METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING PRODUCT Original PRODUCT CONFIGURATION

Abstract

The present invention relates to methods, apparatus, systems and computer elements for generating offer data associated with a product produced from at least one inbound material and for producing at least one product associated with the offer data, where the at least one product is produced by production from at least one inbound material.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to methods, apparatuses, systems, and computer elements for generating preferential data associated with a product produced from at least one inbound material and for producing at least one product associated with the preferential data by producing from at least one inbound material. Background Art

[0002] Manufacturers or exporters of products (such as chemical products or discrete products made of different materials) can apply for preferential treatment by establishing origin eligibility according to the rules of origin. For example, on the premise that there is a preferential agreement between the country of origin and the destination country, the preferential treatment allows the product to be exported to the destination country at a preferential tariff rate (i.e., duty-free or reduced duty). This can give manufacturers or exporters of origin products a competitive advantage over manufacturers or exporters of similar non-origin products because origin products do not need to pay tariffs.

[0003] The data required to determine the preferential data of a product is usually included in the declarations provided by the (multiple) suppliers of the (multiple) materials used to produce the product. The data included in the declarations must be integrated into the existing system for determining the preferential data of the product. However, the data integration is cumbersome, laborious, and error-prone.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need to simplify the exchange and sharing of data on the (multiple) materials used to produce a product (such as a chemical product or a discrete product) to simplify the establishment of the origin eligibility of the product. Summary of the Invention

[0005] On the one hand, a computer-implemented method for generating preferential data associated with a product, particularly a chemical product, is disclosed, wherein the product is produced by producing from at least one inbound material, the method comprising:

[0006] (a) receiving a request for generating the preferential data, the request including product data associated with the product,

[0007] (b) obtaining preferential data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials from inbound material data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials based on the received product data, wherein the inbound material data associated with each inbound material is accessed by a data consumption service under the control of a data providing service associated with a data owner based on a decentralized identifier associated with the corresponding inbound material data and optionally based on data associated with the corresponding inbound material data, the data owner being associated with the corresponding inbound material data;

[0008] (c) obtaining at least one rule of origin for attributing the country of origin to the product produced from the at least one material;

[0009] (d) Generate preferential data associated with the product based on the obtained (multiple) rules of origin, the obtained preferential data, and the received product data; and

[0010] (e) Provide the generated preferential data via a communication interface.

[0011] On the other hand, a computer-implemented method for generating preferential data associated with a product, particularly a chemical product, is disclosed, wherein the product is produced by performing the production from at least one inbound material and / or from at least one intermediate product produced by producing from at least one of these inbound materials, and the method includes:

[0012] (a) Receive a request for generating the preferential data, the request including product data associated with the product;

[0013] (b) Obtain preferential data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials from inbound material data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials based on the received product data, wherein the inbound material data associated with each inbound material is accessed by a data consumption service under the control of a data provision service associated with a data owner based on a decentralized identifier associated with the corresponding inbound material data and optionally based on data associated with the corresponding inbound material data, the data owner being associated with the corresponding inbound material data, and / or

[0014] (c) Generate preferential data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products by

[0015] - Obtaining intermediate product data based on the received product data,

[0016] - Obtaining at least one rule of origin for attributing the country of origin to the (multiple) intermediate products, and

[0017] - Generating preferential data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products based on the obtained (multiple) rules of origin, the obtained preferential data, and the obtained intermediate product data;

[0018] (d) Obtain at least one rule of origin for attributing the country of origin to the product produced from the at least one material;

[0019] (e) Generate preferential data associated with the product based on the obtained (multiple) rules of origin, the obtained preferential data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials and / or the generated preferential data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products, and the received product data; and

[0020] (f) Provide the generated preferential data via a communication interface.

[0021] In yet another aspect, a device for generating preferential data associated with a product, in particular a chemical product, produced from at least one material is disclosed, the device comprising:

[0022] one or more computing nodes; and one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions thereon that are configured to cause the device to perform the methods disclosed herein when executed by the one or more computing nodes.

[0023] In yet another aspect, a computer element, in particular a computer program product or a computer-readable medium, having instructions thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, is configured to perform the steps of any of the methods disclosed herein.

[0024] In yet another aspect, a computer element, in particular a computer program product or a computer-readable medium, having instructions thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, causes any of the devices disclosed herein to perform any of the methods disclosed herein.

[0025] In yet another aspect, a method for producing a product, in particular a chemical product, associated with preferential data is disclosed, wherein the product is produced by production from at least one inbound material, the method comprising:

[0026] (a) providing the (multiple) inbound materials to the production and using the production to produce a product from the provided (multiple) inbound materials,

[0027] (b) receiving a request for generating the preferential data, the request including product data associated with the product,

[0028] (c) obtaining, based on the received product data, preferential data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials from inbound material data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials, wherein the inbound material data associated with each inbound material is accessed by a data consumption service under the control of a data provision service associated with a data owner based on a decentralized identifier associated with the respective inbound material data and optionally based on data associated with the respective inbound material data, the data owner being associated with the respective inbound material data,

[0029] (d) obtaining at least one origin rule for attributing a country of origin to the produced product, and

[0030] (e) generating preferential data based on the received product data, the obtained preferential data, and the received (multiple) origin rules, and associating the generated preferential data with the produced product.

[0031] In yet another aspect, a method for producing a product, in particular a chemical product, associated with preferential data is disclosed, wherein the product is produced by performing the production from at least one inbound material and / or from at least one intermediate product produced by producing from one or more inbound components, the method comprising:

[0032] (a) providing the (multiple) inbound materials to the production and using the production to partially produce the product from the provided (multiple) inbound materials and / or using the production to produce (multiple) intermediate products from the provided (multiple) inbound materials and using the production to at least partially produce the product from the (multiple) produced intermediate products,

[0033] (b) receiving a request for generating the preferential data, the request including product data associated with the product,

[0034] (c) obtaining, based on the received product data, preferential data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials from inbound material data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials, wherein the inbound material data associated with each inbound material is accessed by a data consumption service under the control of a data providing service associated with a data owner based on a decentralized identifier associated with the corresponding inbound material data and optionally based on data associated with the corresponding inbound material data, the data owner being associated with the corresponding inbound material data, and / or

[0035] (d) generating preferential data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products by

[0036] - obtaining intermediate product data based on the received product data,

[0037] - obtaining at least one origin rule for attributing a country of origin to the (multiple) intermediate products, and

[0038] - generating preferential data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products based on the obtained (multiple) origin rules, the obtained preferential data, and the obtained intermediate product data;

[0039] (e) obtaining at least one origin rule for attributing a country of origin to the produced product, and

[0040] (f) generating preferential data based on the received product data and / or the generated preferential data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products and the received (multiple) origin rules, and associating the generated preferential data with the produced product.

[0041] In yet another aspect, a system is disclosed that is configured to produce a product, particularly a chemical product, associated with preferential data from one or more inbound materials and to provide the produced product associated with the preferential data, the production including:

[0042] (a) A production line configured to produce the product from the (multiple) inbound materials and to provide the produced product, wherein the product is connected to or includes a physical identifier,

[0043] (b) A collector configured to collect product data associated with the product,

[0044] (c) A request receiver configured to receive a request for generating the preferential data, the request including product data associated with the product,

[0045] (d) A preferential data provider configured to obtain preferential data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials from inbound material data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials based on the received product data, wherein the inbound material data associated with each inbound material is accessed by a data consumption service under the control of a data providing service associated with a data owner based on a decentralized identifier associated with the corresponding inbound material data and optionally based on data associated with the corresponding inbound material data, the data owner being associated with the corresponding inbound material data,

[0046] (e) A rule provider configured to obtain at least one origin rule for attributing the country of origin to the product produced from the at least one inbound material;

[0047] (f) A preferential data generator configured to generate preferential data associated with the produced product based on the received product data, the obtained preferential data, and the obtained (multiple) origin rules, and

[0048] (g) An assigner configured to assign the physical identifier to the generated preferential data.

[0049] In yet another aspect, a system is disclosed that is configured to produce a product, particularly a chemical product, associated with preferential data from one or more inbound materials and / or from one or more intermediate products produced through production and to provide the produced product associated with the preferential data, the production including:

[0050] (a) A production line configured to produce a product from the (multiple) inbound materials and / or the (multiple) intermediate products and to provide the produced product, wherein the chemical product is connected to or includes a physical identifier,

[0051] (b) A collector configured to collect product data associated with the product.

[0052] (c) A request receiver configured to receive a request for generating the offer data, the request including product data associated with the product.

[0053] (d) An offer data provider configured to

[0054] (1) Obtain offer data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials from the inbound material data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials based on the received product data, wherein the inbound material data associated with each inbound material is accessed by a data consumption service under the control of a data provision service associated with a data owner based on a decentralized identifier associated with the corresponding inbound material data and optionally based on data associated with the corresponding inbound material data, the data owner being associated with the corresponding inbound material data, and

[0055] (2) Generate offer data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products by

[0056] - Obtaining intermediate product data based on the received product data,

[0057] - Obtaining at least one origin rule for attributing the country of origin to the (multiple) intermediate products,

[0058] - Generating offer data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products based on the obtained (multiple) origin rules, the obtained offer data, and the obtained intermediate product data;

[0059] (e) A rule provider configured to obtain at least one origin rule for attributing the country of origin to a product produced from the at least one inbound material.

[0060] (f) An offer data generator configured to generate offer data associated with the produced product based on the received product data, the offer data provided by the offer data provider, and the obtained (multiple) origin rules, and

[0061] (g) An assigner configured to assign the physical identifier to the generated offer data.

[0062] If a product produced from at least one material is exported to a destination country having a preferential agreement with the country of origin of the product, the origin qualification of the product is established or the origin allows the product producer or product exporter to apply for preferential treatment for the product. For example, the preferential treatment allows the product to be exported to the destination country at a preferential rate (i.e., duty-free or reduced duty), which can give the product producer or product exporter of the origin or preferential product a competitive advantage over the product producer or product exporter of the same kind of non-origin or non-preferential product. The methods, devices, systems, and computer elements disclosed herein provide an efficient way to determine preferential data associated with a product (such as the origin of a product produced from at least one material supplied by an upstream participant in the supply chain), while reducing or avoiding the need to integrate the material data included in the material supplier statement into an existing system for determining preferential data associated with the product. The generated preferential data can be used to more efficiently control the production of additional products from the product associated with the preferential data. For example, the supply of products produced in a specific country can be more efficiently guided based on the generated preferential data, such that additional products produced by the production meet certain requirements regarding the origin of the additional products of the production.

[0063] Allows for simplified and customizable data sharing or exchange within a supply chain from an inbound materials supplier to a product producer or from a chemical product producer to a discrete product producer by at least partially using (multiple) inbound materials passes that include one or more decentralized identifiers and associated inbound materials data and optionally (multiple) ingredient passes that include one or more decentralized identifiers and associated ingredient data. In this way, more reliable and efficient determination of incentive data associated with a product can be made, while data ownership remains with the supplier that is upstream in the supply. The (multiple) inbound materials passes can be stored within a dedicated storage location associated with the corresponding data owner (such as an inbound materials producer that supplies materials to downstream participants that produce a product from such materials). Similarly, the ingredient passes can be stored within a dedicated storage location associated with the corresponding data owner (such as an ingredient producer that supplies ingredients to downstream participants that produce inbound materials from such ingredients). The storage location can be accessed via a decentralized network. Access to such a storage location can be controlled via a decentralized data providing network node associated with the corresponding data owner of the data stored in such a storage location. Storing the (multiple) such passes within a dedicated storage location associated with the corresponding data owner allows such a data owner to control access to such passes. This is in contrast to storing such passes within a decentralized ledger (such as a blockchain), where a data owner cannot fully control access to the data stored within such a ledger because the data owner cannot control the storage location of the copies of the distributed ledger and thus cannot control the data stored therein. Additionally, data stored within a decentralized ledger can be accessed by members of the decentralized ledger network (such as a blockchain network), particularly in a public blockchain network. By directly associating data related to inbound materials with one or more decentralized identifiers and optionally one or more authentication mechanisms, more reliable and secure data sharing and exchange can be provided. By further including one or more authorization mechanisms, data sharing or exchange can be performed in a more flexible manner such that multiple data consumption services from different participants in the supply chain can access the materials data. By linking the decentralized identifier to a digital representation of the inbound materials data or ingredient data, where the digital representation includes a representation for accessing the inbound materials data or ingredient data, the inbound materials data or ingredient data can be accessed in a robust and reliable manner via the decentralized identifier and the digital representation in a one-producer to multi-user environment. The inbound materials data or ingredient data associated with the (multiple) corresponding passes has a standardized data format and thus there is no need to integrate the data into existing systems. Accordingly, the incentive data contained within the inbound materials data or ingredient data can be directly used to determine the incentive data associated with (multiple) products or with (multiple) materials, respectively, thereby avoiding the risks associated with incorrect or only partial data integration. Example

[0064] In the following, the terms used herein and / or the technical field of the present disclosure will be outlined by way of examples and / or illustrations. In the case of giving examples, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the examples described.

[0065] In an embodiment, the product(s) can be all the product(s) produced due to the use of at least one inbound material and / or at least one intermediate product in production, i.e., the material / intermediate product is used in production to produce the product(s), or is used in at least one production step in a series of production steps necessary for producing the product(s). Thus, the product(s) may not necessarily contain the material / intermediate product in its original form (e.g., its original chemical composition or its original physical appearance), for example, in the case where the product(s) is produced by reacting the material(s) / intermediate product(s), or in the case where the product(s) is produced by changing the appearance of the material(s) / intermediate product(s).

[0066] In an embodiment, the inbound material(s) can be one or more physical entities, components, parts, sub - assemblies, and assemblies provided to production and used by production to produce a product. In an embodiment, the intermediate product(s) can be one or more physical entities, components, parts, sub - assemblies, and assemblies produced by producing from one or more inbound materials provided to production. Then, production can use the intermediate product(s) to produce one or more products. In one embodiment, the inbound material can be a discrete material or a non - discrete material. For example, in the case of a non - discrete material, the material can be a continuous volume of solid or liquid material, or in the case of a discrete material, the material can include multiple pieces, such as parts or components. Discrete materials can refer to finished products as distinct items that can be easily identified (e.g., by counting). Examples of discrete materials include cars, airplanes, shoes, etc. Discrete materials can be disassembled at the end of their life cycle so that their components can be recycled.

[0067] In one embodiment, the inbound material can be a chemical raw material or a chemical material. Chemical raw materials can include materials used as isolates or starting materials in the production process. Virgin materials can be raw materials or recycled materials, e.g., materials that have undergone a production and use cycle. Virgin materials can include newly extracted raw materials, particularly those that have not undergone a previous production and use cycle, particularly unprocessed and / or unused materials. According to the present disclosure, recycled materials can be materials that have undergone a production and use cycle. For example, recycled materials can be materials that have been processed after use to prepare for reuse. This may require processing steps (e.g., recycling) and / or other treatment steps (e.g., cleaning, etc.). Recycled materials are examples of recycled materials. Recycled materials can be materials that have undergone one or more processing steps after use. These processing steps can be steps that enable the material to be introduced as a raw material into a production step. Chemical materials can be materials that have been chemically processed, such as raw materials that have undergone at least one chemical reaction, e.g., intermediate materials used in further production steps.

[0068] In one embodiment, the inbound material can be a component. A component can include a plurality of discrete sub-parts. For example, a component can be produced by assembling a plurality of discrete objects.

[0069] In one embodiment, the inbound material can be an assembly of components. An assembly of components can include a plurality of components. For example, an assembly of components can be produced by assembling a plurality of components.

[0070] In an embodiment, the production can be chemical production, a chemical production network, or discrete production. The chemical production network can include one or more chemical and / or mechanical processes. The chemical production network can produce one or more products through chemical and / or mechanical processing. The chemical production network can include multiple types of production processes for producing one or more products and / or intermediate products from one or more inbound materials. The chemical production network can produce one or more products from the (multiple) inbound materials provided to the chemical production network. The chemical production network can produce one or more intermediate products from the (multiple) inbound materials provided to the chemical production network. The chemical production network can include a complex production network that produces multiple chemical products via multiple production processes. The chemical production network can include connected, interconnected, and / or unconnected (multiple) production processes. The chemical production network can include a composite network or an integrated network. The chemical production network can include one or more production processes with multiple production steps. The production steps included in the chemical network can be defined by the physical system boundary of the chemical production network. The system boundary can be defined by the location and / or control of the production process or step. The system boundary can be defined by the site of the chemical production network. The system boundary can be defined by the (multiple) production processes or (multiple) steps controlled by one entity or multiple entities together. The system boundary can be defined by a value chain with interleaved (multiple) production processes or (multiple) steps until a product is formed, and these production processes or steps can be controlled jointly or separately by multiple entities. The (multiple) inbound materials can enter the physical system boundary of the chemical production network. The (multiple) entry points of the chemical production network can be marked by the entry of the (multiple) inbound materials into the system boundary of the chemical production network or the chemical network. The (multiple) products can leave the physical system boundary of the chemical production network. The (multiple) exit points of the chemical production network can be marked by the exit of the (multiple) products from the system boundary of the chemical production network or the chemical network.

[0071] In an embodiment, the identifier element can be associated with or attached to the inbound material or the packaging of the inbound material. At least when the inbound material is produced, the identifier element can be associated with or attached to the inbound material. Through the identifier element, the inbound material data associated with the inbound can be accessed via a decentralized network. The inbound material data can be associated with a decentralized identifier. The identifier element can be uniquely associated with the inbound material. The identifier element can be uniquely associated with a digital inbound material identifier. The digital material identifier can be uniquely associated with the inbound material. In this way, inbound material data can be provided for each inbound material or for individual inbound materials. The inbound material identifier can include one or more decentralized identifiers uniquely associated with the inbound material. The inbound material identifier can be associated with one or more decentralized identifiers representing the inbound material data. The decentralized identifier can be a digital identifier of or for a decentralized network. The decentralized identifier can be a digital identifier provided to the decentralized network and the participating nodes of the decentralized network. Thus, the decentralized identifier can represent the physical entity of the inbound material in the decentralized network, and the participating nodes can be able to interpret the relationship between the decentralized identifier and the physical entity of the inbound material in the material chain.

[0072] In an embodiment, the decentralized identifier can include any unique identifier uniquely associated with a data owner (such as an inbound material supplier or a component supplier) and the inbound material data or component data, respectively. The decentralized identifier can include one or more universally unique identifiers (UUIDs) or digital identifiers (DIDs). The decentralized identifier can be issued by a centralized or decentralized identity issuer. The decentralized identifier can include authentication information. Via the decentralized identifier and its unique association with the data owner and the corresponding data (e.g., inbound material data or component data), access to the corresponding data can be controlled by the data owner associated with the data. This is in contrast to the centralized institution scheme, in which the identifier is provided by such a centralized institution and access to the data is controlled by such a centralized institution. In this context, decentralized means that in the implementation scheme, the use of the identifier is controlled by the data owner. The decentralized identifier can include one or more identifiers used in the decentralized network and allowing data exchange via the decentralized network. The data exchange can include discovering the decentralized identifiers of the participating nodes of the decentralized network, authenticating the participating nodes of the decentralized network, and / or authorizing data transmission via peer-to-peer communication between the participating nodes of the decentralized network. The decentralized identifier can be a digital identifier. Thus, the decentralized identifier may not correspond to the (multiple) physical identifiers physically attached to the inbound (such as the packaging of the inbound material).

[0073] (Multiple) inbound materials and products can be part of a product ecosystem. The product ecosystem can include different chains, including manufacturing, use, and reuse. In these chains, one or more ecosystem participants can contribute to the manufacturing, use, or reuse of the product. For example, the production chain can include raw material manufacturers and / or product manufacturers. Further, for example, the use chain can include product users, product maintainers, and / or product distributors. Further, for example, the reuse chain can include collectors, sorters, recyclers, and / or refurbishers. Participants in the product ecosystem can be connected via a decentralized network. The decentralized network can include one or more decentralized network nodes configured to perform data transactions. The decentralized network can be a peer-to-peer decentralized network. The decentralized network can not be a decentralized blockchain network. (Multiple) decentralized network nodes can be associated with participants in the product ecosystem. The data transaction can be based on a transaction protocol including (multiple) authentication and / or authorization mechanisms. Based on the (multiple) authentication and / or authorization mechanisms, a peer-to-peer network can be established between the (multiple) decentralized network nodes of the decentralized network. One or more authentication mechanisms can be associated with or linked to a decentralized identifier. One or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier can be provided to the (multiple) decentralized network nodes. One or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier can be accessed by the (multiple) decentralized network nodes. The decentralized configuration allows for more efficient use of computing resources and strengthens the control of each data owner of the decentralized network.

[0074] In an embodiment, a data providing service (also denoted hereinafter as a data providing node) can include computer-executable instructions for providing and / or processing data associated with a data owner (such as inbound material data) for access and / or processing by a data consuming service (also denoted hereinafter as a data consuming node). The data providing service and the data consuming service can be part of a decentralized network. The data providing service can control access to the inbound material data, particularly access by the (multiple) data consuming services via the decentralized network. The data providing service can be connected to one or more dedicated data storage devices storing the inbound material data / composition data and can be controlled or owned respectively by the data owners of the inbound material data or composition data. This allows the data owners to maintain full control over the respective data, but at the same time enables sharing of the respective data under controlled conditions, such as by using appropriate authorization and authentication mechanisms or schemes, to facilitate the generation of favorable data associated with products produced from inbound materials associated with the inbound material data and to improve the production process of producing additional products from that product.

