy to capture traceability data at retail stores by porting ReposiTrak’s existing supply chain traceability data through Upshop’s existing store receiving technology. The result is seamless traceability that maintains efficiency in store operations.

"Stores represent the final and most critical link in the food safety chain," said Shamus Hines, CEO of Upshop. "Our partnership with ReposiTrak ensures that retailers can meet their regulatory obligations without burdening store associates with complex new processes. We've focused on making compliance simple and intuitive while helping stores recover value through better receiving and vendor management."

The integrated solution is available immediately to retailers nationwide. Benefits include:

• Seamless store-level traceability that integrates with existing workflows, such as:
  • Traceability around receipts from DSD, DC, Commissary and even store-to-store transfers
  • Traceability around in-store transformation processes, such as when lettuce is used in a sandwich
• Improved vendor reconciliation and credit recovery
• Enhanced compliance management with FDA traceability requirements
• Strengthened food safety protocols and customer trust

For more information, retailers are invited to attend a FREE upcoming webinar:

ASK US ANYTHING | TRACEABILITY: How Retailers Can Solve Source-to-Store Traceability for FSMA 204

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern

Join Upshop Vice President of Customer Success Lauren Kennedy and ReposiTrak Chief Customer Officer Derek Hannum as they address your questions about simplifying compliance and getting ready for FSMA 204.

Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2760259515033038936?source=PR

About Upshop

Upshop is the foremost provider of a SaaS platform designed to streamline forecasting, ordering, production, and inventory optimization processes for food retailers. Its unified platform simplifies and enhances associate tasks, promoting smarter and more interconnected operations across Fresh, Center, DSD, and eCommerce departments. With over 450+ retailers and 50,000+ stores relying on its mission-critical operations platform globally, customers have witnessed substantial enhancements in sales, shrinkage reduction, food safety, and sustainability throughout their stores.

To learn more about the Total Store Operations Experience, visit https://upshop.com/, and watch customer testimonials at Upshop Total Store Operations Experience - YouTube

About ReposiTrak

ReposiTrak (NYSE: TRAK) provides retailers, suppliers and wholesalers with a robust solution suite consisting of three product families: food traceability, compliance and risk management and supply chain solutions. ReposiTrak’s integrated, cloud-based applications are supported by an unparalleled team of experts. For more information, please visit Repositrak.com

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