Supply Chain Server Linking for Confidential Carbon Traceability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems face challenges in tracing carbon footprints across a supply chain while maintaining confidentiality of sensitive information among companies.
Innovation Solution
A server device with dedicated and shared storage areas for product information, allowing controlled access and linking of information between upstream and downstream companies, generating a product tree that traces supply relationships while preserving confidentiality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If product information is shared among all companies in the supply chain, then traceability of carbon footprints is improved, but confidentiality of sensitive information deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The storage device is divided into a first storage area (dedicated to each company) and a second storage area (shared between upstream and downstream companies). This segmentation allows traceability information to be collected across the supply chain while maintaining confidentiality by restricting access to sensitive information in the first storage area.
Solution Approach 2:
The server device acts as an intermediary that manages the sharing of product information between upstream and downstream companies. It controls access to the second storage area, enabling traceability while protecting sensitive information through centralized management and permission control.
2Productivity
If product information is stored in shared storage areas, then access efficiency between upstream and downstream companies is improved, but information security deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The storage device is segmented into a first storage area for confidential information and a second storage area for shared information. This allows efficient access to necessary product information in the second storage area while maintaining security by keeping sensitive data isolated in the first storage area.
Solution Approach 2:
Different storage areas have different access permissions tailored to their specific needs. The first storage area has restricted access for security, while the second storage area has broader access for efficiency. This local differentiation of access quality resolves the contradiction between security and efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
A server device 1 includes a storage device 12 configured to store, for individual companies in a supply chain, pieces of product information on products of the companies, and a control unit 11. An upstream company and a downstream company are defined between companies in each pair of adjacent tiers. The control unit 11 is configured to execute receiving, from an account of the upstream company, a permission command including designation of the downstream company permitted to make access to pieces of first product information on upstream products of the upstream company, receiving, from an account of the downstream company, a linking request including selection of first product information to be linked to second product information on a downstream product of the downstream company from among the pieces of first product information to which the access is permitted, and generating linking information indicating a relationship of linking designated by the linking request.