[0075] In an embodiment, the data consumption service may include computer-executable instructions for accessing and / or processing data associated with a data owner, particularly data associated with inbound material data, such as inbound material data. The data consumption service may be controlled or owned by a product producer. The data consumption service may be controlled by an entity that consumes inbound materials to produce a product. The data consumption service may be part of a decentralized network. Via the data consumption service, the product producer may obtain at least a portion of the inbound material data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials necessary or used to produce the product, thereby allowing for the facilitation of the generation of privileged data without having to perform any data integration with the (multiple) systems or (multiple) devices that generate the privileged data.

[0076] In an embodiment, a data owner may include any entity that generates data, such as inbound material data or ingredient data. A generation node may be coupled to an entity that owns a physical product from which or for which data, such as inbound material data or ingredient data, is generated. The data, such as inbound material data or ingredient data, may be generated by a third-party entity on behalf of an entity that owns a physical product from which or for which the data is generated. The generated data, such as inbound material data or ingredient data, may be stored on one or more dedicated data storage devices owned, controlled, or accessible by the data owner. The (multiple) dedicated storage devices may be accessible by the data owner. The (multiple) dedicated data storage devices may be accessed by the data consumption service using a decentralized identifier and data associated with the material data. The data owner may be a material producer or an ingredient producer, respectively. Access to the inbound material data may be controlled by the data owner via the decentralized identifier and its unique association with the data owner and the inbound material data. Access to the ingredient data may be controlled by the data owner via the decentralized identifier and its unique association with the data owner and the ingredient data. The inbound material data may be accessible by the data owner. The ingredient data may be accessible by the data owner. Thus, the data owner may directly or indirectly own the material data or the ingredient data, respectively. The data owner may control access to the inbound material data via the data owner's data provision service. The data owner may control access to the material data. The inbound material data may be associated with the data owner. The data owner may be the owner of the inbound material data or the material data owner. The inbound material data may be stored in the data owner's database or under the control of the data owner. The data owner may control access to the ingredient data. The ingredient data may be associated with the data owner. The data owner may be the owner of the ingredient data or the ingredient data owner. The ingredient data may be stored in the data owner's database or under the control of the data owner.

[0077] In an embodiment, the rules of origin can determine where a product produced from at least one material or a material produced from at least one component originates. The rules of origin can determine where the product is produced from at least one material, or where the material is produced from at least one component. The rules of origin can determine where the product is manufactured from at least one material, or where the material is manufactured from at least one component. The origin of a product can be regarded as the economic nationality of the product traded in commerce. The origin of a material can be regarded as the economic nationality of the material traded in commerce. The rules of origin enable the establishment of origin and can be divided into preferential rules of origin and non-preferential rules of origin. The rules of origin can be based on the customs tariff classification of the corresponding product or the corresponding material.

[0078] In an embodiment, non-preferential rules of origin can be used to determine the country of origin to which the Most Favored Nation (MFN) treatment applies. If only one country is involved in the manufacture of a product or a material, the applicable non-preferential rules can be used to determine the country of origin, and if multiple countries are involved in the manufacture of a product or a material, the applicable non-preferential rules can be used to determine the country of origin.

[0079] In an embodiment, preferential rules of origin can be used to determine whether a product or a material meets the preferential tariffs provided under a certain Free Trade Agreement (FTA). These rules may include a set of criteria that a product or a material needs to meet in order to be considered as originating from the territory of the trade agreement when exported to an FTA partner.

[0080] In an embodiment, the preferential rules of origin can be based on the customs tariff classification. The preferential rules of origin can be specific to a product or a material. Each customs tariff classification eligible for preferential tariffs under a trade agreement can be associated with rules of origin. The preferential rules of origin can be defined at the level of the commodity code / national tariff subheading. Preferential rules of origin can be defined for a certain type of product within a customs tariff classification or a commodity code. The preferential rules of origin for each FTA can be negotiated separately and can be attached to the main agreement in the form of a protocol or an annex on product-specific preferential rules of origin. Therefore, the preferential rules of origin for a specific FTA can be obtained from the corresponding protocol or annex. There are two main types of product-specific preferential rules of origin, namely the rules for "wholly obtained products" and the rules for "substantial transformation of materials used in the production of products". Substantial transformation is a rule of origin that requires a product or a material to undergo a specific process in order to be considered as originating from a specific country.

[0081] In an embodiment, a processor may refer to any circuit configured to perform the basic operations of a computer or system (such as any logic circuit or quantum circuit), and / or generally refer to a device configured to perform computational or logical operations. In particular, a processor or computer processor may be configured to process the basic instructions that drive a computer or system. A processor may be a semiconductor-based processor, a quantum processor, or any other type of processor configured to process instructions. As an example, a processor may be or may include a central processing unit (“CPU”). A processor may be a graphics processing unit (“GPU”), a tensor processing unit (“TPU”), a complex instruction set computing microprocessor (“CISC”), a reduced instruction set computing (“RISC”) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (“VLIW”) microprocessor, or a single processor implementing other instruction sets or multiple processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. The processing device may also be one or more dedicated processing devices, such as an application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), a field programmable gate array (“FPGA”), a complex programmable logic device (“CPLD”), a digital signal processor (“DSP”), a network processor, etc. The methods, systems, and devices described herein may be implemented as software in a DSP, a microcontroller, or any other auxiliary processor, or as hardware circuits within an ASIC, a CPLD, or an FPGA. It should be understood that the term processor may also refer to one or more processing devices, such as a distributed processing device system located on multiple computer systems (e.g., cloud computing), and is not limited to a single device, unless otherwise specified. In an embodiment, a processor may also be regarded as a sub-part embodiment of a processor that executes the method in the form of threads, containers, and / or virtual machines.

[0082] In an embodiment, a computing node may refer to any device or system that includes at least one physical tangible processor and a physical tangible memory on which computer-executable instructions can be executed by the processor. A computing node may be, for example, a handheld device, a production facility, a sensor, a monitoring system, a control system, an appliance, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a mainframe, a data center, or even a device not traditionally considered a computing node, such as a wearable device (e.g., glasses, watches, etc.). The memory may take any form and depends on the nature and form of the computing node.

[0083] In an embodiment, the memory or data storage medium may refer to a physical system memory, which may be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination thereof. The memory may include non-volatile mass storage, such as a physical storage medium. The memory may be a computer-readable storage medium (such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage device, non-disk storage (such as a solid state disk) or any other physical tangible storage medium that can be used to store desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computing system. Additionally, the memory may be a computer-readable medium (also referred to as a transmission medium) that carries computer-executable instructions. Further, after reaching various computing system components, program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures can be automatically transferred from the transmission medium to the storage medium (and vice versa). For example, computer-executable instructions or data structures received over a network or data link may be buffered in RAM within a network interface module (e.g., "NIC") and then ultimately transferred to the computing system RAM and / or a less volatile storage medium at the computing system. Thus, it should be understood that the storage medium may include within computing components that also (or even primarily) utilize the transmission medium.

[0084] In an embodiment, the computer-readable program instructions for performing the operations of this disclosure may be assembly instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-related instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages such as Java, Smalltalk, C++, etc. and traditional procedural programming languages such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The computer-readable program instructions may be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, executed as a stand-alone software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In the latter case, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computer (e.g., using an Internet service provider via the Internet). In some embodiments, an electronic circuit, including, for example, a programmable logic circuit, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a programmable logic array (PLA), may execute the computer-readable program instructions by utilizing the state information of the computer-readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuit, thereby performing aspects of the present invention. In an embodiment, the computer-readable program instructions may be downloaded from a computer-readable storage medium to a corresponding computing / processing device via a network (e.g., the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, and / or a wireless network), or downloaded to an external computer or an external storage device. The network may include copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers, and / or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing / processing device may receive the computer-readable program instructions from the network and may forward these computer-readable program instructions to be stored in a computer-readable storage medium within the corresponding computing / processing device.

[0085] In an embodiment, a communication interface may refer to a software and / or hardware interface for establishing communication (such as transmitting or exchanging or signaling or data). The software interface may be, for example, a function call, an API. The communication interface may include a transceiver and / or a receiver. The communication may be wired or wireless. The communication interface may be based on or support one or more communication protocols. The communication protocol may be a wireless protocol, for example: a short-range communication protocol, such as or WiFi; or a long-range communication protocol, such as a cellular or mobile network, for example, a second-generation cellular network ("2G"), 3G, 4G, Long-Term Evolution ("LTE"), or 5G. Alternatively or additionally, the communication interface may even be based on a proprietary short-range or long-range protocol. The communication interface may support any one or more standard and / or proprietary protocols.

[0086] The methods, apparatuses, systems, and computer elements of the present disclosure may utilize distributed computing. Distributed computing may refer to any computing that utilizes multiple computing resources. Such utilization may be achieved through the virtualization of physical computing resources. An example of distributed computing is cloud computing. "Cloud computing" may refer to a model for enabling on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services). When the cloud computing environment is distributed, the cloud computing environment may be distributed within an organization and / or internationally across multiple organizations. In an embodiment, distributed computing may be implemented in a federated network.

[0087] The methods, apparatuses, systems, and computer elements of the present disclosure may utilize a decentralized network. A decentralized network may refer to any computing network that distributes information processing workloads across multiple nodes rather than relying on a single central node. Each of these individual nodes acts as a mini central node that interacts independently with other nodes.

[0088] For material and product suppliers within a supply chain, calculating and proving the origin of materials or products and obtaining and managing the corresponding supplier declarations containing the necessary material or product data typically involve a large number of administrative processes associated with integrating the material data or product data contained in the declarations into existing systems used to determine preferential data associated with the materials or products. The complex data integration process is at risk, such as incorrect or incomplete data transfer from the corresponding (multiple) declarations to the existing systems.

[0089] However, if a product produced from at least one material is exported to a destination country that has a preferential agreement with the country of origin of the product, reliably and correctly establishing the origin qualification or origin of the product is a prerequisite for the product producer or product exporter to apply for the due preferential treatment for the product. In addition, the origin qualification of the product allows for more efficient control or management of the production of another product that uses the product by controlling the product supply of the production of the another product based on the origin qualification of the product.

[0090] Accordingly, there is a great desire to provide methods, apparatuses, systems, and computer elements that avoid the need to integrate material data (e.g., in the form of supplier declarations) regarding the origin of materials provided by (multiple) material suppliers into existing systems used to determine preferential data for products produced from the supplied materials. In addition, there is a desire to provide methods, apparatuses, systems, and computer elements that allow for the control of the production of another product based on the origin qualification of the supplied product.

[0091] These and other objects are solved by the subject matter of the independent claims, which will become apparent from the following description. The dependent claims relate to embodiments of the invention.

[0092] The concession data can be generated by the producer of the product (e.g., the producer associated with the production of the product). For this purpose, the concession data of all the materials used for producing the product need to be known. In this regard, different situations may occur. For example, the (multiple) inbound materials provided by the (multiple) suppliers for production can be used in the production for producing the product. In this case, the concession data associated with all the provided (multiple) inbound materials can be obtained from the inbound material data associated with the corresponding inbound materials. For this purpose, the product producer can access the inbound material data based on the decentralized identifier associated with the corresponding inbound material data and optionally based on the data associated with the corresponding inbound material data, such as using a data consumption service. The access to the inbound material data can be controlled by a data providing service associated with the data owner of the corresponding inbound material data.

[0093] In another example, the (multiple) inbound materials provided by the (multiple) suppliers and / or the (multiple) intermediate products produced by producing from the (multiple) inbound materials can be used in the production for producing the product. In this case, the concession data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products can be generated before generating the concession data associated with the product produced at least partially from the (multiple) produced intermediate products. To generate the concession data associated with the (multiple) produced intermediate products, the product producer can obtain the concession data associated with the corresponding (multiple) inbound materials from the material data as described above.

[0094] In yet another example, the first intermediate product produced from one or more inbound materials can be at least partially used for producing another intermediate product. In this case, the concession data generated for the first intermediate product as described above can be used to determine the concession data of the second intermediate product.

[0095] The concession data associated with the produced product can be used by the product consumer to control the production of additional products using the product, because the production capacity can be controlled more efficiently based on the concession data. For example, if the additional product to be produced needs to have a certain origin, the product consumer can use the concession data associated with the product to determine the product input stream to the production site located in a specific country. This allows for more efficient control of the product supply to the downstream processing steps.

[0096] In an embodiment, the preferential data associated with a product includes at least the preferential origin qualification or non-preferential origin qualification of the product for at least one country or at least one region. The preferential origin qualification is for a specific country or region, such as the European Union. The non-preferential origin qualification is for a specific country or region, such as the European Union. The preferential or non-preferential origin qualification of a product can be used to determine whether preferential tariff treatment applies when the product is exported to a specific country or region. The preferential or non-preferential qualification of a product can be used to control the supply of products for the production of additional products from the supplied products. For example, the preferential or non-preferential qualification of a product can be used to determine appropriate production such that the resulting additional product has a predefined origin, e.g., a preferential or non-preferential qualification.

[0097] In an embodiment, the preferential data associated with a product further includes product data, in particular the product data included in the received request, and data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials used in the production of the product.

[0098] In an embodiment, the product data includes a product identifier associated with the product, price data, product composition data, and / or a customs tariff classification. The product identifier can be related to the LOT number and / or order number assigned to the product. The LOT number can be assigned to a specific physical entity, quantity, or group of the product. The LOT number can be assigned to the inbound materials in the production of the material. The LOT number can refer to an identification number assigned to a specific quantity or batch of a product from a single manufacturer. The LOT number can typically be found on the outside of the product packaging. The LOT number can enable the tracing of component parts or ingredients as well as the records of labor and equipment involved in product manufacturing. The LOT number can be assigned to the product in production. The order number can be assigned to the transfer of a specific physical entity, quantity, or group of the product to the product consumer. The order number can be assigned to the product transfer. The order number can be related to the product producer identity and the product consumer entity. The product identifier can be used to obtain data associated with the (multiple) materials used to produce the product.

[0099] The customs tariff classification (also known as the HS code) can refer to the Harmonized System (HS) classification, also known as the HS commodity catalog. The classification is the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System of the World Customs Organization. It is an international customs classification system that assigns a unique 6-digit HS code to each group of products. The system was initially adopted by the Customs Co-operation Council in 1983. The HS code enables customs authorities to identify products and apply appropriate import duties as well as other taxes and trade measures. The HS code plays an important role in determining the origin of products. The MFN (Most Favored Nation) tariff and the preferential tariff under an FTA are both based on the HS classification. The rules of origin under any trade agreement will vary for products classified under different HS codes. Additionally, the HS classification is also an important part of assessing whether goods meet various rules of origin. The HS code consists of 6 digits, which are subdivided into: chapters (the first 2 digits), headings (the first 4 digits), and subheadings (all 6 digits). Depending on the country, the HS code is further subdivided into items with 7 to 12 digits (also known as commodity codes and national tariff subheadings).

[0100] Product composition data can include a bill of materials (also known as BOM) associated with the product being produced. The bill of materials can be a list of (multiple) inbound materials and / or (multiple) intermediate products, i.e., the quantity of each material required to produce the corresponding product. Thus, the bill of materials can also be regarded as a list of manufacturing methods, formulas, or ingredients.

[0101] Data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials used in the production of a product can include a description of the corresponding (multiple) inbound materials, the customs tariff classification of the corresponding (multiple) inbound materials, and / or the value (e.g., price) of the corresponding (multiple) inbound materials. Depending on the preferential origin qualification of the product, the data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials can be included in the preferential data. For example, (multiple) products without preferential origin qualification can be associated with preferential data that includes data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials. In another example, (multiple) products with preferential origin qualification can be associated with preferential data that does not include the said data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials. The description of the corresponding inbound material can include the inbound material name, the inbound material ID, or a combination thereof.

[0102] In an embodiment, the product data further includes data related to one or more countries or regions for which the preferential data is to be generated. For example, the product data may include an indication as to which country or countries and / or which region's corresponding origin rules the product needs to meet in order to be eligible for preferential trade with the said country or region. This allows the generated preferential data to include, in addition to data on the origin of the product, data on the countries that comply with the origin rules for preferential trade. The latter data allows determination of which countries the preferential tariff rates will apply to if the said product is exported.

[0103] In an embodiment, the request is received by a computing node of a computing system that implements the method for generating preferential data disclosed herein. The request contains product data associated with the product for which the preferential data is to be generated. The product data contained in the request may include the previously mentioned product data. The product data contained in the request may be collected from one or more data sources using one or more product identifiers associated with the produced product.

[0104] Depending on whether the produced intermediate product(s) are used in the production of the product, the computing node may be configured to obtain preferential data associated with the inbound material(s) and / or generate preferential data associated with the produced intermediate product(s), as described later.

[0105] The preferential data associated with the inbound material(s) may be obtained based on the product data contained in the received request. In an embodiment, obtaining the preferential data associated with the inbound material(s) based on the received product data may include obtaining product composition data based on the received product data. The product composition data may be used to determine the inbound material identifiers associated with the used inbound material(s). The inbound material identifier(s) may be used to determine the decentralized identifier associated with the corresponding inbound material and inbound material data. Using the decentralized identifier, the data associated with the inbound material data may be determined, for example, by accessing the database of the decentralized network and using the determined decentralized identifier to obtain the data related to the inbound material data.

[0106] In an embodiment, obtaining the preferential data associated with the inbound material(s) based on the received product data may include obtaining inbound material composition data based on the received product data. The inbound material composition data may be used to determine the inbound material identifiers associated with the used inbound material(s). The inbound material identifier(s) may be used to determine the decentralized identifier associated with the corresponding inbound material and inbound material data. Using the decentralized identifier, the data associated with the inbound material data may be determined, for example, by accessing the database of the decentralized network and using the determined decentralized identifier to obtain the data related to the inbound material data.

[0107] Concessional data can be obtained from inbound material data associated with (multiple) inbound materials. Material data associated with each inbound material can be accessed based on (multiple) decentralized identifiers and optionally based on data related to the inbound material data. A data consumption node can access the inbound material data via a decentralized network based on (multiple) decentralized identifiers and optionally data related to the inbound material data. The inbound material data can be accessed from a data providing node associated with the data owner of the inbound material data. The data providing node can be associated with a dedicated storage device storing such inbound material data. The data providing node can be configured to collect the inbound material data stored in such storage device based on the received (multiple) decentralized identifiers and provide the collected inbound material data to (multiple) data consumption services requesting the inbound material data. The decentralized identifiers can be associated with the inbound material data. Since the inbound material data is linked to the corresponding inbound material using, for example, an inbound material identifier, the decentralized identifiers are also associated with the inbound material to which the inbound material data is linked. Within the decentralized network, the decentralized identifiers can optionally be used in combination with data related to the inbound material data to allow the inbound material data to be accessed by a data consumption service associated with a product consumer under the control of a data providing service associated with the data owner of the inbound material data. This allows the inbound material data to be transferred or accessed in a controlled and secure manner, as described above.

[0108] In an embodiment, the decentralized identifier is associated with the data owner. In an embodiment, the decentralized identifier is associated with the inbound material to which the inbound material data is associated. Associating the decentralized identifier with the data owner can allow the data owner to maintain control over the inbound material data associated with the decentralized identifier. Additionally, associating the decentralized identifier with the data owner can allow the inbound material data to be verified via the data owner. For example, information about the data owner can allow verification of the source of the inbound material data.

[0109] In an embodiment, the decentralized identifier is or is assigned to a physical identifier associated with the inbound material. Thus, the decentralized identifier is or is assigned to a physical identifier associated with each inbound material used to produce the product. The physical identifier (also referred to hereinafter as the physical identifier element) can refer to any virtual or physical arrangement that associates the decentralized identifier with the corresponding inbound material. The physical identifier can be any identifier for the corresponding inbound material, such as a batch number or a part number. The physical identifier element can include passive or active elements, such as QR codes, RFID tags, but is not limited thereto. The physical identifier element can be a physical identifier physically connected to the corresponding inbound material. The identifier element can include a mark, a barcode, a QR code, an embossed code, a tag similar to an RFID tag, or a similar physical arrangement that allows the corresponding inbound material to be digitally identified. The connection of the physical identifier to the inbound material can be provided by a physical connection to a physical material or a physical entity. For example, the physical identifier can be connected to the physical entity of the inbound material, i.e., can be physically attached to the inbound material, such as attached to the packaging of the inbound material. The physical identifier can have a one-to-one correspondence with a virtual identity or a physical identity through a physical connection to a physical entity.

[0110] The decentralized identifier can be determined based on the physical identifier associated with the corresponding inbound material. The physical identifier can be provided by a sensor that reads the physical identifier element physically connected to the inbound material. The physical identifier can be used to determine the (multiple) decentralized identifier, for example, by accessing a database containing the physical identifier associated with the corresponding decentralized identifier. The physical identifier can be used to determine the (multiple) decentralized identifier, for example, by querying a decentralized network using query data including the physical identifier for the (multiple) decentralized identifier linked to the physical identifier.

[0111] In an embodiment, the incentive data is obtained using the decentralized identifier and / or the (multiple) inbound material identifiers associated with the (multiple) inbound materials. For example, the (multiple) decentralized identifiers associated with the inbound materials can be used to obtain the incentive data from the inbound material data. In another example, the inbound material identifier associated with the corresponding inbound material can be used to receive the incentive data. If the inbound material data is stored in a data storage device associated with a material data consumer (e.g., a product producer) after accessing the inbound material data using a data consumption service, for example, and the stored data is associated with such an inbound material identifier, the inbound material identifier can be used.

