Blockchain Product Traceability via Hash Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems lack an efficient and cost-effective mechanism for product traceability throughout a product's lifecycle, particularly for retailers who need detailed information about a product's journey to enhance customer transparency, inventory management, and promotional strategies.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing Blockchain/Acyclic Graph technology and APIs to collect and hash information about products, allowing for secure and transparent tracking of a product's origin, ingredients, and handling history, enabling retailers to search and analyze product data for promotional and inventory purposes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional centralized databases are used for product traceability, then data access is simplified, but data security and entity control are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized traceability system into multiple independent blockchain nodes distributed across different entities (growers, distributors, retailers, consumers). Each node maintains a copy of the ledger and can independently validate transactions, eliminating the single point of failure and control issues inherent in centralized databases while enhancing data security and entity autonomy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces cryptographic hash functions and digital signatures as intermediaries that enable secure, trustless interactions between entities. These cryptographic mechanisms act as mediators that verify data integrity and authenticate transactions without requiring direct trust between parties, resolving the contradiction between security and system complexity by providing a standardized, automated verification layer.
2Loss of information
If detailed product journey information is collected and shared across all entities, then consumer transparency and retailer decision-making are improved, but data privacy and security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential traceability data elements needed for consumer transparency and retailer decision-making (product origin, journey milestones, certifications) while leaving sensitive commercial information and proprietary data at the originating entities. This selective extraction approach provides necessary information availability while minimizing data security risks by not centralizing all possible data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality control through entity-specific data policies where each entity determines what data to share and with whom, based on their own security requirements and business needs. This allows different levels of information sharing across the supply chain, providing transparency where needed while maintaining security where required, thus resolving the contradiction between information availability and security risks.
3Ease of operation
If a centralized system controls all traceability data, then system management is simplified, but entity autonomy and consumer trust are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the interests of all supply chain entities by creating a shared, immutable ledger that benefits everyone simultaneously. Consumers gain trust through transparent access to verified product journey information, while entities maintain autonomy through cryptographic control of their own data. The system management complexity is distributed across all participants rather than concentrated in a single controller, making the system more robust and trustworthy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements immediate feedback mechanisms where each entity can verify the authenticity and integrity of data entered by other entities in real-time. This mutual verification system builds consumer trust through transparent, auditable processes while maintaining entity autonomy, as each participant can independently validate the chain of custody without relying on a centralized authority.
Data Source
AI summary
Multiple portions of information for a product are hashed to produce unique hash values during a journey of the product from production to purchase by a consumer. The hash values and information are stored in a cryptographic cooperatively shared product data structure. The hash values are subsequently submitted as product or portions of product searches to the cryptographic cooperatively shared product data structures and results are obtained for products associated with the portions of the information. The results are provided to services to drive proactive actions with respect to the product or other products related to any of the portions of information.