Hierarchical Logger Tracking for Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Visibility
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The pharmaceutical industry faces challenges in achieving end-to-end visibility of pharmaceutical products throughout the supply chain, leading to limited data availability, increased costs, and higher risks of counterfeiting and illegal parallel importing.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for real-time position tracking of pharmaceutical products using a tree-like arrangement of logger devices, where a first logger device is activated during primary package transport, and secondary logger devices are triggered to active mode upon unpacking, enabling real-time tracking of sub-packages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If logger devices are activated continuously for all packages throughout the supply chain, then real-time tracking visibility is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The logger device dynamically changes its operational state based on the package's location in the supply chain. During primary transport, all loggers remain active for full visibility. At distribution centers, loggers transition to sleep mode to conserve energy, then reactivate when packages are repacked for secondary transport. This dynamic state adjustment resolves the contradiction between continuous tracking and energy conservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The logger device operates in periodic cycles of active monitoring and sleep mode. It activates during critical transport phases where tracking is essential (primary transport and final delivery) and enters sleep mode during intermediate storage periods at distribution centers. This periodic operation pattern maintains necessary visibility while significantly reducing overall energy consumption.
2Measurement precision
If logger devices are activated for all sub-packages, then tracking precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tracking system is segmented into hierarchical levels: primary package loggers and sub-package loggers. Each segment operates independently but contributes to the overall tracking picture. This segmentation allows the system to achieve high tracking precision for individual sub-packages without requiring all devices to operate simultaneously, thereby managing system complexity through modular, phased activation.
Solution Approach 2:
Logger devices are pre-positioned and pre-configured on packages before transport begins. The system prepares tracking infrastructure in advance at distribution centers, so when packages arrive and are repacked, tracking is already established. This preliminary action simplifies the operational complexity during active transport phases while maintaining high tracking precision.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
This invention relates to a method and a system for real time position tracking of a shipment of an asset, where the asset is arranged in tree-like fashion from a primary package level down to at least one secondary package level, where each of the at least one secondary package level comprises multiple of sub-packages, comprising: • associating a first logger device to the asset at the primary package level, • associating a second logger device to each of the sub-packages, where the logger devices comprise a communication module configured to transmit position data to an external control computer, wherein the method further comprises: • turning the first logger device on during the transport of the primary package from an origin location to a first destination location while the second logger devices are in sleep-mode, where at the first destination location the primary package level is at least partialy unpacked into the at least one secondary package level, and • triggering the second logger devices in sub-packages unpacked from the primary package level to be turned from sleep-mode to active mode and thus enabling a real-time position tracking on each of the sub-packages.