[0112] In an embodiment, access to inbound material data is based on an owner identifier associated with a data owner, in particular the data owner of the respective inbound material data. The owner identifier can be a string identifier associated with the data owner's name. The owner identifier can be provided by a physical identifier provider, such as a barcode, an embossed code, a QR code, or a tag similar to an RFID tag. Such communication can also be accomplished via ad-hoc WIFI, BLE beacons, and / or NFC. The communication can be performed via any available communication channel, including but not limited to a web server, ad-hoc WIFI, BLE beacon signals, NFC, barcode, or QR code scanning, etc. Through the owner identifier, the material data can be associated with the material data owner by including the owner identifier. The owner identifier can be used for data transactions, such as sharing or exchanging material data. The owner identifier can be provided to a data consumption service. Providing the decentralized identifier and the owner identifier of the data owner to the data consumption service can simplify the tracking of data transactions. Any transaction in the data ecosystem can be associated with, for example, the explicit name of the data owner.

[0113] In an embodiment, access to inbound material data is based on (a plurality of) decentralized participant identifiers associated with (a plurality of) data consumption services. The (a plurality of) decentralized participant identifiers can be defined by (a plurality of) access rules associated with the inbound material. This allows filtering of the data consumption services based on the associated decentralized participant identifiers and controlling access to the inbound material data based on the decentralized participant identifiers. The (a plurality of) access rules can be defined by the data owner of the inbound material data to ensure that only specific participants in the decentralized network can access the inbound material data, thus preventing all members of the decentralized network from accessing the inbound material data. Storing the inbound material data in a storage device associated with the material owner, in combination with the use of the (a plurality of) access rules, allows the material owner to have full control over access to the inbound material data. This is in contrast to a decentralized network based on distributed ledger technology, as the data owner may not be able to control access by other decentralized network participants to the data stored in the distributed ledger.

[0114] In an embodiment, access to inbound material data is based on access elements associated with the inbound material. The access elements may be stored in a decentralized registry associated with or under the control of the data owner of the inbound material data. The decentralized registry may be associated with a decentralized data providing network node associated with the data owner. The data owner may control access to such a decentralized registry via the associated decentralized data providing network node. This is in contrast to a decentralized network based on distributed ledger technology (DLT), in which a ledger that may be considered a decentralized registry is replicated across multiple network nodes that are not controlled by or are only partially controlled by the data owner of the inbound material data. The access elements may include a decentralized identifier and access data. The access data may point to the inbound material data or a portion thereof. In this context, point to means any network representation or address suitable for accessing the corresponding inbound material data. Access may include an access point to the corresponding inbound material data, a link for accessing the corresponding data, an endpoint for accessing the corresponding data, or a service endpoint for accessing the corresponding data.

[0115] In an embodiment, the preferential data associated with a corresponding inbound material includes data on the preferential origin qualification or non-preferential origin qualification of the inbound material for at least one country and the price of the inbound material. For example, the preferential data may include invoice data indicating the price of the inbound material and the preferential or non-preferential qualification. Using the invoice data within the inbound material data allows all the necessary information about the inbound material to be obtained from a single data source via a single request for accessing the corresponding inbound material data (such as to a data providing service associated with the corresponding material data), thereby avoiding data conversion issues and multiple requests for the necessary inbound material data. The preferential data may be part of a supplier statement issued for the corresponding inbound material. The supplier statement may be included in the corresponding inbound material data.

[0116] Data on the preferential origin qualification of the inbound material may include an inbound material identifier, one or more countries of origin of the inbound material, and one or more preferential countries. The inbound material identifier may include a material name, a CAS number, an inbound material ID, a LOT number, a batch number, or a combination thereof. The one or more preferential countries may correspond to one or more countries for which the inbound material meets its (multiple) origin rules to qualify for preferential trade with the one or more countries.

[0117] Data on the non-preferential origin qualification of inbound materials may include an inbound material identifier, an identifier associated with the non-originating component(s) used to produce the inbound material, a customs tariff classification associated with the non-originating component(s), and a value associated with the non-originating component(s). The identifier associated with the non-originating component(s) used to produce the inbound material may include a component name, a component ID, a CAS number of the component, a LOT number of the component, a batch number of the component, or a combination thereof. The non-originating component(s) may be the component(s) whose country of origin is not the same as the country in which the component is used in the production of the in-product.

[0118] In an embodiment, the (multiple) decentralized identifiers and optionally data related to the inbound material data are associated with one or more authentication mechanisms or schemes. The authentication mechanism or scheme may include tokens (such as private key and public key infrastructure), certificate mechanisms, or biometric mechanisms (such as fingerprint, facial recognition, or voice recognition, etc.). For example, a common public key certificate is an X.509 certificate. Through the authentication mechanism or scheme, data access to the data consumption service can be controlled in a secure manner, and the integrity of the data provision service can be ensured. This makes data exchange or sharing more reliable, controllable, and secure. One or more authentication mechanisms or schemes associated with the decentralized identifier may be provided to at least one decentralized authentication data registry, which is preferably accessible by the data provision service and / or the data consumption service. The authentication data registry may be a centralized registry, such as a centralized file system, a centrally managed distributed database, and / or a centrally managed peer-to-peer network. The centralized configuration allows for higher control and standardization via a central node. The authentication data registry may be a decentralized registry, such as a distributed ledger, a decentralized file system, a distributed database, and / or a peer-to-peer network. The decentralized configuration allows for more efficient utilization of computing resources and strengthens the control of the data owner.

[0119] In an embodiment, the (multiple) decentralized identifiers and optionally data related to the inbound material data are associated with one or more authorization mechanisms or schemes. The authorization mechanism or scheme can include (multiple) authorization rules that contain data transaction instructions or data transaction protocols, such as data usage policies, smart data contracts, or more complex data processing instructions associated with data provision and / or data consumption services. Through the authorization mechanism or scheme, data access and data usage of the data consumption service can be controlled in a secure manner. One or more authorization mechanisms or schemes associated with the decentralized identifier can be provided to the nodes for accessing the inbound material data. Additionally or alternatively, one or more authorization mechanisms can be provided to at least one centralized or decentralized authorization data registry, which is preferably accessible by the data provision service and / or the data consumption service. One or more authorization mechanisms or schemes associated with the decentralized identifier can be provided to the nodes processing the inbound material data and at least one centralized file system, centrally managed distributed database, centrally managed peer-to-peer network, distributed ledger, decentralized file system, distributed database, and / or peer-to-peer network, which are preferably accessible by the data provision service and / or the data consumption service.

[0120] In an embodiment, the data related to the inbound material data includes the inbound material data or a portion thereof.

[0121] In one embodiment, the data related to the inbound material data includes one or more digital representations pointing to the inbound material data or a portion thereof. In this context, pointing means any network representation or address suitable for accessing the corresponding inbound material data. The data related to the material data can include multiple digital representations pointing to different portions of the corresponding inbound material data. The data related to the material data can include multiple digital representations pointing to different parts of the corresponding inbound material data. Such different parts may overlap at certain data points. The digital representation can include an access point to the corresponding inbound material data, a link for accessing the corresponding data, an endpoint for accessing the corresponding data, or a service endpoint for accessing the corresponding data. Thus, the corresponding inbound material data can be maintained and controlled by the data owner associated with the inbound material data. Access can be provided via the representation of the access point, thereby simplifying data verification, integrity checking, or quality checking and access control, as there is no need to check and control access to multiple distributed data points.

[0122] If the digital representation includes a representation for accessing the corresponding inbound material data or a portion thereof, such as a locator for the corresponding data or a portion thereof, the corresponding data may be stored on a dedicated storage device (e.g., a dedicated storage device owned or controlled by the data owner associated with the inbound material data), and may be accessed via a data consumption service using the locator. The use of the locator allows the data owner to retain full control over the corresponding inbound material data, as access to the data requires appropriate authorization and authentication. This allows, for example, the public sharing of decentralized identifiers and data related to the inbound material data on a public web platform without having to disclose the corresponding inbound material data associated with the decentralized identifier. Thus, transparency regarding the (multiple) existing endpoints associated with the decentralized identifier can be provided while ensuring the required level of confidentiality of the inbound material data associated with the decentralized identifier.

[0123] The digital representation may be stored in a decentralized registry associated with or under the control of the data owner of the inbound material data. The decentralized registry may be associated with a decentralized data providing network node associated with the data owner. The data owner may control access to such a decentralized registry via the associated decentralized data providing network node.

[0124] In an embodiment, the inbound material data further includes data related to the characteristics of the inbound material and / or data related to the use of the inbound material. Such characteristics may be static characteristics or dynamic characteristics. Static characteristics may be characteristics that are constant over time, e.g., melting point, boiling point, density, hardness, flammability, etc. Dynamic characteristics may be characteristics that change over time, e.g., shelf life, pH value, color, reactivity. The characteristics of the inbound material may include performance characteristics, chemical characteristics (such as flammability, toxicity, acidity, reactivity, heat of combustion), and / or physical characteristics (such as density, color, hardness, melting point and boiling point, electrical conductivity, etc.). Data related to the use of the inbound material may include data related to the further processing of the inbound material (e.g., using the inbound material as a reactant in further (multiple) chemical reactions) and / or data related to the use of the inbound material (e.g., data related to the use of the inbound material during a processing and / or manufacturing process).

[0125] In an embodiment, the inbound material data further includes emission data, recycled content, bio-based content, and / or production data. The recycled content data and / or bio-based content data may include any data related to the recycled content or bio-based content of the physical entities used to provide or produce the inbound materials. The emission data may include any data related to the environmental footprint. The environmental footprint may refer to the entity of the inbound material and its associated environmental footprint. The emission data may include data related to the carbon footprint of the inbound material. The emission data may include data related to, for example, greenhouse gas emissions released during the production of the inbound material. The emission data may include data related to greenhouse gas emissions. The emission data may include data related to greenhouse gas emissions generated by the entity's or company's own operations (production, power plants, and waste incineration). Scope 2 includes emissions generated by the production of externally provided energy. Scope 3 includes all other emissions generated along the value chain. Specifically, this includes greenhouse gas emissions generated by the inbound materials obtained from suppliers. The product carbon footprint (PCF) is the sum of greenhouse gas emissions and removals generated by the sequential and interconnected process steps associated with a specific product. The cradle-to-gate PCF aggregates greenhouse gas emissions based on selected process steps: from the extraction of resources to the product leaving the company's factory gate. This PCF is referred to as a partial PCF. To achieve such aggregation, every company providing any product must be able to provide as accurately as possible its contribution to Scope 1 and Scope 2 of the PCF for each of its products and obtain reliable and consistent PCF data for the purchased energy (Scope 2) and its inbound materials (Scope 3). The production data may include any data related to the production of the inbound materials. The production data may include monitoring and / or control data associated with the production of the inbound materials. The production data may include measurement data related to the material quality of the inbound materials.

[0126] In an embodiment, the inbound material data relates to or includes different categories of inbound material data. For example, the data associated with the inbound material data can include multiple digital representations pointing to different categories of inbound material data. These different categories can include inbound material concession data, physical data associated with the inbound material, inbound material declaration data, inbound material safety data, analysis certificate data associated with the physical entity of the inbound material, inbound material emission data, recycled content data associated with the physical entity of the inbound material, bio-based content data associated with the physical entity of the inbound material, inbound material production data, and combinations thereof. For example, at least one category can include inbound material declaration data, inbound material safety data, and analysis certificate data. The foregoing data can be associated not only with the inbound material but also, for example, with those ingredients / components used to produce the inbound material. In another example, at least one category can include emission data, recycled content data, bio-based content data, and / or production data associated with the physical entity of the inbound material. The foregoing data can be associated not only with the inbound material but also, for example, with those ingredients / components used to produce the inbound material.

[0127] At least one category of the inbound material data can include inbound material data associated with at least one authorization mechanism or scheme. For example, emission data, recycled content data, bio-based content data, production data, concession data, or combinations thereof can be access-restricted. Such access restrictions can be provided by an authorization mechanism or scheme. For example, the authorization mechanism or scheme can include rules specifying which data consumption services have access rights under which conditions.

[0128] At least one category of the inbound material data can include inbound material data not associated with at least one authorization mechanism or scheme. For example, the inbound material declaration data, inbound material safety data, and / or analysis certificate data associated with the physical entity of the inbound material can be unrestricted in access. Such access can be provided or ensured by an authorization mechanism or scheme. For example, the authorization mechanism or scheme can include rules specifying that certain regulatory data of the material can be accessed.

[0129] In an embodiment, the intermediate product data can include an intermediate product identifier associated with the intermediate product, price data, intermediate product composition data, and / or a customs tariff classification. The intermediate product composition data can be used to determine the inbound material identifier(s) associated with the (multiple) inbound materials used. As previously mentioned, the (multiple) inbound material identifier(s) can be used to obtain concession data from the corresponding inbound material data.

[0130] In an embodiment, obtaining at least one origin rule includes obtaining the (multiple) origin rules from a data storage medium. The data storage medium can be an internal data storage medium of a computing system implementing the method for generating preferential data disclosed herein. The data storage medium can be a database connected to the computing system via a communication interface. The data storage medium can be cloud storage.

[0131] In an embodiment, the at least one origin rule is obtained based on the received product data. For example, the (multiple) origin rules can be obtained based on the country data included in the product data. In another example, the (multiple) origin rules can be obtained based on the customs tariff classification included in the product data.

[0132] In an embodiment, the at least one origin rule includes at least one rule related to a wholly obtained product and / or at least one rule related to a substantial change in the materials used in the production of the product.

[0133] A wholly obtained product can be a product obtained entirely within the territory of an FTA Party without adding any non-originating materials. Examples may include live animals born and raised there, minerals extracted from the ground, and foodstuffs grown and harvested within the territory of that Party. A wholly obtained product can include a product produced or manufactured solely from wholly obtained materials. Such a product or material is generally treated the same as a wholly obtained product and is therefore considered to comply with the wholly obtained origin rule if all materials are wholly obtained.

[0134] The at least one rule related to a substantial change in inbound materials can include a rule defining a change in customs tariff classification, a rule defining value-added calculation, a rule allowing the use of certain inbound materials during product production, a rule prohibiting the use of certain inbound materials during product production, and / or a rule defining a specific process for the materials used in the production of the product. The rule defining a change in customs tariff classification may require that non-originating inbound materials have undergone a change in customs tariff classification to obtain origin eligibility for the product produced at least in part from such materials. The rule defining value-added calculation may require that a certain percentage of the total value of the product produced is added within the applicable FTA (Free Trade Agreement) territory. The rule defining a specific process may require a specific process to be carried out at a specific stage of the product production process.

[0135] In an embodiment, generating preferential data includes

[0136] - determining the origin based on the received (multiple) origin rules, the obtained preferential data associated with (multiple) inbound materials and / or the generated preferential data associated with (multiple) intermediate products, and the received product data, and

[0137] - Determine the preferential eligibility based on the determined origin.

[0138] For example, if preferential data for a product is to be generated, the origin of the product is determined using the received origin rules for attributing the country of origin to the produced product(s), the received preferential data associated with the inbound materials used to produce the product, and / or the generated preferential data associated with the intermediate product(s) produced from one or more inbound components.

[0139] In another example, if preferential data for the intermediate product(s) produced from one or more inbound components is to be generated, the origin of the corresponding intermediate product is determined using the received origin rules for attributing the country of origin to the produced intermediate product(s) and the received preferential data associated with the inbound components used to produce the intermediate product.

[0140] In an embodiment, generating preferential data associated with an intermediate product may further include using the generated preferential data associated with the intermediate product(s) used to produce the intermediate product(s). For example, a first intermediate product may be used to produce a second intermediate product. In this case, the preferential data generated for the first intermediate product may optionally be used together with the obtained preferential data associated with the inbound material(s) used to produce the second intermediate product to generate the preferential data associated with the second intermediate product.

[0141] In an embodiment of a method for producing at least one product associated with promotional data, associating the generated promotional data with the at least one product includes linking the generated promotional data to an identifier associated with the produced product. For example, a product identifier associated with the produced product can be linked to the generated promotional data. This can allow the use of the corresponding product identifier to obtain the promotional data. The product identifier can include a decentralized identifier. For example, a product pass can be generated, which includes a decentralized identifier associated with product data and product data including the generated promotional data. The product pass can be associated with a digital access element, which is used to access, for example, via a data consumption service associated with a product consumer, the promotional data associated with the product included in the product pass. Thus, the product pass can represent a digital asset associated with a physical product and can be provided digitally when the produced product is physically provided to downstream participants in the product ecosystem. The product pass can be stored in a dedicated storage device associated with the data owner of the product pass, such as the product producer. For example, the produced product can be provided to a customer, and the customer can determine the decentralized identifier associated with the received product, as described above. The decentralized identifier can be used to determine data related to the product data including the promotional data as described above. The decentralized identifier and the data related to the product data can be used by the customer to access, using a data consumption service, the product pass including the promotional data from a data providing service associated with the dedicated storage device storing the product pass. Access to the product pass can be controlled by the data owner of the product pass, such as the product producer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0142] These and other features of the present invention will be more fully set forth in the following description of exemplary embodiments of the invention. To facilitate identification of the discussion of any particular element or act, one or more of the most significant digits in the reference numerals refer to the drawing number in which the element is first introduced. In the drawings and this disclosure, like reference numerals are intended to refer to the same or similar elements, components, and / or parts. The description refers to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0143] Figures 1A to 1C illustrates example embodiments of a centralized computing environment ( Figure 1A ), a decentralized computing environment ( Figure 1B ), and a distributed computing environment ( Figure 1C ),

[0144] Figure 1D illustrates an example embodiment of a decentralized network environment that includes a decentralized network of participant nodes associated with participants in a product ecosystem involving various products,

[0145] Figure 2 shows an example of a chemical production network that is combined with an operating system including a preferential data generation system to produce one or more chemical products from one or more input materials,

[0146] Figure 3A and Figure 3B shows a part of the chemical production of a coating material from different raw materials,

[0147] Figure 3C shows a part of the discrete production of discrete products from different materials,

[0148] Figure 3D shows a part of the supply chain for producing discrete products from (multiple) chemical products and other components,

[0149] Figure 4A shows an example of a device for generating preferential data associated with products produced from at least one inbound material,

[0150] Figure 4B shows an example of a device for generating preferential data associated with products produced from at least one inbound material and / or at least one intermediate product,

[0151] Figure 5 shows an example of a system for producing at least one product associated with preferential data,

[0152] Figure 6 shows an example of a method or device for providing preferential data associated with (multiple) inbound materials and (multiple) products across a value chain via a decentralized network,

[0153] Figure 7 shows an example of a material pass or product pass including DID owner data, DID document data, and a decentralized identity infrastructure,

[0154] Figure 8 shows an example of a material pass or product pass including ID-based data, pass data, and a decentralized identity infrastructure,

[0155] Figure 9A and Figure 9B shows an example of an authentication protocol between a data consumption service and a data provision service,

[0156] Figures 10A to 10C shows different example configurations of a material pass or product pass anchored by a digital identifier,

[0157] Figure 11Disclosed is a flowchart of a method for generating incentive data associated with a product produced from at least one inbound material according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure,

[0158] Figure 12 Disclosed is a flowchart of a method for producing at least one product according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one product being associated with incentive data and being produced by producing from at least one inbound material,

[0159] Figure 13 Disclosed is an aspect of block 1108 of FIG. 10 and Figure 11 block 1110 according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure,

[0160] FIG. 14 shows an aspect of block 1006 of FIG. 10 and Figure 11 block 1106 according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure,

[0161] Figure 15 Disclosed is an example of a system for producing at least one product associated with incentive data, the system including an example method for generating incentive data associated with a product produced from at least one inbound material,

[0162] Figure 16 Disclosed is an example of a system for producing at least one product associated with incentive data, the system including an example method for generating incentive data associated with a product produced from at least one inbound material and / or at least one intermediate product. Detailed Description

[0163] The following detailed description is intended as a description of various aspects of the subject matter of the present invention and is not intended to represent the only configuration in which the subject matter of the present invention may be practiced. The accompanying drawings are incorporated herein and constitute a part of the detailed description. The detailed description includes specific details for providing a thorough understanding of the subject matter of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the subject matter of the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.

[0164] In one case, the division of the various parts shown in the drawings into different units may reflect the use of corresponding different physical and tangible parts in an actual implementation. Alternatively or additionally, any single part shown in the drawings may be implemented by a plurality of actual physical parts. Alternatively or additionally, the depiction of any two or more separate parts in the drawings may reflect different functions performed by a single actual physical part.

[0165] Other figures depict these concepts in a flowchart form. In this form, certain operations are described as constituting different boxes that are executed in a specific order. Such an implementation is illustrative rather than restrictive. Certain boxes described herein can be combined together and executed in a single operation, certain boxes can be divided into multiple component boxes, and the order of execution of certain boxes can be different from that shown herein (including in a parallel manner of executing these boxes).

[0166] The following explanations may identify one or more features as "optional". Such statements should not be construed as an exhaustive indication of features that may be considered optional; that is, other features may be considered optional even though not explicitly indicated in the text. Further, any description of a single entity is not intended to exclude the use of multiple such entities; similarly, a description of multiple entities is not intended to exclude the use of a single entity. Further, although the specification may interpret certain features as alternative ways of performing the identified functions or implementing the identified mechanisms, these features may also be combined together in any combination. Finally, the term "exemplary" or "illustrative" refers to one implementation among potentially multiple implementations.

