Dynamic Tag Configuration for Supply Chain Readability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current product tracking solutions in supply and value chains are complex, costly, and inefficient, particularly in open-loop retail environments, where data flow is uncontrolled and incomplete due to varying tracking technologies among different entities, and generic tags perform poorly due to unoptimized design and environmental stress.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising cloud-based computer devices that dynamically configure and manage wirelessly interrogatable electronic tags, optimizing their placement and operation based on product-specific information to enhance readability and reliability, and a data management system for comprehensive data analysis and optimization across the supply or value chain.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If generic RFID tags are used for product tracking, then implementation cost is reduced, but tag readability and reliability deteriorate due to unoptimized design and environmental stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by customizing tag parameters (frequency, power, antenna design) according to the specific product type and environmental conditions. Instead of using generic tags for all products, the system determines optimal tag configurations based on product characteristics such as size, material, and operating environment, thereby improving readability and reliability while maintaining cost-effectiveness through targeted optimization rather than universal customization.
2Loss of information
If comprehensive product tracking is implemented across multiple supply chain entities, then data completeness improves, but system complexity increases due to varying tracking technologies among entities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements universality by creating a standardized tag system that can be used across all supply chain entities regardless of their specific applications. The centralized system manages diverse product types and environmental conditions through a unified tag configuration framework, allowing different entities to use the same basic infrastructure while achieving complete data collection. This standardization reduces system complexity by eliminating the need for each entity to implement separate tracking solutions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a centralized tag management system as an intermediary between diverse supply chain entities and the tracking infrastructure. This intermediary handles tag configuration, parameter optimization, and data standardization, allowing individual entities to participate in comprehensive tracking without directly managing the complexity of tag customization and interoperability between different technologies.
3Reliability
If tag parameters are optimized for specific products, then tag readability improves, but implementation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by enabling the system to automatically determine optimal tag parameters based on product information and environmental conditions. The centralized management system autonomously configures tag settings without requiring manual intervention from each supply chain entity, thereby improving tag readability through customization while minimizing implementation complexity through automation. The system self-adjusts parameters such as frequency, power output, and antenna configuration based on the specific product characteristics.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution simplifies and cost-efficiently enables item-level tagging, improves data flow control, and provides thorough analysis for optimizing supply or value chain performance by tailoring tag implementation to specific products and environments, reducing latency and complexity while maintaining data integrity.
Implementation Method 1
Contactless tags are often harnessed to employ electromagnetic field for wireless data transfer with an external scanner device called a reader.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for monitoring the life cycle of a product even in open-loop retail environment having regard to the associated supply or value chain, comprising tag provision equipment arranged to obtain product information and to configure a wirelessly interrogatable electronic identification tag provided with externally readable identification information to a product item, wherein configuring incorporates at least partially automated determination, according to predefined decision logic, of at least one technical characteristic of tag implementation based on the product information to optimize the operation of the tag, and electronic data management system accessible via a communications network, preferably the Internet, comprising a data interface configured to receive and transmit data, and a data repository configured to store indications of received digital notifications of tag reading events in a plurality of activities of the associated supply or value chain, said notifications conveying said tag identification information. A corresponding method for execution by the system is presented.