Mike Dodson, president and chief executive officer of Fresno, Calif.-based Lotpath Inc., feels his company has stayed under the radar the past couple of years as it assessed its competitive strategies. Now, Dodson said he’s ready to take Lotpath mainstream with a traceability software he said goes above and beyond his competitors.
Dodson said Lotpath offers all the basic supply chain data, from lot numbers to harvest dates to pack dates to grower location. But, he said, his software also extends its capabilities to provide auxiliary data, such as third-party certification, chemical application reports, quality control reports and multimedia features such as photos, videos and Web links.
“I think that’s a unique ability of Lotpath,” Dodson said. “It’s all very open-ended. Users can add whatever information they want and attach to traceable items within the Lotpath system.”
Dodson said Lotpath also provides users a mechanism to protect any proprietary or confidential information, but also provides “external” trace — the ability to share traceability data with business partners.
“(The user) decides who sees the information,” he said.
Lotpath also has automated interfaces with popular food industry software packages so customers do not have to manually input data.
Lotpath traceability software is in full compliance with the Produce Traceability Initiative, Dodson said, and conforms to GS1 standards including GLN, GPC, Bricks, GTIN and SSCC specifications.
Dodson said two of Lotpath’s more prominent clients are Family Tree Farms and Mountain View Fruit Sales, both in Reedley, Calif.
“Others are at various stages of trials and tests,” he said. “I’ve been told our system is very full-featured.”
Dodson said Lotpath has been in the marketplace a year now, and he's constantly implementing new features to the software.