[0167] Figures 1A to 1C Different computing environments are shown, a centralized, a decentralized, and a distributed computing environment. The methods, apparatuses, systems, and computer elements of the present disclosure may be implemented in a decentralized or at least partially decentralized computing environment. The provision, determination, or processing of data may be implemented by different computing nodes, which may be implemented in a centralized, decentralized, or distributed computing environment.

[0168] Figure 1A 、 Figure 1B Example embodiments of centralized and decentralized computing environments with computing nodes are shown. Figure 1C An example embodiment of a distributed computing environment is shown.

[0169] In this example of the centralized computing environment 100a, the peripheral computing nodes 101.1 to 101.N are connected to a central computing system (or server). In another example, the peripheral computing nodes 101.1 to 101.N may be attached to the central computing node via, for example, a terminal server (not shown). Most functions may be executed by or obtained from the central computing node (also referred to as a remote centralized location). One of the peripheral computing nodes 101.N has been expanded to provide an overview of the components present in the peripheral computing nodes. The central computing node may include the same components as those described with respect to the peripheral computing node 101.N. Each computing node 101 (101.1 to 101.N) may include at least one hardware processor 102 and a memory 104.

[0170] The computing node 101 (101.1....101.N) may include program code schematically represented as a plurality of structures 106. The plurality of structures 106 may be referred to as executable components, executable instructions, computer-executable instructions, or instructions. The executable component or any equivalent thereof may be a name for a structure well known to those of ordinary skill in the computing art, which may be software, hardware, or a combination thereof, or may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination. For example, when implemented in software, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the structure of the executable component includes software objects, routines, methods, etc. executed on the computing node 101 (101.1....101.N), regardless of whether such an executable component exists in the heap of the computing node 101 (101.1...101.N) or the executable component exists on a computer-readable storage medium. In such a case, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the structure of the executable component exists on the computer-readable medium such that when interpreted by one or more processors (e.g., by a processor thread) of the computing node 101 (101.1...101.N), the computing node 101 (101.1...101.N) will perform a function. Such a structure may be directly computer-readable by a processor (as in the case where the executable component is binary). Alternatively, the structure may be configured to be interpretable and / or compilable (whether in a single stage or in multiple stages) to generate such a binary that can be directly interpreted by the processor. This understanding of example structures of executable components is well within the understanding of those of ordinary skill in the computing art. Examples of executable components implemented in hardware include hard-coded or hard-wired logic gates that are implemented specifically or almost exclusively in hardware, such as within a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any other special-purpose circuit. In this specification, terms such as component, agent, manager, service, engine, module, virtual machine, etc. are used synonymously with executable component.

[0171] The processor 102 of each computing node 101 (101.1... 101.N) can direct the operation of each computing node 101 (101.1... 101.N) in response to executing computer-executable instructions that make up an executable component. For example, such computer-executable instructions can be embodied on one or more computer-readable media that form a computer program product. The computer-executable instructions can be stored in the memory 104 of each computing node 101 (101.1... 101.N). The computer-executable instructions include, for example, instructions and data that, when executed at the processor 101, cause a general-purpose computing node 101 (101.1... 101.N), a special-purpose computing node 101 (101.1... 101.N), or a special-purpose processing device to perform a particular function or group of functions. Alternatively or additionally, the computer-executable instructions can configure the computing node 101 (101.1... 101.N) to perform a particular function or group of functions. The computer-executable instructions can be, for example, binary or even instructions that undergo some transformation (such as compilation) before being directly executed by the processor, such as intermediate format instructions, such as assembly language, or even source code.

[0172] Each computing node 101 (101.1... 101.N) can include a communication channel 108 that allows each computing node 101.1…101.N to communicate with a central computing node 101, for example, a network capable of transmitting electronic data between the computing nodes 101 (101.1... 101.N) and / or modules and / or other electronic devices. When information is transmitted or provided to the computing node 101 (101.1... 101.N) via a network or another communication connection (wired, wireless, or a combination of wired or wireless), the computing node 101 (101.1... 101.N) properly treats the connection as a transmission medium. The transmission medium can include a network and / or a data link that can be used to carry the desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computing node 101 (101.1... 101.N). Combinations of the above can also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0173] (Multiple) computing nodes 101 (101.1 to 101.N) may further include a user interface system 110 for establishing an interface connection with a user. The user interface system 110 may include an output mechanism 112a and an input mechanism 112c. The principles described herein are not limited to the exact output mechanism 112a or input mechanism 112c, as this will depend on the nature of the device. However, the output mechanism 112a may include, for example, a display, a speaker, a display, a haptic output, a hologram, etc. Examples of the input mechanism 112c may include, for example, a microphone, a touch screen, a hologram, a camera, a keyboard, a mouse, or other pointer input, any type of sensor, etc.

[0174] Figure 1B An example embodiment of a decentralized computing environment 100' is shown, where several computing nodes 101.1' to 101.N' are represented as solid circles. Compared with Figure 1A the centralized computing environment 100a shown, the computing nodes 101.1' to 101.N' in the decentralized computing environment 100b are not connected to a central computing node and thus are not under the control of the central computing node. Instead, both hardware resources and software resources can be allocated to each individual computing node 101.1'…101.N' (local or remote computing systems), and data can be distributed among the various computing nodes 101.1'…101.N' to perform tasks. Thus, in a decentralized system environment, program modules can be located in local and remote memory storage devices. One of the computing nodes 101.N' has been expanded to provide an overview of the components present in the computing node 101.N'. In this example, the computing node 101.N' includes the same components as those described for the computing node 101.N with respect to Figure 1A the computing node 101.N.

[0175] Figure 1C An example embodiment of a distributed computing environment 100c is shown. In this example, the distributed cloud computing environment 100c may include the following computing resources: (multiple) mobile devices 114, applications 116, databases 118, data storage 120, and (multiple) servers 122. The cloud computing environment 100c may be deployed as a public cloud 124, a private cloud 126, or a hybrid cloud 128. The private cloud 126 may be owned by an organization, and only organization members with appropriate access rights may use the private cloud 126, thus keeping the data in the private cloud at least confidential. In contrast, the data stored in the public cloud 124 may be open to anyone via the Internet. The hybrid cloud 128 may be a combination of both the private cloud 126 and the public cloud 124, and may keep some of the data confidential while other data may be publicly available.

[0176] Figure 1DShows an example embodiment of a decentralized network environment. The decentralized network environment may include a decentralized participant network 162. The decentralized participant network 162 may include one or more decentralized network participants 130 to 146. The decentralized network participants may be part of a product ecosystem that includes various products, such as chemical products, components, part assemblies, end products, and end-of-life products. The product ecosystem may include a production chain for producing end products. The product ecosystem may include a recycling chain to recycle at least a portion of the end-of-life products resulting from the use of the produced end products. The product ecosystem may include (multiple) input material suppliers 134, chemical product producers 130, chemical product consumers 136, OEMs 140, end product users 142, EOL product collectors 144, and recyclers 146. The product ecosystem may allow the use of materials generated from recycled end-of-life products to produce new end products. The product ecosystem may be associated with the production of chemical products using one or more input materials and the production of additional chemical products or discrete products using the produced chemical products.

[0177] The (multiple) participants of the decentralized participant network 162 may be associated with the production of end products and / or the recycling of end-of-life products. The decentralized network participants 130 to 146 may refer to manufacturers of physical products (such as chemical product producers 130), chemical product consumers 136, OEMs 140, end product users 142, EOL product collectors 144, and recyclers 146. The decentralized network participants may be associated with a decentralized participant identifier. The decentralized participant identifier may uniquely identify the decentralized network participants within the decentralized participant network 162.

[0178] The (multiple) participants of the decentralized participant network 162 may be connected via a material flow 168. The material flow 168 may correspond to the flow of (multiple) products from the upstream participants of the decentralized participant network 162 to the corresponding downstream participants of the decentralized participant network 162. The material flow 168 may refer to the continuous or discontinuous flow of (multiple) products. The flow of (multiple) products may include any transportation means suitable for transporting the (multiple) products from the upstream participants to the corresponding downstream participants. The transportation means may include pipelines, containers, barrels, packages. The material flow 168 may be associated with raw materials, chemical products, chemical intermediates, parts, part assemblies, end products, end-of-life products, recycled materials, etc.

[0179] The data flow 164 between the decentralized network participant nodes can be directly or indirectly associated with the material flow 168 between the decentralized network participants. For example, if input material data associated with the physical entity of the input material provided by the input material supplier 134 to the chemical product producer 130 is accessed by a decentralized data consumption network node associated with the chemical product producer 130, then the data flow 164 can be directly associated with the material flow 168. For example, if data associated with the chemical product produced by the chemical product producer 130 is accessed by a decentralized data consumption network node associated with the end product user 142 or the recycler 146, then the data flow 164 can be indirectly associated with the material flow 168.

[0180] At least a portion of the participants in the decentralized participant network 162 can be associated with the decentralized participant network nodes 148, 150, 152, 154, 156, 158, 160. The decentralized participant nodes 148 to 160 can be under the control of the respective decentralized participants associated with the respective decentralized participant nodes. The decentralized participant nodes 148 to 160 can form a decentralized network 166. The decentralized network 166 can be a peer-to-peer communication network. The decentralized network 166 may not be based on distributed ledger technology (DLT), for example, the nodes of the decentralized network 166 may not store a decentralized ledger. The decentralized network 166 can be configured to perform data transactions 164. The data transactions 164 can be based on a transaction protocol including one or more authentication and / or authorization mechanisms. Based on the one or more authentication and / or authorization mechanisms, peer-to-peer communication can be established between the decentralized network nodes 148 to 160 associated with the decentralized network participants 130 to 146. One or more authentication mechanisms can be associated with or linked to the decentralized identifier, as described in Figure 5 the context of. One or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier can be accessed by the decentralized data providing network nodes and / or the decentralized data consumption network nodes, as described in Figure 5 the context of. The decentralized configuration allows for more efficient use of computing resources and strengthens the control of the data owners of the decentralized network.

[0181] Data transactions between decentralized network participant nodes can be based on decentralized identifiers associated with the data to be accessed and / or (multiple) decentralized identifiers associated with the (multiple) materials used to produce the corresponding inbound materials or output products. The decentralized identifier can be uniquely associated with the physical entity of the inbound material and the associated material data. The decentralized identifier can be uniquely associated with the physical entity of the product and the associated product data. The inbound material can be any raw material, chemical product, part or component, part assembly, scrap product, or recycled material. The product can be any raw material, chemical product, part or component, part assembly, final product, scrap product, or recycled material. The decentralized identifier can uniquely identify the corresponding inbound material or product within the decentralized network. The decentralized identifier can be associated with additional (multiple) decentralized identifiers, such as the (multiple) decentralized identifiers of the (multiple) components used to produce the inbound material. This can allow tracking of the (multiple) components used to produce the inbound material. The decentralized identifier can be included in a digital access element associated with the input material or output product, for example, as described in the context of Figure 7 and Figure 8 as described.

[0182] The decentralized participant nodes 148 to 160 can be decentralized computing nodes. A decentralized "computing node" can be any device or system that includes at least one physical, tangible processor and a physical, tangible memory capable of having computer-executable instructions executed thereon by the processor. The memory can take any form and depends on the nature and form of the computing node.

[0183] At least a portion of the decentralized participant nodes 148 to 160 can be decentralized data providing network nodes. At least a portion of the participant nodes 148 to 160 can be decentralized data consuming network nodes. The participants in the decentralized participant network 162 can be associated with decentralized data providing network nodes and / or decentralized data consuming network nodes, depending on whether the data is provided to downstream participants or consumed from upstream participants. For example, the (multiple) input material suppliers 134 can be associated with a decentralized data providing network node configured to provide input material data associated with the (multiple) input materials supplied to downstream participants (e.g., chemical product producers 130), for example, as described in the context of Figure 5 as described. Additionally or alternatively, the (multiple) input material suppliers 134 can be associated with a decentralized data consuming network node configured to receive input material data associated with the (multiple) input materials supplied from the upstream participant via a decentralized data providing network node associated with the upstream participant (not shown).

[0184] The decentralized network 166 may include additional decentralized network nodes. The additional decentralized network nodes may be decentralized infrastructure service nodes (not shown in FIG. 1). The decentralized infrastructure service nodes may not be associated with the participants of the product ecosystem. The decentralized infrastructure service nodes may provide services for the decentralized participant nodes 148 to 160, such as verifying the identities of the decentralized network participant nodes 148 to 160 before performing data exchange. The decentralized network participant nodes 148 to 160 may be associated with or include (multiple) certificates, such as (multiple) X.509 certificates. The (multiple) certificates may be associated with (multiple) decentralized infrastructure service nodes, which include, for example, a certificate issuance service and / or a dynamic provisioning service that provides dynamic attribute tokens (e.g., OAuth access tokens). In this way, the decentralized network participant nodes 148 to 160 have unique identifiers embedded in the X.509 certificates, which identify the corresponding decentralized network participant nodes 148 to 160. The information required to verify the certificates may be provided via an authentication registry associated with the certificate issuance service and / or the dynamic provisioning service. For example, in the IDSA Reference Architecture Model version 3.0 of April 2019, the identities are verified (not shown) before performing data exchange using decentralized data providing network nodes associated with data owners, certificate authorities (CAs), dynamic attribute provisioning services (DAPS), and decentralized data consuming network nodes associated with data consumers.

[0185] Figure 2 An example of production is shown that combines with the operating system of the preferential data generation system to produce one or more products from one or more materials and / or (multiple) intermediate products. The production 204 may be a chemical production that produces chemical products from one or more chemical materials and / or intermediate chemical products.

[0186] To produce one or more products 206, different inbound materials 202 may be provided as physical inputs from a material provider or supplier. The inbound materials 202 may be directly used to produce the products 206. The inbound materials 202 may be used to produce intermediate products, and the intermediate products may be used to produce the products 206. The inbound material data associated with the provided inbound materials 202 may be used to determine the preferential data of the products 206 produced by the provided inbound materials 202 according to the methods described herein (see also Figures 11 to 14B ). The inbound material data associated with the provided inbound materials 202 and the generated preferential data associated with (multiple) produced intermediate products may be used to determine the preferential data of the products 206 produced by the production 204 from the provided inbound materials 202 and / or from the (multiple) intermediate products produced from the provided inbound materials 202 according to the methods described herein (see alsoFigures 11 to 14B )。

[0187] Production 204 can be a production network, such as a chemical production network. For example, as Figure 3A and Figure 3B described in. The production network can include multiple types of production processes for producing different products from inbound materials. The production network can include a complex production network that produces multiple products in multiple production chains. The production network can include connected, interconnected, and / or non-connected production chains. The production network can produce multiple intermediate products from inbound materials and can produce chemical products from the produced intermediate products. The production network can produce from inbound material components or discrete products. The inbound material 202 can enter the production network at an entry point. The product 206 can leave the production network at an exit point.

[0188] The production network can include multiple interrelated processing steps. The production network can be an integrated chemical production with connected or interconnected production chains. The production network can include multiple different production chains having at least one common intermediate product. The production network can include multiple stages of a value chain. The chemical production network can include producing different coating materials from one or more raw materials and / or intermediate products. For example, as Figure 3A and Figure 3B described in. The production network can include multiple production chains that produce chemical products 206 leaving the chemical production 204 from one or more inbound materials 202. The production network can include multiple production chains that produce chemical intermediate products from one or more inbound materials 202, and these chemical intermediate products are used in (multiple) other production chains to produce chemical products 206 leaving the chemical production 204. The production network can include multiple layers of value chains. The production network can include physically connected or interconnected production sites. The production sites can be located at the same location or different locations. In the latter case, the production sites can be connected or interconnected by a dedicated transportation system such as pipelines, supply chain vehicles (such as trucks), supply chain ships, or other cargo transportation tools.

[0189] Production 204 can convert the inbound material 202 into one or more products 206 leaving the production 204. The conversion can be via intermediate products or components. Production 204 as chemical production can convert the inbound material 202 into one or more intermediate products and / or one or more chemical products 206 by means of chemical conversion. The inbound material 202 can be fed into the chemical production 204 at any entry point. The inbound material 202 can be fed into the chemical production 204 at the starting point of the chemical production 204. The inbound material 202 can include, for example, polymers, pigments, solvents, and other components necessary for producing different coating materials.

[0190] Production 204 may include multiple production steps. The production steps may be defined by the system boundary of production 204. The system boundary may be defined by the location or control of the production process. The system boundary may be defined by the site of production 204. The system boundary may be defined by a production process controlled by one entity or multiple entities together. The system boundary may be defined by a value chain having interleaved production processes until a final product is formed, and these production processes may be separately controlled by multiple entities. Production 204 may include waste collection and sorting steps, recycling steps (such as distillation), separation steps for separating the outputs of a process step, and further processing steps for converting such outputs into products that leave the system boundary of production 204.

[0191] The operating system 208 of production 204 may monitor and / or control production 204 based on the operating parameters of different processes. The operating system 208 may receive production demand data associated with the production plan of production 204. The production demand data may be generated from the target production capacity for one or more products produced by production 204. The production demand data may be generated from a predefined production capacity or a data-driven model that associates production capacity with market demand data. The production demand data may include the target output of the products produced by production 204. The operating system 208 may further receive a bill of materials associated with the (multiple) intermediate products and / or (multiple) products to be produced. The bill of materials may include data associated with the inbound materials used to produce the products (such as inbound material names, inbound material identifiers, inbound material quantities), process data associated with the production chain for producing the intermediate products and / or products, and / or data associated with the intermediate products and / or products to be produced, such as product specification data or data on the quantities of the intermediate products and / or products to be produced.

[0192] Based on the received production demand data and bill of materials, material demand data can be determined. The material demand data can include data on the amounts of inbound materials required for the target production volumes of production intermediate chemicals and / or chemicals. The material demand data can include inbound material identifiers associated with the inbound materials required for producing the production intermediates and / or products, as well as data on the amounts associated with the respective inbound materials. The material demand data can include one or more inbound material specifiers for each inbound material identifier representing the material specifications. The material demand data can include inbound material quantity data for each inbound material identifier representing the amount of inbound material to be supplied. The material demand data can indicate the (multiple) production chains for production 204. The material demand data can include a bill of materials for one or more production chains for production 204. The material demand data can include one or more recipes for one or more inbound materials indicating the (multiple) production processes for production 204. The determined material demand data can be provided for access by a supplier system associated with a supplier outside the physical system boundary of chemical production. Material supply can be triggered by the supplier system accessing the material demand data.

[0193] A process step monitored and / or controlled by the operating system 208 can be the feeding of the inbound material 202 or the release of the product 206. Another process step monitored and / or controlled by the operating system 208 can be generating incentive data associated with the intermediate product produced from the inbound material 202 by production 204. Another process step monitored and / or controlled by the operating system 208 can be generating incentive data associated with the product 206 produced by production 204.

[0194] The operating system 208 can be configured to access data related to the inbound material 202, data related to the intermediate product, and data related to the processes and / or products 206 produced by production 204. The operating system 208 can be configured to receive a request for generating incentive data for the produced product 206, the request containing product data. The operating system 208 can be configured to obtain incentive data from the inbound material data associated with the provided inbound material 202. The inbound material data can be accessed by a data consumption service associated with the operating system 208, for example, as in Figure 5as described in the context of. Data access can be controlled by a data providing service associated with a data owner, such as the data owner of the corresponding inbound material data. The operating system 208 can be configured to generate preference data associated with (multiple) intermediate products produced from one or more inbound materials based on the received preference data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials, the origin rules obtained based on the received product data, and the intermediate product data. The operating system 208 can be configured to obtain (multiple) origin rules. The operating system 208 can be configured to generate preference data associated with the produced product 206 based on the received preference data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials and / or the generated preference data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products, the obtained (multiple) origin rules, and the received product data. The operating system 208 can be configured to obtain (multiple) origin rules. The operating system 208 can be configured to generate preference data associated with the intermediate product based on the received preference data, the obtained (multiple) origin rules, and the received material data associated with the produced intermediate product.

[0195] Figure 3A and Figure 3B shows a part of the chemical production 204 for producing the coating material 206 from different inbound materials 202 (such as different raw materials). The chemical production 204 can be a chemical production network as described with respect to Figure 2 the described chemical production network.

[0196] The chemical production 204 can include a system boundary. In this example, the raw material stream forms the entry point of the chemical production 204. The chemical product 206 produced from the chemical production 204 forms the exit point of the chemical production 204. The chemical production 204 can be a coating material production, and the chemical product leaving the chemical production 204 can be a coating material. The chemical production 204 can include different production chains for different coating materials (such as colored coating materials and uncolored coating materials). The production of the colored coating material can be performed again using different production chains, each assigned to the production of a specific type of colored coating material.

[0197] The chemical production 204 can include a resin production 302. The resin production 302 can include one or more resin production units, each producing a specific resin, and one or more material storage devices associated with each production unit. The resin leaving the resin production 302 can be regarded as an intermediate product. The resin produced by the resin production 302 can include polymers, such as film-forming polymers. Examples of film-forming polymers include alkyd resins, polyester resins, polyimides, silicone resins, phenolic resins, urea resins, melamine resins, amino resins, polyurethane resins, epoxy resins, polyolefin resins, polyethylene resins, polyacrylic resins, polymethacrylic resins, or copolymers thereof.

