Preface It is easy to plug a barcode scanner into the USB port of a PC and scan a barcode into an Excel spreadsheet. But there is a tremendous gulf in know-how between this simple experiment and implementing a fully functional materials tracking and traceability or work-in-process tracking system. This handbook was written to enable mangers and staff of industrial organizations to educate themselves about how to implement materials tracking and traceability systems, with a special emphasis on the needs of operations managers and IT people, who are often tasked with implementing these systems. This handbook gives an overview of the principles, methods and technology used in tracking and tracing materials in the industrial, medical, food, and construction supply chains. It also provides an introduction to the standards that need to be followed as well as the tradeoffs involved. It is based on the know-how, about what-not-to-do, as well as what-to-do, accumulated by Dr. Peter Green in over two decades of assisting clients implement over 100 materials tracking and traceability and work-in-process tracking systems.