[0198] Resin production 302 can be fed a raw material stream (inbound material stream) containing the inbound materials 202 necessary for producing the corresponding resin. The raw material stream can include one or more monomers or prepolymers necessary for producing the corresponding resin. Monomers can include low molecular weight compounds (e.g., less than 1000 g / mol) containing at least one functional group capable of reacting with another functional group. Prepolymers can include polymeric materials (i.e., materials obtained by reacting at least two monomeric materials). The raw material stream can further include solvents and other additives necessary for producing the corresponding resin, such as free radical initiators, surfactants, neutralizing agents, etc. The corresponding resin can be produced from the raw material stream through appropriate chemical polymerization reactions. The corresponding resin can be produced batchwise or continuously using an appropriate resin production unit, such as a reactor.

[0199] Resin production 302 can be connected to pipes or pipelines that allow the supply of different raw materials stored in material storage devices, such as tanks. Sensors can be used to determine the supply quantity of the inbound materials 202, and the sensor data can be used by the operating system 208 described Figure 2 to control the corresponding inbound material feed. Resin production 302 can also allow the addition of inbound materials with a defined weight, such as a weighted amount of a solid or liquid supplied as a discrete packaged product (e.g., in a bottle or bag).

[0200] Resin production 302 can include a polymerization step. Resin production can further include a neutralization step and / or a step of removing the organic solvents used in the polymerization step. The produced resin can be supplied to a material storage device, such as a tank.

[0201] Resin production 302 can be controlled by the operating system 208 described Figure 2 based on the received material demand data or based on the received material list.

[0202] The chemical production 204 may further include pigment paste preparation 304. The pigment paste preparation 304 may be fed a stream containing the incoming materials and / or intermediate(s) necessary for producing the corresponding pigment paste. The intermediate(s) may include the resin(s) produced by the resin production 302. The incoming materials may include pigments, e.g., color and / or effect pigments, fillers, additives, and solvents. The pigment paste preparation 304 may be connected to the resin production 302 via a pipeline to allow the supply of the produced resin as an intermediate. The pigment paste preparation 304 may be connected to the material storage device via a pipeline or a pipe, and sensors may be used to supply the amounts of the corresponding incoming materials and / or intermediate(s) to allow the operating system 208 to control the feeding of the raw materials based on the sensor data. The pigment paste preparation 304 may also allow the addition of raw materials with a defined weight, e.g., a weighted amount of a solid or a liquid supplied as a discrete-packaged product (such as in a bottle or a bag). The pigment paste preparation 304 may be controlled by the operating system 208 described with respect to Figure 2 the received material requirement data or based on the received bill of materials.

[0203] The pigment paste preparation 304 may include a mixing unit (also denoted as a dispersion unit), a grinding unit, and a material storage device. The mixing unit and the grinding unit may be connected via a pipeline or a pipe to allow the mixed materials to lead to the grinding unit(s). A stream of raw materials may be supplied to one or more mixing units for mixing. Thereafter, the mixed materials may be supplied to one or more grinding units to prepare the corresponding pigment paste. The prepared pigment paste may be adjusted to a standardized coloring intensity and supplied to the material storage device.

[0204] The chemical production 204 may further include base varnish production 306. The base varnish production 306 may include one or more mixing units and a material storage device. The base varnish production 306 may be fed a material stream containing the materials necessary for producing the corresponding base varnish. The materials may include intermediate(s) (such as the resin(s) produced by the resin production 302) and incoming materials (such as solvents and additives). The additives may include thickeners, anti-settling agents, anti-sagging agents, light stabilizers, defoamers, adhesion promoters, etc. The base varnish production 306 may be connected to the resin production 302 via a pipeline to allow the supply of the produced resin. The base varnish production 306 may be connected to the material storage device via a pipeline or a pipe, and sensors may be used to supply the amounts of the incoming materials and / or intermediate(s) to allow the operating system 208 to control the incoming materials and / or intermediate(s) fed based on the sensor data. The base varnish production 306 may also allow the addition of incoming materials and / or intermediate(s) with a defined weight. The base varnish production 306 may be controlled by the operating system 208 described with respect to Figure 2The described operating system 208 is controlled based on the received material requirements data or based on the received bill of materials.

[0205] The chemical production 204 may further include a coating material production 308. The coating material production 308 may include one or more mixing units, one or more filtering units, and one or more material storage devices. The coating material production 308 may be fed a material stream containing the materials necessary to produce the corresponding coating material. The materials may include intermediates, such as the pigments pastes produced by the pigment paste preparation 304 and the base varnish produced by the base varnish production 306. The coating material production 308 may be connected via pipes to the base varnish production 306 and the pigment paste preparation 304 to allow the supply of the produced base varnish and pigment pastes. The coating material production 308 may be connected via pipelines or pipes to the material storage devices, and sensors may be used to supply the amounts of the corresponding intermediates to allow the operating system 208 to control the feeding of the intermediates based on the sensor data. The coating material production 308 may be controlled by the Figure 2 described operating system 208 based on the received material requirements data or the received bill of materials.

[0206] The chemical production 204 may further include a packaging unit (not shown) for packaging the coating materials produced by the coating material production 308. The coating materials may be packaged into containers, and the containers may be stored in the material storage devices.

[0207] Figure 3A An embodiment of the system boundary of the chemical production is shown, which includes a resin production 302. The inbound material stream forms the entry point of the chemical production. The coating materials form the exit point of the chemical production.

[0208] Figure 3B Another embodiment of the system boundary of the chemical production is shown, which does not include the resin production 302. The resin feed and additional inbound material feeds form the entry point of the chemical production. The coating materials form the exit point of the chemical production. Figure 3A and Figure 3B The chemical production and system boundary shown in

[0209] Figure 3C A part of the discrete production of discrete products from different materials is shown. The discrete production 322 includes the system boundary. In this example, the inbound material stream forms the entry point of the discrete production 322.

[0210] The inbound material stream may include coating materials (such as by Figure 3A or Figure 3Bchemical production 204 of the coating material) and additional chemical materials, chemical products or components. The inbound materials can be supplied by Layer 1 and / or Layer 2, as Figure 3D shown.

[0211] Form an exit point for discrete production 310 from the discrete products produced by discrete production 310. Chemical discrete production 310 can include different production chains for assembling different components of the discrete products.

[0212] Figure 3D Shows a part of the supply chain for producing discrete products (such as automobiles) from (multiple) chemical products (such as coating materials) and additional chemical materials, chemical products and components.

[0213] Figure 3D The example of shows two layers and the original equipment manufacturer. Layer 1 can be a chemical producer operating chemical production 314. Chemical production 314 can correspond to the chemical production 204 described with respect to Figure 2 The inbound materials (multiple) enter chemical production 314 at any stage of production or at the system boundary 312 of chemical production 314, which can represent the physical boundary of chemical production 314. The material data of each inbound material entering chemical production 314 can be accessed when the (multiple) inbound materials enter. The material data can be received and stored by the method described as with respect to Figure 5 (Multiple) chemical products (such as coating materials) can be produced by chemical production 314 from (multiple) inbound materials and / or (multiple) intermediate products. The (multiple) intermediate products can be produced by chemical production 314 from (multiple) inbound materials and / or from other intermediate products previously produced by chemical production 314. The preferential data associated with the (multiple) produced chemical products can be determined as described with respect to Figures 11 to 14B and can be linked to the produced products. Linking the preferential data to the products can be performed, for example, by linking the determined preferential data to the product identifier associated with the produced product, as described with respect to FIGS. 4 and Figure 5 A product pass including a decentralized identifier and data related to the product data can be generated, and the product data includes the generated preferential data associated with the chemical product, as described with respect to Figure 5 This can allow the product data to be provided to the upstream participants in the supply chain via the data providing service, as described with respect to Figure 5As described. For example, Layer 2 can obtain product data including the generated offer data using decentralized identifiers and data related to the product data via a data consumption service. The obtained product data containing offer data can be used to generate offer data for the products produced by Layer 2, such as regarding Figures 11 to 14B As described.

[0214] The produced chemical product(s) associated with the offer data can be provided as inbound materials to the next layer. In the example shown, Layer 2 can be the production 318 that produces discrete products from the supplied chemical product(s) and other components or materials. The discrete product can be any product associated with different physical units. In contrast to process manufacturing, discrete manufacturing uses such discrete products to assemble other discrete products. The chemical-to-discrete production 318 can be associated with the system boundary 316 as described above. Similar to the chemical production 314, the chemical-to-discrete production 318 can receive access to inbound material data associated with the (inbound) chemical product(s) produced by the chemical production 314, for example, via a data consumption service. The inbound material data can contain the generated offer data associated with the received chemical product(s). The (multiple) discrete outbound products can be produced by the chemical-to-discrete production 318. The chemical-to-discrete production 318 can generate offer data associated with the (multiple) produced discrete products, for example, using the operating system of the chemical-to-discrete production 318, such as Figures 11 to 14B As described. As mentioned above, the (multiple) produced discrete products can be linked to the generated offer data, and the offer data can be provided to the original equipment manufacturer via a data provision service, as described previously.

[0215] The (multiple) outbound discrete products produced by the chemical-to-discrete production 318 can be provided as inbound materials to the original equipment manufacturer that produces the final product. As described previously, the original equipment manufacturer can obtain inbound material data associated with the received (multiple) inbound materials (such as the (multiple) discrete products received from Layer 2), and can use the offer data contained in the received material data to determine the offer data associated with the produced final product. The determined offer data can be linked to the final product identifier of the final product specifying the product supply chain.

[0216] Using inbound material data that includes incentive data associated with corresponding inbound materials allows for the determination of incentive data for the product(s) produced from the inbound materials based on the incentive data included in the accessed inbound material data, without having to perform any time-consuming and error-prone data integration on the incentive data associated with the provided inbound material(s). Additionally, the inbound material data accessed via a data consumption node from a decentralized network allows for simplified and customizable data sharing or exchange from chemical industries to other supply chain participants. In this way, upstream participants in the supply chain can make more reliable and efficient determinations of the incentive data associated with the product(s) produced from the supplied materials, while the ownership of the inbound material data remains with the supplier that supplies the upstream participants. By directly combining the data associated with the inbound material data with a decentralized identifier and optionally one or more authentication mechanisms, more reliable and secure data sharing and exchange can be provided. Further use of one or more authorization mechanisms allows for more flexible data sharing or exchange, enabling multiple data consumption services from different participants in the supply chain to access the inbound material data. By generating the incentive data for the product(s) produced and attaching the generated incentive data as a digital asset to such product(s) produced, the use of the produced product(s) as inbound materials to produce additional product(s) can be directed or controlled based on the associated incentive data (e.g., the associated digital asset including the incentive data). For example, the flow of the produced product(s) delivered by the product producer to downstream participants in the product ecosystem can be controlled or directed by the downstream participants based on the associated incentive data, such that additional products produced from such received product flow can meet the target incentive data.

[0217] Figure 4A An example of an apparatus for generating incentive data associated with a product produced from at least one inbound material is shown.

[0218] In this example, one or more of the inbound material(s) are provided. At least one chemical product can be produced from the provided inbound material(s) through chemical production (such as Figures 3A to 3C chemical production). Product data can be collected by one or more data collectors during and / or after the production of the product, and can be stored on a data storage medium. The collected product data can be correlated with a product identifier to allow access to the product data based on the product identifier.

[0219] The computing node 402 can be part of a production operating system that produces products from one or more inbound materials. The computing node 410 can be a laptop computer, a desktop computer, or any other computing device that includes at least one computing node. The computing node 402 can receive a request for generating offer data associated with a product. The request can contain product data 404, such as a product identifier, product composition data, or other data mentioned previously. The request can be triggered by a barcode reader or scanner that scans a physical identifier, such as a barcode, QR code, or embossed code, present on the physical entity of the product (e.g., on the packaging of the product). For example, a packaging line can include a detector that detects the physical identifier on each package. Based on such identification, the chemical production operating system (see Figure 2 ) can determine the product identifier associated with the physical identifier and can generate the request by obtaining the corresponding product data associated with the determined product identifier. The product data can be obtained from a database (such as the company's ERP system) using the determined product identifier (such as a unique ID, product name, etc.).

[0220] Each inbound material provided can be associated with inbound material data 406 that contains offer data associated with the inbound material, such as the origin of the material, the offer eligibility of the material, and optionally any non-offer substances contained in the material. The offer data can conform to the supplier statement associated with the corresponding inbound material.

[0221] The inbound material data 406 can further include the previously described data, such as physical data associated with the inbound material, inbound material statement data, inbound material safety data, analysis certificate data associated with the physical entity of the inbound material, inbound material emission data, recycled content data associated with the physical entity of the inbound material, bio-based content data associated with the physical entity of the inbound material, inbound material production data, and combinations thereof.

[0222] A data consumption node (not shown) can be used to collect inbound material data associated with the received (multiple) inbound materials from a decentralized network, as described with respect to Figure 1D 、 Figure 5 and Figure 6 . Using a data consumption node to collect at least a portion of the material data via a decentralized network allows the computing node 402 to use the offer data associated with the inbound materials without any prior data integration step, thus avoiding errors that can occur when integrating data into an existing system to generate offer data.

[0223] The obtained inbound material data can be stored on a data storage medium (such as a database or a dedicated storage device) associated with the data consumption service. The obtained inbound material data can be stored on a data storage medium (such as a database) associated with the data consumption service using corresponding (multiple) inbound material identifiers. The computing node 402 can obtain preferential data from the obtained inbound material data. For this purpose, the computing node 402 can determine (multiple) inbound material identifiers associated with the (multiple) inbound materials used in the production of the product based on the received product data 404, and can use the determined (multiple) inbound material identifiers to obtain the corresponding preferential data associated with the determined (multiple) identifiers.

[0224] The computing node 402 can be connected to a database 408 containing (multiple) origin rules. The computing node 402 can be configured to generate preferential data associated with the produced product 410 based on the received product data 404, the preferential data obtained from the inbound material data 406, and the (multiple) origin rules obtained from the database 408. The preferential data can be generated using the method described later with respect to Figure 11 The generated preferential data 408 can be provided via a communication interface, for example, provided to a display device for display on a screen. The generated preferential data 410 can be associated with a product identifier associated with the produced product, and can be stored on a data storage medium (such as a database). The stored preferential data 410 can be used together with additional product data to generate a product pass. The product pass can include preferential data, digital product identifiers, and optionally additional product data. The digital product identifiers can include (multiple) decentralized identifiers associated with the product. The product pass can be associated with a digital access element. The digital access element can include a representation for accessing the product pass or a part thereof. The digital access element can allow access to the associated product pass or a part thereof. The digital access element can be stored in a decentralized registry associated with the data owner of the product pass. The data owner can control access to such a decentralized registry, for example, via an associated decentralized data providing network node. Figure 7 and Figure 8 Examples of such digital access elements are given in

[0225] When producing a product or when the product of a chemical production leaves, (multiple) product passes associated with the produced product(s) can be generated. The (multiple) product passes can be generated by a device for generating the (multiple) product passes. The device can correspond, for example, to computing node 402 or any other computing node of a chemical production operation or any other computing node associated with a chemical production operation. The device can be configured to receive a request for providing a decentralized identifier. The requester can be configured to generate a request for a decentralized identifier. The request can be triggered by a tagging system such as a QR code generator. The request for providing a decentralized identifier can be provided to a digital ID generator, which is configured to generate a decentralized identifier. For example, a computing node (acting as a management module, user agent, ID center, and / or certificate issuer for the DID owner) can receive an indication for generating a decentralized identifier. The indication can include providing at least one authentication mechanism or selecting at least one of multiple authentication mechanisms. The decentralized ID generator can provide the generated digital identifier to a decentralized ID provider. The decentralized ID generator and the decentralized ID provider can be separate units or can be combined within a single unit.

[0226] The decentralized ID provider can provide the decentralized identifier to the requester. The requester can be configured to associate the received decentralized identifier with the produced product. The requester can include an ID assigner configured to assign the received decentralized identifier to a physical identifier. Such an association can include encoding the decentralized identifier into a code and providing the code to label the product. Such an association can include linking the decentralized identifier to a physical identifier present on the product. In this way, a physical identifier can be provided such that the physical entity of the product is associated with the provided decentralized identifier.

[0227] The decentralized ID provider can provide the decentralized identifier to a product pass generator, which is configured to generate a product pass based on the decentralized identifier received from the decentralized ID provider and product data. The generated product pass can include a digital identifier and product data. The product pass can include or relate to one or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier and / or product data. The authentication mechanism can be used as described, for example, in Figure 9A the context of. The product pass can relate to one or more authorization mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier and / or product data. The authorization mechanism can be used as described, for example, in Figure 9Bused as described in the context of. The product pass can be stored on a dedicated storage device associated with a data owner (such as a product producer). The dedicated storage device can be associated with a data providing node configured to provide product data via a decentralized network in response to a request from a data consuming node, such as as described in Figure 5 in the context of.

[0228] The product pass generator can further be configured to generate a digital representation associated with the product. The digital representation can hereinafter be referred to as an access element. The generated digital representation can include a digital identifier and a representation for accessing product data (e.g., access data). The access data can include one or more digital representations pointing to the product data or a portion thereof. The access element can include or relate to one or more authentication mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier and / or access data. The authentication mechanism can be used as, for example, in Figure 9A in the context of. The digital access element can relate to one or more authorization mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier and / or access data. The authorization mechanism can be used as, for example, in Figure 9B in the context of. At least a portion of the data included in the digital access element can be propagated to a decentralized registry associated with a data providing node that provides the associated product data. The decentralized registry can be under the control of the data owner of the product data. The access element can be used to access at least a portion of the product pass, for example, as in Figure 5 and Figure 6 in the context of.

[0229] The generated product pass can be provided to a product pass provider. The product pass provider can be configured to provide the product pass for access by a data consuming node of a decentralized network (such as the decentralized network 166 described in Figure 6 in the context of). The product pass provider can control access by the data consuming node. The product pass provider can be a data providing node associated with product production. The product pass provider can be associated with or under the control of the data owner of the product data associated with the generated product pass. The data owner can be the product producer.

[0230] Figure 4B Shows an example of an apparatus for generating incentive data associated with a product produced from at least one inbound material and / or at least one intermediate product.

[0231] In this example, one or more of the (multiple) inbound materials are provided. At least one intermediate product can be produced from the provided (multiple) inbound materials. The product can be produced from the (multiple) intermediate products and optionally one or more of the inbound materials. Intermediate product data can be collected by one or more data collectors during and / or after the production of the intermediate product, and can be stored on a data storage medium. Product data can be collected by one or more data collectors during and / or after the production of the product, and can be stored on a data storage medium. The collected intermediate product data can be associated with an intermediate product identifier to allow access to the intermediate product data based on the intermediate product identifier. The collected product data can be associated with a product identifier to allow access to the product data based on the product identifier.

[0232] Computing node 402 can receive a request to generate incentive data associated with a product, as described with respect to Figure 4A described.

[0233] A data consumption node (not shown) can be used to access inbound material data associated with the received (multiple) inbound materials via a decentralized network as described with respect to Figure 5 and Figure 6 described. Incentive data included in the accessed and optionally stored inbound material data can be obtained by computing node 402, as described with respect to Figure 4A described.

[0234] Computing node 402 can be connected to a database 408 that contains (multiple) origin rules. Computing node 402 can be configured to generate incentive data for the (multiple) intermediate products. Computing node 402 can be configured to obtain intermediate product data based on the product data included in the received request. For example, product composition data can be used to determine intermediate product data, such as intermediate product composition data. The data can be used to determine the (multiple) inbound materials used to produce the intermediate product. Additionally, the data can be used to determine whether incentive data for the corresponding intermediate product has been previously determined. Computing node 402 can be configured to generate incentive data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products based on the obtained incentive data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials used to produce the (multiple) intermediate products, the obtained intermediate product data, and the origin rules obtained from database 408. Can be used by computing node 402 later with respect to Figure 12The described method generates preferential data. The computing node 402 can be configured to generate preferential data for a second intermediate product produced at least in part from a first intermediate product based on preferential data previously generated by the computing node 402, optionally preferential data obtained associated with inbound materials used for producing the second intermediate product, the obtained intermediate product data, and the origin rules obtained from the database 408. The method described later with respect to Figure 12 can be used by the computing node 402 to generate preferential data. The first intermediate product and the second intermediate product are produced by the same chemical production, such as Figure 3A and Figure 3B as described therein. The computing node 402 can be configured to generate preferential data associated with the produced product based on the obtained origin rules, the obtained preferential data associated with (multiple) inbound materials and / or the generated preferential data associated with (multiple) intermediate products, and the received product data 406. The method described later with respect to Figure 12 can be used by the computing node 402 to generate preferential data. The generated preferential data 408 can be provided via a communication interface, for example, provided to a display device for display on a screen. The generated preferential data 410 can be associated with a product identifier associated with the produced product and can be stored on a data storage medium (such as a database). The stored preferential data 410 can be used together with additional product data to generate a product pass. Figure 7 and Figure 8 give examples of such product passes.

[0235] Figure 5 shows an example of a system for producing at least one product associated with preferential data.

[0236] The system can include a production 204 (such as a chemical production or a chemical production network (see, for example, Figure 3A and Figure 3B )) and an operating system 208. Inbound materials 202 can be provided to the production 204. The inbound materials 202 can enter the system boundary of the production 204 at an entry point, such as a resin factory, a pigment paste factory, a coating material production, or a material storage device. The inbound materials 202 can be used in the production 204 to produce one or more intermediate products and / or one or more products from the inbound materials. The (multiple) products can be provided at an exit point of the production 204. The intermediate products and the products can include chemical products, such as pigment paste, base varnish, diluent, rheology modifier, and coating material. The inbound materials can be associated with (multiple) decentralized identifiers. The (multiple) decentralized identifiers can be linked to or associated with the inbound material data.

[0237] The inbound material data associated with the inbound material can be accessed by a data consumption node 150, for example, via a decentralized network using the (multiple) decentralized identifiers associated with the (multiple) inbound materials 202 from a data providing node 148. The data consumption node 150 and the data providing node 148 can be part of a decentralized network (such as Figure 1D the decentralized network 166 shown in). The data providing node 148 can be associated with an entity that produces the (multiple) inbound materials (such as an input material supplier 134). The data consumption node 150 can be associated with an entity that consumes data, such as a chemical product producer 130 that uses the (multiple) inbound materials to produce a chemical product and consumes the material data associated with such inbound materials. The inbound material data can be obtained when, before, or after one or more inbound materials are provided at the entry point of production 204.

[0238] The decentralized identifier can be assigned to a physical identifier connected to the corresponding provided inbound material. The connection of the physical identifier to the corresponding inbound product can be provided by a physical connection to the physical entity of the corresponding inbound material. The physical identifier can be physically attached to the corresponding inbound material via an identifier element, such as a marker embedded in the material, a barcode, a QR code, a tag similar to an RFID tag, or a similar physical arrangement that allows a chemical product to be digitally identified.

[0239] A physical identifier can be provided by a sensor that reads a physical identifier element, which is connected to a corresponding inbound material. Sensor data can be provided to an operating system 208, and the operating system 208 can use the provided sensor data to determine a decentralized identifier. The provided sensor data can include the physical identifier. The provided sensor data can include a digital material identifier associated with the inbound material. For example, the operating system 208 may be able to directly determine the decentralized identifier based on the received sensor data. The determined decentralized identifier can be stored in a database associated with the operating system 208. In another example, the operating system 208 can obtain the decentralized identifier through a decentralized network. The operating system 208 can be configured to generate query data to query the decentralized network 166 for the (multiple) decentralized identifiers associated with the provided sensor data. The query data can include at least a portion of the provided sensor data, such as the physical identifier or the digital material identifier. The query data can be used by a data consumption node 150 connected to the operating system 208 to query the decentralized network 166. The data consumption node 150 can be associated with a data user (such as production 204 or a legal or natural person operating production 204). The query data can be used to query a decentralized registry associated with a data provision node operated by a data owner (such as a material data owner). The decentralized registry can store data related to the material data. The digital representation can include the (multiple) decentralized identifiers and a representation for accessing the corresponding material data associated with the (multiple) decentralized identifiers. The (multiple) decentralized identifiers received by the data consumption node 150 in response to providing the query data to the decentralized network 166 can be provided by the data consumption node 150 to the operating system 208.

[0240] The operating system 208 can use the decentralized identifier to obtain a DID document associated with the (multiple) decentralized identifiers, and can provide data related to the inbound material data included in the DID document (such as the (multiple) endpoint addresses of the data provision node associated with the inbound material data linked to such (multiple) decentralized identifiers) to the data consumption node 150. The operating system 208 can be configured to request, for example via a DID resolver service, the DID document associated with the (multiple) decentralized identifiers. The DID resolver service can resolve the endpoint addresses included in the DID document based on the received (multiple) decentralized identifiers, and can provide the (multiple) resolved endpoint addresses to the operating system 208.

[0241] The data consumption node 150 can be configured to collect data related to the inbound material data, such as representations for accessing the inbound material data using (multiple) decentralized identifiers. The (multiple) representations for access can include (multiple) endpoint addresses of (multiple) data provider nodes (such as the data provider node 148) associated with the corresponding inbound material data from a database of the decentralized network (such as the decentralized registry 514). The decentralized registry can store access elements, which include data related to the inbound materials and decentralized identifiers associated with the materials. The access elements can be associated with the corresponding inbound materials via (multiple) decentralized identifiers. The decentralized registry 514 can be associated with the data owner of the data of the inbound materials associated with such access elements. The decentralized registry 514 can be associated with the data provider node 148, which is associated with or under the control of the data owner of the inbound material data (such as the input material supplier 134). Access to the decentralized registry 514 can be controlled by the data owner via the associated data provider node 148.

[0242] Based on the received (multiple) decentralized identifiers and the data related to the material data, the data consumption node 150 can trigger a request to access the inbound material data associated with the corresponding (multiple) decentralized identifiers. The (multiple) decentralized identifiers can be provided to the data provider node 148 associated with the producer of the corresponding inbound material 202. Additionally, authentication and / or authorization information can be provided. Access to the inbound material data can be based on an owner identifier associated with the data owner (such as the data owner of the corresponding inbound material data). Access to the inbound material data can be based on a decentralized participant identifier associated with or related to the data consumption node 150. The decentralized participant identifier can be associated with the entity operating the data consumption node 150. The decentralized participant identifier can uniquely identify a participant within the decentralized network 166. The inbound material data 406 can be exchanged between the interface of the data owner and the interface of the data user via the data provider node 148 and the data consumption node 150. The data provider node 148 and the data consumption node 150 can each include a data connector to allow for a secure and trusted exchange of material data. The exchange or sharing of data can be performed according to a predefined authorization mechanism as described with respect to Figure 8 A Figure 8 B.

[0243] The request can be authenticated and / or authorized to access the inbound material data associated with the decentralized identifier. Based on successful authorization and / or authentication, the data provider node 148 can grant access to the inbound material data associated with the decentralized identifier.

[0244] To access the inbound material data 406, the (multiple) decentralized identifiers received by the data providing node 148 can be used by the service to obtain the inbound material data associated with the (multiple) decentralized identifiers. After successful authentication and authorization at the data consuming node 150, the inbound material data can be obtained from the dedicated storage device 506 associated with the data providing node 148. The inbound material data 406 associated with the (multiple) decentralized identifiers provided to the data providing node 148 can be provided to the data consuming node 150. The inbound material data 406 provided by the interface of the data owner can be associated with an authorization mechanism (such as a usage policy) that specifies authorization rules (such as data usage rules). According to the usage policy attached to the inbound material data 406 provided by the interface of the data owner, the interface of the data user can access the inbound material data 406 provided by the interface of the data owner via the data providing node 148. This may require contract negotiation between the services, and the inbound material data 406 can be provided only after the negotiation is successfully completed. For example, the promotional data included in the material data 406 can be access-restricted (i.e., can be associated with an authorization scheme), and access can be granted only after the data consuming node 150 agrees to the terms of use of the access-restricted data proposed by the data providing node 148.

[0245] The data consuming node 150 can store the inbound material data 406 received from the data providing node 148 in the data storage device 508 connected to the data consuming node 150 according to the data usage rules.

[0246] The inbound material 202 fed into the production 204 can be used to produce one or more intermediate products and / or one or more products. For example, the inbound material can be the raw material for producing a coating material, and the production 204 produces a coating material, as described with respect to Figure 3A and Figure 3B described. The provision of the (multiple) inbound materials required for producing the (multiple) intermediate products and / or the (multiple) products can be controlled and / or managed by the operating system 208 based on the material requirement data, as described with respect to Figure 2 described. The provision of the (multiple) intermediate products required for producing the (multiple) additional intermediate products and / or the (multiple) products can be controlled and / or managed by the operating system 208 based on the material requirement data, as described with respect to Figure 2 described.

[0247] The produced product can be provided with a product identifier. The product identifier can be a label of a physical entity attached to the product, or can be a virtual identifier included in production data. The label can be scanned, and a part of the product data (i.e., the product identifier) can be provided to the operating system 208, for example, via a computing interface. Providing the product identifier to the operating system 208 can be triggered by a request for generating the preferential data 410 of the produced product(s). The request can be received by the operating system 208, and the operating system 208 can trigger the provision of the product identifier. The request can be included in a production order for ordering the produced product, for example, when preferential data needs to be provided for the produced product, or if the produced product is to be shipped to one or more predefined countries. The production order(s) can be received by the chemical operation operating system 208, and the chemical operation operating system 208 can determine whether to generate preferential data for the produced product. Providing the product identifier to the operating system 208 can trigger a request for generating the preferential data 410 of the produced product(s). The request can include product data, such as a product identifier, product composition data, customs tariff classification, or a combination thereof. Triggering the generation of preferential data may also require obtaining the product data included in the request. For example, triggering the generation of preferential data can cause the operating system 208 to obtain the product data to be included in the request.

[0248] The operating system 208 can obtain the inbound material data 406 associated with the corresponding inbound materials used for producing the product. The inbound material data 406 can be obtained from the data storage device 508 using the decentralized identifier(s) or the material identifier(s) associated with the inbound material(s) used for producing the product. The inbound material(s) used can be determined by the operating system 208 based on a bill of materials or a recipe associated with the received product identifier. The operating system 208 can generate the preferential data of the intermediate product(s) used for producing the product by obtaining the intermediate product data based on the received product data. The inbound material data 406 associated with the inbound materials used for producing the intermediate product(s) can be determined from the intermediate product data and obtained from the data storage device 508. The operating system 208 can obtain the previously determined preferential data associated with the intermediate product(s) used for producing the product, for example, for a database such as the data storage device 408. For example, the product can be produced from a second intermediate product, which in turn can be produced from a first intermediate product. In this case, the preferential data of the first intermediate product can be determined using the inbound material data, as described later with respect to Figure 12 that described. The preferential data of the second intermediate product can be determined using the determined preferential data of the first intermediate product.

[0249] The operating system 208 can further obtain the rules of origin from the data storage device 508. The data storage device can be the same data storage device that stores the inbound material data 406 or a different data storage device (not shown). The operating system 208 can obtain the rule(s) of origin based on the country data. The country data can be obtained by the operating system 208 from the data storage device using the product identifier, can be obtained from the production order, or can be provided to the operating system 208, for example, by the user triggering the generation of the preferential data 410. The operating system 208 can obtain the rule(s) of origin based on the product identifier. The operating system 208 can use the product identifier to obtain additional product data, such as price data and / or customs tariff classification. The data can also be included in the received request.

[0250] Using the inbound material data 406 and / or the preferential data generated for the intermediate product(s) and / or the preferential data obtained for the intermediate product(s), the rule(s) of origin, and the product data, the operating system 208 can generate the preferential data 410 associated with the product, as described with respect to Figures 11 to 14B that described. The generated preferential data 410 can be associated with the product identifier and can be stored in the data storage device. The generated preferential data can (optionally together with other product data) be associated with the decentralized identifier to generate the product pass, as described with respect to Figure 4A that described. The product pass can be provided to the downstream participants to whom the physical entity of the produced product is supplied. The product pass can represent a digital asset associated with the physical product. The generated preferential data associated with the product identifier can be provided to the downstream participants to whom the physical entity of the produced product is supplied via the product pass.

[0251] By generating such digital assets associated with the produced product(s), the use of the produced product(s) as inbound materials to produce additional product(s) can be guided or controlled based on the associated preferential data included in such digital asset(s). For example, the flow of the produced product delivered by the product producer to the downstream participants in the product ecosystem can be controlled or guided by the downstream participants based on the associated preferential data, such that the additional products produced from such received product flow can meet the target preferential data.

[0252] Figure 6 An example of a method or apparatus for providing preferential data associated with inbound materials and products across the value chain via a decentralized network is schematically shown.

[0253] In Figure 6In the example, a fully connected value chain including a chemical production network 204 is shown. In this example, the (multiple) inbound material providers, product producers, and end-product producers can be connected via a decentralized network as described in the context of Figure 1C and Figure 5 . The preferential data can be provided in the form of passes or digital assets associated with the physical entities of the inbound materials, products, any intermediate products, or end products via an ID-based schema described in the context of Figure 5 .

[0254] (Multiple) inbound material providers can provide (multiple) inbound materials. The (multiple) inbound materials can include chemical materials, discrete materials, or a combination thereof (see, for example, Figure 3D ). The preferential data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials can be provided by (multiple) data providing nodes 148 associated with the (multiple) inbound material providers and connected to a decentralized network as described in the context of Figure 5 . Product producers can produce products at least in part from the (multiple) inbound materials provided to the chemical production network 204. Product producers can produce (multiple) intermediate products from a portion of the provided inbound materials. Product producers can produce products at least in part using the (multiple) produced intermediate products. Product producers can access the preferential data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials used to produce the products through data consumption nodes 150 connected to a decentralized network as described in the context of Figure 5 . The preferential data can be obtained from the (multiple) data providing nodes 148 associated with the respective (multiple) inbound material providers. Product producers can generate preferential data for the produced products via an operating system 208 as described in the context of Figures 2 to 4B . Product producers can assign the generated preferential data to the produced products as described in the context of Figures 13 to 14B . Product producers can provide the preferential data associated with the (multiple) produced products by connecting to data providing nodes 150 connected to a decentralized network as described in the context of Figure 5 . Product consumers or end-product producers can access the preferential data associated with the (multiple) produced products through data consumption nodes 154 associated with the respective product consumers or end-product producers and connected to a decentralized network as described in the context of Figure 5 .

[0255] In this example, the corresponding preferential data owner can be the inbound material producer, the product producer, and the final product producer. The data owner can include any entity that generates data. The data generation node can be coupled to the data owner, or to an entity that owns or produces the (multiple) physical inbound materials, (multiple) products, (multiple) intermediate products, or (multiple) final products from which or for which the data is generated. The data can be generated by a third-party entity on behalf of an entity that owns the (multiple) physical inbound materials, (multiple) products, (multiple) intermediate products, or (multiple) final products from which or for which the data is generated.

[0256] In Figure 6 the example, the decentralized identifier can be related to the final product. Such a decentralized identifier can be provided to the value chain participants. Via the decentralized identifier specific to the final product, preferential data associated with the final product produced from the product can be generated across the production chain and assigned to the decentralized identifier specific to the final product. For example, the preferential data associated with the final product can be generated from the preferential data associated with the product.

[0257] In this way, the preferential data of the produced product can be easily determined using the preferential data of the (multiple) materials used to produce the product, while allowing the participants in the supply chain to control the information flow. Additionally, as Figure 2 described in the context of the production operating system, the preferential data can be processed according to the needs of each participant.

[0258] Figure 7 shows an example of an ID-based digital representation of owner data, material data, or product data and a decentralized identity manager. The digital representation can represent access elements for accessing material data or product data respectively.

[0259] The ID can be a decentralized ID (DID). The ID-based digital representation can be a DID document associated with the DID. The ID-based owner data can include an ID associated with a subject such as inbound material data or product data, and can include an authentication mechanism. The ID-based owner data can include owner data electronically owned and controlled by the DID owner. In this context, electronically owning can refer to data stored in an owner repository or wallet. Such data can be securely stored and / or managed on an organizational server or a client device. The ID-based owner data can include a DID, a private key, and a public key. The ID-based owner can own and control the DID representing the identity associated with the DID subject, and the private key and public key pair associated with the DID. The DID can be understood as an identifier and the authentication information associated with or uniquely linked to the identifier.

[0260] The DID subject can be a raw material, a basic substance, a chemical product, an intermediate product, a component, a component assembly, or a final product. The DID subject can be a machine, a system, or a device for producing a raw material, a basic substance, a chemical product, an intermediate product, a component, a component assembly, or a final product, or a collection of such (multiple) machines, (multiple) devices, and / or (multiple) systems. The DID owner can be a supply chain participant or a manufacturer, such as a chemical manufacturer producing chemicals. The DID owner can be an upstream participant in the supply chain of a chemical manufacturer, such as a supplier supplying raw material chemical products or precursors for producing chemicals. The DID owner can be a downstream participant in the supply chain of a chemical manufacturer, such as a customer consuming chemicals to produce intermediate products, components, component assemblies, or final products. The DID owner can be any participant in the supply chain including a raw material chemical product supplier, an intermediate chemical product manufacturer, an intermediate part manufacturer, a component manufacturer, a component assembly manufacturer, or a final product manufacturer, or a collection thereof.

[0261] The DID can be any identifier associated with the DID subject and / or the DID owner. Preferably, the identifier is unique for the DID subject and / or the DID owner. The identifier can be unique at least within the scope where the DID is expected to be used. The identifier can be a locally or globally unique identifier for the following: raw materials, precursors, basic substances, chemical products, intermediate products, components, component assemblies, final products, or a collection thereof; machines, systems, or devices for producing raw materials, basic substances, chemical products, intermediate products, components, component assemblies, or final products, or such (multiple) machines, (multiple) devices, and / or (multiple) systems; chemical manufacturers producing chemicals, upstream participants in the supply chain of a chemical manufacturer, downstream participants in the supply chain of a chemical manufacturer, or a collection thereof; any participant in the supply chain including a raw material chemical product supplier, an intermediate chemical product manufacturer, an intermediate part manufacturer, a component manufacturer, a component assembly manufacturer, or a final product manufacturer, or a collection thereof.

[0262] The DID can be a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), such as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The DID can be an Internationalized Resource Identifier (IRI). The DID can be a random string of numbers and letters to enhance security. In one embodiment, the DID can be a string of 128 letters and numbers, for example: in this paradigm: did:method name:method - specific did, such as did:example:ebfeb1f712ebc6f1c276e12ec21. The DID can be decentralized, independent of a centralized third - party management system, and under the control of the DID owner.

[0263] A digital representation of a DID document can be associated with the DID. Thus, the digital representation can include a reference to the DID that is associated with the DID subject described by the DID document. The DID document can also include authentication information such as a public key. The public key can be used by a third-party entity to whom the DID owner / subject has given permission to access the information and data owned by the DID owner / subject. The public key can also be used to verify whether the DID owner actually owns or controls the DID. The DID document can include authentication information, authorization information, for example, for authorizing a third-party entity to read the DID document or certain parts of the DID document, without, for example, giving the third party the right to prove DID ownership.

[0264] The digital representation can include one or more representations that are digitally linked, for example, via a service endpoint, to inbound material data or product data. The service endpoint can include a network address that runs a service on behalf of the DID owner. In particular, the service endpoint can refer to a service to which the DID owner has given access rights to inbound material data or product data, such as (a plurality of) data provider nodes of a decentralized network. Such a service can include a service for reading or analyzing inbound material data or product data. The inbound material data or product data can include benefit data associated with the inbound material or product, and can further include chemical product declaration data, chemical product safety data, analysis certificate data, emission data, product carbon footprint data, product environmental footprint data, chemical product specification data, product information, technical application data, production data, or a combination thereof.

[0265] The digital representation can include various other information, such as metadata specifying when the digital representation was created, when it was last modified, and / or when it expires.

[0266] The DID and the digital representation can be associated with a data registration node such as a centralized data service system or a decentralized data service system (e.g., a distributed ledger or blockchain or decentralized file system). Possible blockchain systems include Quorum, Hyperledger Fabric. The distributed ledger or blockchain can be used to store the representation of the DID that points to the material passport or product passport. The representation of the DID can be stored on the distributed computing nodes of the distributed ledger or blockchain. For example, the DID hash can be stored on multiple computing nodes of the distributed ledger and point to the location of the material passport or product passport. In some embodiments, the material passport or product passport can be stored on the distributed ledger. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the DID document can be stored in a data store associated with the distributed ledger or blockchain or decentralized file system.

[0267] A distributed ledger or blockchain can be any decentralized distributed network that includes various computing nodes that communicate with each other. For example, a distributed ledger can include a first distributed computing node, a second distributed computing node, a third distributed computing node, and any number of additional distributed computing nodes. A distributed ledger or blockchain can operate according to any known standard or method for distributed ledgers. A distributed ledger or blockchain 1806 can include known technology stacks such as Bitcoin (see, for example, the Bitcoin documentation released on November 11, 2022: https: / / en.bitcoin.it / wiki / Protocol_documentation), Ethereum (see, for example, the Ethereum documentation released on August 15, 2022: https: / / ethereum.org / en / developers / docs / ), Solana (see, for example, the Solana documentation released on November 11, 2022: https: / / spl.solana.com / ), Polygon (see, for example, the Polygon documentation released on November 11, 2022: https: / / wiki.polygon.technology / ), or other implementations, which vary in the degree to which they perform data transactions on the distributed ledger. The description of the example framework is for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered restrictive.

[0268] Figure 8 Examples of ID-based digital representations of certificate data, material data, or product data and an identity manager are shown. The digital representation can represent access elements for accessing material data or product data, respectively.

[0269] Compared with the example of Figure 7 the example of Figure 8 is certificate-based. ID-based certificate data can include authentication data for the certificate owner and the certificate issuer. For example, an encrypted signature from the issuer can bind the public key of the data owner to the ID. The ID can be a unique ID (such as a UID) as described for the DID of Figure 7 The certificate can be an X.509 certificate, such as X509v3. The ID-based digital representation can be associated with the data source of the data owner. The ID-based digital representation can include the ID, authentication data, and an endpoint associated with the inbound material data or product data. Such an endpoint can include any digital representation that connects to or points to the data source. The data source can store and provide the inbound material data and / or product data.

[0270] In this certificate-based example, the ID-based digital representation includes one or more certificates associated with the data owner. These certificates can be associated with an identity manager that includes, for example, a certificate issuance service and / or a dynamic provisioning service that provides dynamic attribute tokens (e.g., OAuth access tokens). Information required to verify the certificates is provided via an authentication registry associated with the certificate issuance service and / or the dynamic provisioning service. For example, in the IDSA Reference Architecture Model Version 3.0 of April 2019, connectors associated with the data owner, certificate authority (CA), dynamic attribute provisioning service (DAPS), and the data consumer node are used to verify identities (not shown) before performing data exchange. For this purpose, such connectors include one or more certificates, such as (multiple) X.509 certificates. In this way, the connector has a unique identifier embedded in the X.509 certificate, thereby identifying the connector instance.

[0271] Figure 9A and Figure 9B each illustrate an example method for authentication to access material data via (multiple) decentralized identifiers and optionally data related to the material data. During the authentication process, various communication modes can be implemented to verify identities.

[0272] Figure 9A shows an example communication mode that can occur between a data providing node and a data consuming node. The data providing node 148 and the data consuming node 150 can be part of a decentralized network described, for example, in Figure 1D and Figure 5 In this case, the data providing node can act as a verification entity without using a separate service for authentication.

[0273] The data consuming node 150 can request a service from the data providing node 148. The request can include the (multiple) decentralized identifiers of the data consuming node 150.

[0274] In response to the request, the data providing node 148 can access a registry (such as a centralized or decentralized authentication registry) to obtain data related to the (multiple) authentication mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier. For example, a centralized authentication registry can provide data related to the authentication mechanism via an authentication service that issues access tokens. Further, for example, a decentralized authentication registry can provide data related to the authentication mechanism by generating a request token. The data related to the authentication mechanism can include the public key of the data consumption service.

[0275] Based on the obtained data related to the (multiple) authentication mechanisms, the data providing node 148 can generate an authentication request (e.g., corresponding to an authentication request token or a dynamic attribute token). The authentication request can be generated based on the public key or certificate of the data consuming node 150 and / or the private key or certificate of the data provider node 148. The generated authentication request can be sent to the data consuming node 150.

[0276] Based on the received authentication request, the data consuming node 150 can generate authentication data for responding to the authentication request. The generated authentication data can be sent back to the data providing node 148.

[0277] After receiving a response including the authentication data from the data consuming node 150, the data providing node 148 can then verify the authentication data. In response to the verification, the data providing node 148 can grant or deny the service request of the data consuming node 150. In the case of granting access, the data consuming node 150 can provide the (multiple) decentralized identifiers associated with the corresponding inbound material data to be obtained and the decentralized participant identifier associated with the data consuming node 150, and the data providing service can verify the provided (multiple) decentralized identifiers and the decentralized participant identifier, and (after confirmation) can provide the data associated with the (multiple) decentralized identifiers, such as the inbound material data associated with the corresponding inbound material.

[0278] The verification can include authorizing access to the inbound material data based on the access policy data associated with the inbound material data. The access policy data can define the (multiple) decentralized participant identifiers allowed to access the inbound material data. The access policy data can define one or more authorization rules associated with the use of the inbound material data. The access policy data can define one or more actions allowed to be performed on the inbound material data by the data consuming node. This allows filtering the decentralized data consuming nodes requesting access based on the (multiple) decentralized participant identifiers associated with the network nodes and the requested actions to be performed on the accessed inbound material data. If the request is not authorized, for example, if the decentralized data consuming network node 122 is not authorized to access the inbound material data, the data providing node 148 will terminate the peer - to - peer communication channel and will not provide the inbound material data.

[0279] If the request is authorized, the data provider node 148 may initiate a contract negotiation with the data consumer node 150 before providing the inbound material data. The data provider node 148 may provide an electronic contract to the data consumer node 150. The electronic contract may include one or more authorization rules associated with a decentralized identifier. This allows the data consumer to determine the usage conditions associated with the provided inbound material data. The data provider node 148 and the data consumer node 150 may be configured to negotiate the electronic contract and sign the negotiated electronic contract. The use of the electronic contract ensures that the data consumer node 150 and additional systems processing the inbound material data comply with at least one authorization rule associated with the inbound material data. After signing the electronic contract, the inbound material data may be collected based on the provided (multiple) decentralized identifiers, and access policy data may be applied to the collected data. The inbound material data resulting from applying the access policy data to the collected inbound material data may be provided by the data provider node 148 to the data consumer node 150.

[0280] Figure 9B Another example communication pattern that may occur between the data provider node 148, the data consumer node 150, and the authentication service is shown. The data provider node 148 and the data consumer node 150 may be part of a decentralized network such as described in the Figure 1D and Figure 5 context.

[0281] First, the data consumer node 150 may request a service or initiate communication with the data provider node 148. The request may include a decentralized identifier, such as the DID or certificate of the data consumer node 150.

[0282] After receiving the request, the data provider node 148 may access the distributed ledger to obtain one or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier. Based on the obtained (multiple) authentication mechanisms, the service provider may generate an authentication request. After receiving the request, the data provider node 148 may generate an authentication request.

[0283] Here, at least one of the obtained authentication mechanisms may be provided via the authentication service 910. Thus, in some embodiments, the generated authentication request may be directly sent to the authentication service 910. After receiving the authentication request from the data provider node 148, the authentication service 910 may generate authentication data.

[0284] The authentication data generated by the authentication service 910 may be sent to the data consumer node 150.

[0285] Then, data consumption node 150 can in turn pass the authentication data to data provider node 148. After receiving the authentication data, data provider node 148 can then verify the authentication data. In response to the verification, data provider node 148 can grant or deny the service request of data consumption node 150, e.g., as described in the context of Figure 9A . In the case of granting access, data consumption node 150 can provide the (multiple) decentralized identifiers associated with the corresponding inbound material data to be obtained and the decentralized participant identifier associated with data consumption node 150, and data provider node 148 can verify the provided (multiple) decentralized identifiers and (upon confirmation) can provide the data associated with the (multiple) decentralized identifiers, such as the material data associated with the corresponding inbound material, e.g., as described in the context of Figure 9A .

[0286] Alternatively, in some embodiments, after data provider node 148 can generate an authentication request, data provider node 148 can send the authentication request to data consumption node 150. Data consumption node 150 can pass the authentication request to authentication service 910.

[0287] Further, after authentication service 910 can generate authentication data, in some embodiments, the authentication service only contacts data consumer node 150 to notify receipt of the authentication request and obtain consent. When data consumer node 150 receives the notification, data consumer node 150 can consent and send the consent back to authentication service 910. After receiving the consent, the authentication service can then send the authentication data directly to data provider node 148.

[0288] Finally, in many transactions, authentication can be performed mutually by two nodes. In such mutual authentication, each participating node is both a principal entity and a verifying entity. Data consumption node 150 and data provider node 148 can control their decentralized identities. Initially, the services can exchange their decentralized identities. Next, each of these services can access the distributed ledger or the authentication service to obtain the (multiple) authentication mechanisms of each other. Then, each service can generate its own authentication request based on the (multiple) authentication methods of the other IDs. Then, the generated authentication data can be sent to the other nodes. After receiving each other's authentication data, each node can verify the received authentication data. Based on the verification result, these nodes can then perform additional communications, e.g., one node can grant or deny the service request of another node.

[0289] Figure 9A and Figure 9BOnly examples of authentication protocols are shown. Additionally, although communication arrows are discussed in a certain order or presented in a communication sequence, no specific order is required unless otherwise stated or because one communication depends on another communication that needs to be completed before transmitting that communication.

[0290] Figures 10A to 10C Different example configurations of digital representations of inbound material data and / or product data anchored by decentralized identifiers are shown. These configurations include different parent, child, grandchild, etc. relationships of such digital representations generated in the chemical value chain up to the final product.

[0291] Figure 10A Separate configurations of different digital representations generated in the chemical value chain are shown. Separate digital representations can be generated for multiple stages in the chemical value chain. The generation of digital representations can include providing decentralized identifiers and authentication mechanisms for each of the multiple stages. These digital representations of multiple stages can be based on cryptographic signatures. For example, the digital representations of multiple stages can be cascaded based on the hash values of different digital representations. As Figure 10A shown, Hash 1 can be based on the data of the inbound material digital representation, Hash 2 can be based on the data of the chemical product digital representation, and Hash 3 can be based on the data of the inbound material digital representation plus the data of the chemical product digital representation. The hash value Hash can be generated via a hash algorithm such as MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2, SHA-3, etc. or any other suitable algorithm based on a one-way function that cannot be reverse-engineered. The hash value Hash can be generated based on the data included in or connected to the corresponding digital representation. The hash value Hash1 can be used by the participant nodes in the chemical supply chain to check the integrity of the data packet transmitted from the raw material supplier to, for example, the chemical product producer.

[0292] The cascading associated with multiple decentralized identifiers can involve the decentralized identifiers associated with the chemical product and the (multiple) raw materials. For example, the chemical product digital representation associated with the chemical product can contain Hash 2 and Hash 3. The hash data related to or included in the corresponding digital representation can provide this cascading. The combined (multiple) hash values can further be used by the participant nodes in the chemical supply chain to determine the relationships of the products at different stages and to check the integrity of such relationships. Cascading via cryptographic signature hashes is just one example of cascading. Other examples include the permission aggregation of different range data that can be embedded in sub-digital representations, the public key aggregation with different cryptographic signatures, or the service endpoint aggregation with different links.

[0293] Figure 10BShows the anchoring configuration of different digital representations generated in the chemical value chain. A digital representation of the final product is generated for the final product. Separate digital representations can be generated for multiple additional stages in the chemical value chain and embedded in or linked to the digital representation of the final product. The generation of digital representations can include providing decentralized identifiers and authentication mechanisms for each of the multiple stages. These digital representations of multiple product stages can be based on cryptographic signatures. For example, the digital representations of multiple additional stages can be cascaded based on the hash values of different digital representations. As Figure 9B shown, hash 1 can be based on the data of the inbound material digital representation, hash 2 can be based on the data of the chemical product digital representation, and hash 3 can be based on the data of the inbound material digital representation plus the data of the chemical product digital representation. Further cascading of other combinations of digital representations can be performed until hash n, which cascades the digital representations all the way to the digital representation of the final product. Cascading via cryptographic signature hashes is just one example of cascading. Other examples include the permission aggregation of different ranges of data that can be embedded in sub-digital representations, the public key aggregation with different cryptographic signatures, or the service endpoint aggregation with different links.

[0294] Figure 10C Shows the fully embedded configuration of different digital representations generated in the chemical value chain. Separate digital representations can be generated for multiple stages in the chemical value chain. The generation of digital representations can include providing decentralized identifiers and authentication mechanisms for each of the multiple stages. These digital representations of multiple stages can be based on cryptographic signatures. For example, the digital representations of multiple stages can be cascaded based on the hash values of different digital representations. As Figure 10C shown, hash 1 can be based on the data of the inbound material digital representation. Hash 2 can be based on the data of the inbound material digital representation and the chemical product digital representation. Further cascading of other combinations of digital representations can be performed until hash n, which cascades the digital representations all the way to the digital representation of the final product. Cascading via cryptographic signature hashes is just one example of cascading. Other examples include the permission aggregation of different ranges of data that can be embedded in sub-digital representations, the public key aggregation with different cryptographic signatures, or the service endpoint aggregation with different links.

[0295] Figure 11 Shows a flowchart of an example of a computer-implemented method for generating offer data associated with a product. The product can be produced by producing from at least one inbound material (such as Figures 2 to 3C described in Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3D ). The product can be a chemical product, such as Figure 3C and Figure 3Das described in. Production can be associated with an operating system, such as with respect to Figure 2 and Figure 5 the operating system 208 described. Figure 11 The method shown in can be implemented by the operating system 208. The preferential data can include preferential origin qualification or non-preferential origin qualification for at least one country or at least one region. The preferential data can further include product data included in the received request, such as product identifiers, price data, customs tariff classification, and / or product composition data. The preferential data can further include data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials used in the production of the product, such as descriptions of the corresponding (multiple) inbound materials, customs tariff classifications of the corresponding (multiple) inbound materials, and / or values (e.g., prices) of the corresponding (multiple) inbound materials.

[0296] In block 1102, a request for generating preferential data associated with the produced product can be received. The request can be received by the operating system 208. The request can be triggered as described with respect to Figure 5 The received request can contain product data. The product data can include product identifiers, product composition data, price data, product customs tariff classification, or a combination thereof. For example, the received request can contain a product identifier associated with the produced product for which preferential data is to be generated. The product data can contain data related to one or more countries or regions for which preferential data is to be generated. For example, the product data can include an indication indicating which country or countries or which region the product needs to meet the corresponding (multiple) origin rules of to be eligible for preferential trade with the said country or region.

[0297] In block 1104, the operating system 208 can obtain preferential data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials used in the production of the product based on the received product data. The operating system can determine the (multiple) inbound material identifiers associated with the (multiple) inbound materials used in the production of the product based on the received product data. For example, the operating system can be configured to obtain product composition data based on the received product data and use the determined product composition data to determine the (multiple) material identifiers. In another example, the operating system can be configured to determine the (multiple) inbound material identifiers based on the product composition data included in the received request.

[0298] The preferential data can be obtained from the inbound material data associated with the inbound materials. As described with respect to Figure 5 a data consumption node can access the inbound material data via a decentralized network based on a decentralized identifier and optionally based on data related to the corresponding inbound material data. The access to the inbound material data can be at a location associated with the data owner, such as with respect to Figure 5, Figure 6 , Figure 9A and Figure 9B under the control of a data - providing node associated with the data owner of the inbound material data described by Figure 6 , Figure 9A , and Figure 9B . The corresponding decentralized identifier or inbound material identifier determined as described above can be used to obtain preferential data from the accessed inbound material data. The preferential data associated with the corresponding inbound material can include data on the preferential origin qualification or non - preferential origin qualification of the inbound material for at least one country and the price of the inbound material. In addition to the preferential data, the inbound material data can contain previously mentioned data about Figure 4A the data mentioned.

[0299] In block 1106, the operating system 208 can obtain the (multiple) origin rules for attributing the country of origin to a product produced from at least one inbound material. The (multiple) rules can be stored on a data storage medium, for example, as described with respect to Figure 4A , Figure 4B and Figure 5 The rules can be obtained based on the product data received in block 1002. For example, the (multiple) origin rules can be obtained based on the country data contained in the product data. In another example, the (multiple) origin rules can be obtained based on the customs tariff classification contained in the product data. The obtained (multiple) rules can include at least one rule related to a wholly - obtained product and / or at least one rule related to a substantial change in the materials used to produce the product, as described above.

[0300] In block 1108, the operating system 208 can generate preferential data associated with the produced product based on the (multiple) origin rules obtained in block 1106, the preferential data obtained in block 1104, and the product data received in block 1102. The preferential data can be generated by determining the origin of the produced product based on the (multiple) rules obtained in block 1106, the preferential data obtained in block 1104, and the product data received in block 1102. Then, the determined origin can be used to determine the preferential eligibility based on the determined origin. In block 1108, the operating system can be configured to obtain price data associated with the product and / or the customs tariff classification associated with the product (if the data is not already included in the received product data).

[0301] In block 1110, the offer data generated in block 1108 can be provided by the operating system 208, for example, via a communication interface. For example, the generated offer data can be provided to a display device for display. The generated offer data can be provided to a data storage medium for storage. Providing the generated offer data to the data storage medium can include correlating the data with a product identifier. The generated offer data can be used to generate a product pass, as described with respect to Figure 4A as described.

[0302] Using inbound material data that includes offer data associated with corresponding inbound materials allows for determining the offer data for the product(s) produced from the inbound materials based on the offer data contained in the accessed inbound material data, without having to perform any time-consuming and error-prone data integration on the offer data associated with the provided product(s) of inbound materials. Additionally, the inbound material data accessed via data consumption nodes from a decentralized network allows for simplified and customizable data sharing or exchange from the chemical industry to other supply chain participants. In this way, upstream participants in the supply chain can make more reliable and efficient determinations of the offer data associated with the product(s) produced from the supplied materials, while the ownership of the inbound material data remains with the supplier who supplied the upstream participant. By directly combining the data associated with the inbound material data with decentralized identifiers and optionally one or more authentication mechanisms, more reliable and secure data sharing and exchange can be provided. Further using one or more authorization mechanisms allows for data sharing or exchange in a more flexible manner, enabling multiple data consumption services from different participants in the supply chain to access the inbound material data.

[0303] By generating the offer data for the product(s) produced and attaching the generated offer data as a digital asset to such product(s) produced, the use of the product(s) produced as inbound materials to produce additional product(s) can be directed or controlled based on the associated offer data (e.g., the associated digital asset including the offer data). For example, the flow of the product(s) produced delivered by a product producer to downstream participants in a product ecosystem can be controlled or directed by the downstream participants based on the associated offer data such that additional products produced from this received product flow can meet target offer data.

[0304] Figure 12 A flowchart showing an example of a computer-implemented method for generating offer data associated with a product is presented. Compared with Figure 11 a product is produced by production from at least one inbound material and / or at least one intermediate product (such as the production described in Figures 2 to 3C ). The product can be a product as described with respect to Figure 11 as described. Figure 12The method can be implemented by an operating system as described in the context of Figure 11 The (multiple) intermediate products can include (multiple) intermediate products generated from the (multiple) inbound materials (hereinafter referred to as the (multiple) first intermediate products). The (multiple) intermediate products can include (multiple) intermediate products produced from the (multiple) first intermediate products and optionally one or more inbound materials (hereinafter referred to as the (multiple) second intermediate products). The production can be associated with the operating system, such as with respect to Figure 2 and Figure 5 the operating system 208 described. The offer data can include data described with respect to Figure 11

[0305] In block 1202, a request for generating offer data associated with the produced product can be received, as described with respect to Figure 11 The request can contain product data as described with respect to Figure 11

[0306] In block 1204, offer data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials can be obtained from the inbound material data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials used for producing the product, as described with respect to Figure 11

[0307] In block 1206, the operating system 208 can determine whether an intermediate product chain is used in the production of the product. The intermediate product chain can represent the use of two different intermediate products in the production of the product, where at least one intermediate product (e.g., the second intermediate product) is at least partially produced from a previously produced intermediate product (e.g., the first intermediate product) through production. The determination can be made based on the product data included in the received request. For example, the product composition data can be used to obtain the intermediate product composition data associated with the corresponding intermediate products used for producing the product. Based on the intermediate product composition data, the operating system 208 can determine whether to use the intermediate product chain. Based on the determination of using the intermediate product chain, the operating system can proceed to block 1210, otherwise, it can proceed to block 1208.

[0308] In block 1208, the operating system can generate offer data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products used in the production (e.g., associated with the first intermediate product). The operating system can obtain the intermediate product data based on the received product data. The intermediate product data can include an intermediate product identifier associated with the intermediate product, price data, intermediate product composition data, and / or customs tariff classification. The intermediate product composition data can be used to determine the inbound material identifiers associated with the (multiple) inbound materials used. The (multiple) inbound material identifiers can be used to obtain offer data, as described with respect to Figure 11 ​​​​

[0309] The operating system 208 can obtain at least one origin rule for attributing the country of origin to the (multiple) intermediate products. As described with respect to Figure 11 the obtained intermediate product data can be used to obtain the origin rule.

[0310] The operating system can generate preferential data associated with the (multiple) first intermediate products based on the obtained (multiple) origin rules, the preferential data obtained in block 1204, and the obtained intermediate product data. The preferential data can be generated as described with respect to Figure 11 The generated preferential data can be stored on a data storage medium.

[0311] In block 1110, the operating system 208 can generate preferential data associated with the first intermediate product, as described with respect to block 1108.

[0312] In block 1112, the operating system 208 can generate preferential data associated with the (multiple) second intermediate products produced at least partially from the first intermediate product. The operating system 208 can obtain the second intermediate product data based on the received product data. The second intermediate product data can be used to determine the (multiple) first intermediate products and optionally the (multiple) inbound materials used to produce the (multiple) second intermediate products. For example, the second intermediate product data can include the composition of the second intermediate product containing the corresponding identifiers. The identifiers can be used to obtain the preferential data previously generated for the first intermediate product (see, for example, block 1208) and the preferential data associated with the inbound materials, as described with respect to block 1204. The operating system 208 can obtain the origin rule, as described with respect to block 1208.

[0313] The preferential data for the (multiple) second intermediate products can be generated as described with respect to Figure 11 based on the obtained preferential data associated with the first intermediate product, optionally the obtained preferential data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials, the obtained (multiple) origin rules, and the obtained second intermediate product data.

[0314] In block 1214, the origin rule for attributing the country of origin to the product can be obtained, as described with respect to Figure 10.

[0315] In block 1216, the operating system 208 can generate preferential data associated with the product based on the (multiple) origin rules obtained in block 1216, the preferential data obtained in block 1204 and / or generated in blocks 1210 and 1212 or generated in block 1208, and the product data received in block 1202, as described with respect to Figure 11 The generated preferential data can be stored on a data storage medium.

[0316] In block 1218, the generated offer data can be provided as described with respect to Figure 11 the generated offer data can be provided as described with respect to

[0317] Figure 13 A flowchart showing an example of a method for producing a product associated with offer data is presented. The product can be the product described with respect to Figure 11 the product described with respect to Figure 11 the product described with respect to Figure 11 The offer data can include data previously mentioned with respect to Figure 13 The method shown in Figure 11 can be implemented by an operating system as described in the context of, for example,

[0318] In block 1302, one or more inbound materials can be provided to the production. The production can produce the product at least in part from the (multiple) inbound materials provided to the production. The production can be the production described as Figures 2 to 3C The production can be associated with an operating system, such as the operating system 208 described with respect to Figure 2 and Figure 5 the operating system 208 described with respect to

[0319] In block 1304, a request for generating offer data associated with the produced product can be received, as described with respect to Figure 11 The request can contain product data as described with respect to Figure 11 the product data described with respect to

[0320] In block 1306, offer data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials can be obtained from inbound material data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials used to produce the product, as described with respect to Figure 11 the offer data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials can be obtained from inbound material data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials used to produce the product, as described with respect to

[0321] In block 1308, the origin rules for attributing the country of origin to the produced product can be obtained by the operating system 208, as described with respect to Figure 11 the origin rules for attributing the country of origin to the produced product can be obtained by the operating system 208, as described with respect to

[0322] In block 1310, the operating system 208 can generate offer data associated with the produced product based on the (multiple) origin rules obtained in block 1308, the offer data obtained in block 1306, and the product data received in block 1304, as described with respect to Figure 11 the offer data associated with the produced product can be generated based on the (multiple) origin rules obtained in block 1308, the offer data obtained in block 1306, and the product data received in block 1304, as described with respect to

[0323] In block 1312, the operating system 208 may associate the offer data generated in block 1310 with the produced product. Associating the generated offer data with the produced product may include linking the generated offer data to an identifier associated with the produced product. For example, a product identifier associated with the produced product may be linked to the generated offer data. The product identifier may be included in the product data received in block 1304. This may allow the use of the corresponding product identifier to obtain the offer data. The product identifier may include a decentralized identifier. For example, a product pass may be generated that includes a decentralized identifier associated with the product data including the generated offer data and the product data, as previously described with respect to Figure 4A A digital access element including the (multiple) decentralized identifiers and access data may be generated. The digital access element may be used to access the offer data associated with the product, for example via a data consumption node associated with the product consumer (see Figure 6 ).

[0324] Figure 14A and Figure 14B show a flowchart of an example of a method for producing a product associated with offer data. The product may be a product described with respect to Figure 11 The product may be produced by producing from at least one inbound material and / or at least one intermediate product (such as the production described in Figure 13 ) compared to Figures 2 to 3C . The (multiple) intermediate products may include (multiple) intermediate products generated from the (multiple) inbound materials (hereinafter referred to as the (multiple) first intermediate products). The (multiple) intermediate products may include (multiple) intermediate products produced from the (multiple) first intermediate products and optionally one or more inbound materials (hereinafter referred to as the (multiple) second intermediate products). The offer data may include the data previously mentioned with respect to Figure 11 . Figure 14A and Figure 14B The methods shown in may be implemented by an operating system as described, for example, in the context of Figure 11 .

[0325] In block 1402, one or more inbound materials may be provided to the production. The production may produce the product at least in part from the (multiple) inbound materials provided to the production. The production may produce (multiple) intermediate products from the provided (multiple) inbound materials. The production may produce the product at least in part from the (multiple) produced intermediate products. The production may be the production as described in Figures 2 to 3C . The production may be associated with an operating system, such as the operating system 208 described with respect to Figure 2 and Figure 5 .

[0326] In block 1404, a request for generating incentive data associated with the produced product can be received, as described with respect to Figure 11 The request can include product data as described with respect to Figure 11 The product data.

[0327] In block 1406, incentive data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials can be obtained from the inbound material data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials used to produce the product, as described with respect to Figure 11 The product data.

[0328] In block 1408, the operating system 208 can determine whether an intermediate product chain is used in the production of the product, as described with respect to Figure 12 The product data. Based on the determination of using the intermediate product chain, the operating system can proceed to block 1410; otherwise, it can proceed to block 1414.

[0329] In block 1410, the operating system 208 can generate incentive data associated with the first intermediate product, as described with respect to Figure 12 The product data.

[0330] In block 1412, the operating system 208 can generate incentive data associated with the (multiple) second intermediate products produced at least in part from the (multiple) first intermediate products, as described with respect to Figure 12 The product data.

[0331] In block 1414, the operating system can generate incentive data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products used in the production (e.g., the (multiple) first intermediate products), as described with respect to Figure 12 The product data.

[0332] In block 1416, the origin rules for attributing the country of origin to the produced product can be obtained, as described with respect to Figure 11 The product data.

[0333] In block 1418, the operating system 208 can generate incentive data associated with the product based on the (multiple) origin rules obtained in block 1416, the incentive data obtained in block 1406 and / or generated in blocks 1410 and 1412 or generated in block 1414, and the product data received in block 1404, as described with respect to Figure 11 The product data.

[0334] In block 1420, the operating system 208 can associate the incentive data generated in block 1418 with the produced product, as described with respect to Figure 12 The product data.

[0335] Figure 15Shows an example of a system for producing products associated with preferential data, which includes an example method for generating preferential data associated with products produced from (multiple) inbound materials.

[0336] The inbound materials can be chemical materials such as polymers, pigments, solvents, and additional components required for producing coating materials. The inbound materials can be discrete materials (see, for example Figure 3D ). The inbound materials can be chemical materials and discrete materials (see, for example Figure 3D ). The inbound materials can be provided to chemical production 204. The chemical production can be as described with respect to Figures 2 to 3C . The inbound materials can enter the system boundary of chemical production 204 at an entry point, such as a resin factory, a pigment paste factory, a coating material production, or a material storage device. The inbound materials can be used in chemical production 204 to produce one or more products from the inbound materials. The (multiple) products can be provided at the exit point of chemical production 204. The (multiple) products can be (multiple) chemical products. The chemical products can be pigment paste, base varnish, diluent, rheology modifier, and coating material.

[0337] On the virtual layer, the inbound material data associated with the received (multiple) inbound materials can be accessed 1508. The inbound material data can be accessed via a data consumption node using (multiple) decentralized identifiers and optionally data related to the inbound material data, for example, as described with respect to Figure 5 and Figure 6 . The inbound material data can be accessed when, before, or after one or more inbound materials are provided at the entry point of chemical production 204. As previously mentioned, the (multiple) decentralized identifiers can be associated with the physical entities of the inbound materials entering chemical production 204.

[0338] The inbound material data can include preferential data associated with the respective inbound materials, such as the origin of the inbound materials, preferential eligibility, data on non - native compounds used for producing the inbound materials, or a combination thereof. The inbound material data can further include the previously described characteristic data, emission data, recycled content, bio - based content, and / or production data. The inbound material data can be mutually associated with the (multiple) decentralized identifiers and can be stored on a data storage medium, such as a dedicated storage device connected to a data consumption node associated with the data owner of the inbound material data (see Figure 5 ). This allows the stored inbound material data to be obtained via a decentralized network using the (multiple) decentralized identifiers under the control of the data owner of the inbound material data. The inbound material data can be transferred from a computing system to the operating system 208, or can be obtained by the operating system 208 using the (multiple) decentralized identifiers.

[0339] The inbound materials fed into the chemical production 204 can be used to produce one or more chemical products 1502. For example, the inbound materials can be raw materials for producing coating materials, and the chemical production 204 produces coating materials, as described with respect to Figure 3A and Figure 3B The (multiple) inbound materials required for producing the (multiple) chemical products can be provided based on the material requirement data, as described with respect to Figure 3A and Figure 3B The material requirement data can specify the (multiple) production chains of the chemical production 204. The material requirement data can include a bill of materials for one or more production chains of the chemical production 204. The material requirement data can include one or more recipes specifying one or more materials for the (multiple) production processes of the chemical production.

[0340] On the virtual layer, the operating system 208 can receive a request for generating promotional data associated with the produced product 1510. The request can be triggered as described with respect to Figure 4A The request can contain product data associated with the product for which the promotional data is to be generated (see, for example, Figures 11 to 14B ). The product data can include a product identifier. The product identifier can be associated with the physical entity of the corresponding product produced by the chemical production 204. In this way, the virtual identifier of the product can be uniquely linked to the physical product. Such a link can include a physical or virtual link to the identifier uniquely associated with the physical product. The request can further include data related to one or more countries for which the promotional data is to be generated. The operating system 208 can use the said data to determine the appropriate (multiple) FTAs and obtain the associated rules of origin, as previously mentioned. The request can further include price data (such as ex-factory price data) and / or the customs tariff classification associated with the product.

[0341] In response to the request, the operating system 208 can obtain the promotional data included in the accessed or stored inbound material data based on the received product data 1512. For example, as described with respect to Figure 4A , Figure 5 and Figures 11 to 14B described.

[0342] The operating system 208 may obtain the (multiple) rules of origin 1514. The (multiple) rules of origin may be obtained before or after receiving the product data. Obtaining the (multiple) rules of origin after receiving the product data may allow for obtaining a smaller amount of data, as the appropriate (multiple) rules of origin can be obtained based on the received product data, thus avoiding obtaining inapplicable (multiple) rules of origin. The operating system 208 may obtain the rules of origin from a data storage device (such as a database) that contains the (multiple) rules of origin associated with data related to the corresponding free trade agreement. The database may be a database associated with the chemical production 204, or may be a data storage device provided by a third party, such as a cloud database. The use of a cloud database may avoid the need to frequently update the (multiple) rules of origin to ensure the generation of correct preferential data. The data related to the free trade agreement may include identifiers (such as names, numbers, etc.) and / or data about the parties to the FTA. The data about the parties may be used to obtain the appropriate (multiple) rules of origin, for example, if the product data received by the operating system 208 contains data related to the country for which the preferential data is to be generated. In such a case, the operating system 208 uses the data about the country to determine the applicable (multiple) free trade agreements and obtains the (multiple) rules of origin associated with the determined country.

[0343] The operating system 208 may generate preferential data 1516 based on the obtained preferential data, the received (multiple) rules of origin, and the received product data, for example, as described with respect to Figure 5 and Figures 11 to 14B . The operating system 208 may associate the generated preferential data with the product data (such as a product identifier). The operating system 208 may store the generated preferential data on a data storage medium 1518. The stored preferential data may be associated with the product data (such as a product identifier) to facilitate the retrieval of the data.

[0344] The product associated with the product identifier may be physically provided to downstream participants in the product ecosystem, such as the customers of the entity that produces the product, and the preferential data associated with the product identifier may be virtually provided, for example, in the form of a digital asset. By associating the physical product and the preferential data with the product identifier, the physical entity of the product is connected to the virtual entity of the preference (such as the preferential or non-preferential origin of the product). The virtual provision of the preferential data may include associating the data with a decentralized identifier to generate a product data set, which is provided by a data providing node associated with the data owner of the preferential data to a data consuming node associated with the downstream participant, as previously described.

[0345] The described system allows the use of material data associated with inbound materials to generate preferential data for products produced by a chemical production network without having to integrate the material data into an existing system used to determine the preferential data. Instead, the use of the material data set allows the included material data to be used as is without performing time-consuming and error-prone data integration on the material data provided by the suppliers of the supplied inbound materials.

[0346] By attaching the generated preferential data as a digital asset to the produced product(s), downstream participants can direct or control the use of the produced product(s) as inbound materials to produce additional product(s) based on the associated preferential data (e.g., the associated digital asset including the preferential data). For example, the flow of the produced product(s) delivered by the product producer to downstream participants in the product ecosystem can be controlled or directed by the downstream participants based on the associated preferential data such that additional products produced from such received product flow can meet the target preferential data.

[0347] Figure 16 An example of a system for producing a product associated with preferential data is shown, which includes an example method for generating preferential data associated with a product produced from inbound material(s) and / or intermediate product(s). The intermediate product(s) can be produced from one or more inbound materials.

[0348] The inbound materials can be, for example, Figure 15 the chemical materials as described. The inbound materials can be, for example, Figure 15 the discrete materials as described. The inbound materials can be, for example, Figure 15 the chemical materials and discrete materials as described. The inbound materials can be provided to chemical production 204. The chemical production can be the chemical production as described with respect to Figures 2 to 3C The inbound materials can enter the system boundary of chemical production 204 at an entry point, such as a resin factory, a pigment paste factory, a coating material production, or a material storage device. The inbound materials can be used in chemical production 204 to produce one or more intermediate products and product(s) from the inbound materials. One or more intermediate products can be used to produce one or more products. The product(s) can be provided at the exit point of chemical production 204. The product(s) can be chemical product(s). The chemical products can be pigment paste, base varnish, diluent, rheology modifier, and coating material.

[0349] On the virtual layer, the inbound material data associated with the received inbound material(s) can be accessed 1610, such as Figure 15As described above. Inbound material data can include preferential data associated with the corresponding inbound materials, such as the origin of the inbound materials, preferential eligibility, data on non-origin compounds used in the production of the inbound materials, or combinations thereof. The inbound material data can further include data on Figure 15 the data mentioned. The inbound material data can be transmitted from the computing system to the operating system 208 or can be obtained by the operating system 208 using the material identifier.

[0350] The inbound materials fed into the chemical production 204 can be used to produce one or more chemical products 1602. For example, the inbound materials can be raw materials for producing coating materials, and the chemical production 204 produces coating materials, as described with respect to Figure 3A and Figure 3B described. The (multiple) inbound materials required for producing the (multiple) chemical products can be provided based on the material requirement data, as described with respect to Figure 3A and Figure 3B described. The material requirement data can specify the (multiple) production chains of the chemical production 204. The material requirement data can include a bill of materials for one or more production chains of the chemical production 204. The material requirement data can include one or more formulations indicating one or more materials for the (multiple) production processes used in the chemical production. The (multiple) inbound materials required for producing the (multiple) intermediate products can be provided based on the material requirement data, as previously described. The (multiple) intermediate products

[0351] On the virtual layer, the operating system 208 can receive a request for generating preferential data associated with the produced product 1610, as described with respect to Figure 15 described. The request can be triggered as described with respect to Figure 4A described. The request contains product data associated with the product for which the preferential data is to be generated (see, for example, Figures 11 to 14B ). The product data can include a product identifier as described with respect to Figure 15 described. The request can further include data related to one or more countries for which the preferential data is to be generated. The operating system 208 can use the said data to determine the appropriate (multiple) FTAs and obtain the associated rules of origin, as previously mentioned. The request can further include price data (such as ex-factory price data) and / or the customs tariff classification associated with the product.

[0352] In response to the request, the operating system 208 can obtain the preferential data contained in the accessed or stored inbound material data based on the received product data 1614. For example, as described with respect to Figure 4A , Figure 5 and Figures 11 to 14B described.

[0353] The operating system 208 may generate promotional data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products 1616. The promotional data associated with the (multiple) intermediate products may be generated as described with respect to Figure 12 、 Figure 14A and Figure 14B .

[0354] The operating system 208 may obtain the (multiple) origin rules 1618, as described with respect to Figure 15 . The (multiple) origin rules may be obtained before or after receiving the product data. Obtaining the (multiple) origin rules after receiving the product data may allow for obtaining a smaller amount of data, as the appropriate (multiple) origin rules may be obtained based on the received product data, thus avoiding obtaining inapplicable (multiple) origin rules.

[0355] The operating system 208 may generate promotional data 1620 based on the obtained promotional data 1614 and / or the generated promotional data 1618, the received (multiple) origin rules, and the received product data, for example, as described with respect to Figure 5 and Figures 11 to 14B . The operating system 208 may associate the generated promotional data with the product data (such as a product identifier). The operating system 208 may store the generated promotional data on a data storage medium. The stored promotional data may be associated with the product data (such as a product identifier) to facilitate the acquisition of the data.

[0356] The operating system 208 may associate the generated promotional data with the produced product 1622, for example, as described with respect to Figure 12 、 Figure 14A and Figure 14B . The product associated with the product identifier may be physically provided to downstream participants, such as the customers of the entity producing the product, and the promotional data associated with the product identifier may be provided virtually. By associating the physical product and the promotional data with the product identifier, the physical entity of the product is connected to the virtual entity of the promotion (such as the promotional origin or non-promotional origin of the product). The virtual provision of the promotional data may include associating the data with a decentralized identifier to generate a product data set, which is provided by a data providing node associated with the data owner of the promotional data to a data consuming node associated with the downstream participant, as previously described.

[0357] The described system allows for the generation of preference data for products produced by a chemical production network using the material data associated with inbound materials, without having to integrate the material data into an existing system used to determine preference data. Instead, the use of the material data set allows the included material data to be used as is, without performing time-consuming and error-prone data integration on the material data provided by the suppliers of the supplied inbound materials.

[0358] By attaching the generated preference data as a digital asset to such (multiple) produced products, downstream participants can direct or control the use of the produced (multiple) products as inbound materials to produce (multiple) additional products based on the associated preference data (e.g., the associated digital asset including the preference data). For example, the flow of the produced products delivered by a product producer to downstream participants in a product ecosystem can be controlled or directed by the downstream participants based on the associated preference data, such that additional products produced from such received product flow can meet the target preference data.

[0359] The present disclosure has also been described in connection with various preferred embodiments and examples. However, other variations can be understood and achieved by those skilled in the art and those practicing the claimed invention through the study of the drawings, the present disclosure, and the claims. Of particular note is that any of the recited steps can be performed in any order, i.e., the present invention is not limited to a particular order of these steps. Additionally, it is not required that different steps be performed at a particular location or node in a distributed system, i.e., each step can be performed using different devices / data processing at different nodes.

[0360] As used herein, "determine" also includes "initiate or cause to determine", "generate" also includes "initiate and / or cause to generate", and "provide" also includes "initiate or cause to determine, generate, select, send, and / or receive". "Initiate or cause to perform an action" includes any processing signal that triggers a computing node or device to perform the corresponding action.

[0361] In the claims and the specification, "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit can perform the functions of several entities or items recited in the claims. The fact that certain measures are recited only in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used in an advantageous embodiment.

[0362] Any disclosure and embodiment described herein relates to the methods, systems, devices, computer program elements listed above, and vice versa. Advantageously, the benefits provided by any embodiment and example apply equally to all other embodiments and examples, and vice versa.

[0363] All terms and definitions used in this document are to be understood in a broad sense and have their ordinary meanings.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for generating offer data associated with a product, wherein, The product is produced by production from at least one inbound material, and the method includes: (a) receiving a request for generating the preferential data, the request including product data associated with the product; (b) obtaining, based on the received product data, preferential data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials from inbound material data associated with the (multiple) inbound materials, wherein the inbound material data associated with each inbound material is accessed by a data consumption service under the control of a data providing service associated with a data owner based on a decentralized identifier associated with the corresponding inbound material data and optionally based on data associated with the corresponding inbound material data, the data owner being associated with the corresponding inbound material data; (c) obtaining at least one origin rule for attributing the country of origin to the product produced from the at least one material; (d) generating preferential data associated with the product based on the obtained (multiple) origin rules, the obtained preferential data, and the received product data; and (e) providing the generated preferential data via a communication interface.

2. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein, The preferential data associated with the product includes at least the preferential origin qualification or non-preferential origin qualification of the product for at least one country or at least one region.

3. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The product data includes a product identifier associated with the product, price data, product composition data, and / or a customs tariff classification.

4. The computer-implemented method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The decentralized identifier is associated with the data owner and / or the inbound material associated with the inbound material data.

5. The computer-implemented method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The preferential data is obtained using the decentralized identifier and / or the (multiple) inbound material identifiers associated with the (multiple) inbound materials.

6. The computer-implemented method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The preferential data associated with the corresponding inbound material includes data on the preferential origin qualification or non-preferential origin qualification of the material for at least one country and the material price.

7. The computer-implemented method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The data associated with the inbound material data includes one or more digital representations pointing to the inbound material data or a part thereof.

8. A computer-implemented method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The at least one origin rule is obtained based on the received product data.

9. The computer-implemented method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The at least one origin rule includes at least one rule related to a fully obtained product and / or at least one rule related to a substantial change in the material used to produce the product and / or a substantial change in the components used to produce the material.

10. The computer-implemented method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, Generating the preferential data includes - determining the origin based on the obtained (multiple) origin rules and the obtained preferential data, and - determining the preferential qualification based on the determined origin.

11. An apparatus for generating preferential data associated with a product produced from at least one material, the apparatus including: one or more computing nodes; and one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions thereon, the instructions being configured such that when executed by the one or more computing nodes, cause the apparatus to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. A computer element having instructions which, when executed on one or more computing nodes, is configured to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or is configured to be executed by the apparatus according to claim 11.

13. A method for producing at least one product associated with preferential data, wherein, The product is produced by production from at least one inbound material, and the method includes: (a) providing the (multiple) inbound materials to production and using the production to produce the at least one product from at least a portion of the provided (multiple) inbound materials, (b) receiving a request for generating the preferential data, the request including product data associated with the product, (c) obtaining, based on the received product data, preferential data associated with the portion of the (multiple) inbound materials from inbound material data associated with at least a portion of the (multiple) inbound materials, wherein the inbound material data associated with each inbound material in the portion of the inbound materials is accessed by a data consumption service under the control of a data providing service associated with a data owner based on a decentralized identifier associated with the inbound material data and optionally based on data associated with the inbound material data, the data owner being associated with the corresponding inbound material data, (d) obtaining at least one origin rule for attributing the country of origin to the produced product, and (e) generating preferential data based on the received product data, the obtained preferential data, and the received (multiple) origin rules, and associating the generated preferential data with the produced product.

14. A system configured to produce a product associated with preferential data from one or more inbound materials and provide the produced product associated with the preferential data, the system including: (a) a production line configured to produce the product from the (multiple) inbound materials and provide the produced product, wherein the product is connected to or includes a physical identifier, (b) a collector configured to collect product data associated with the product, (c) a request receiver configured to receive a request for generating the preferential data, the request including product data associated with the product, (d) a preferential data provider configured to obtain, based on the received product data, preferential data associated with the portion of the (multiple) inbound materials from inbound material data associated with at least a portion of the (multiple) inbound materials, wherein the inbound material data associated with each inbound material in the portion of the inbound materials is accessed by a data consumption service under the control of a data providing service associated with a data owner based on a decentralized identifier associated with the inbound material data and optionally based on data associated with the inbound material data, the data owner being associated with the corresponding inbound material data, (e) a rule provider configured to obtain at least one origin rule for attributing the country of origin to a product produced from at least one inbound material; (f) A preferential data generator configured to generate preferential data associated with the produced product based on the received product data, the obtained preferential data, and the obtained (multiple) rules of origin, and (g) An assigner configured to assign the physical identifier to the generated preferential data.

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