Unique Code String Authentication System for Product Tracking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Counterfeiting of products, particularly in the pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries, poses significant risks to consumer health and manufacturer reputation, and the illegal diversion of goods undermines tax compliance and pricing strategies, necessitating a system for authenticating and tracking products throughout the distribution chain.
Innovation Solution
A system that generates unique code strings, marks them on products, and stores them on a secure server, allowing for authentication and tracking via communication devices, utilizing a code string model with defined parameters to ensure security and prevent counterfeiting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If products are distributed through multiple parties in the chain of commerce, then product availability and market reach are improved, but the risk of counterfeiting and illegal diversion increases due to increased access points
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the product identification into segmented components: unique code strings marked on individual products, intermediate code strings for packaging levels, and hierarchical data structures in the database. This segmentation allows tracking at multiple levels of the distribution chain while maintaining security through distributed verification across many parties.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where code strings are verified against centralized database records at various points in the distribution chain. Each transaction and location change generates feedback data that is stored and used to detect anomalies, enabling real-time monitoring and authentication that scales across multiple distribution parties.
2Reliability
If unique code strings are marked on each product instantiation, then product authentication capability is improved, but the complexity of generating, managing, and verifying these codes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The code string system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides unique product identification, enables authentication verification, tracks distribution chain movements, and detects counterfeiting. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate systems while maintaining high reliability through a unified approach that leverages the same infrastructure for multiple security and tracking objectives.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses digital copies of code string data stored in centralized and distributed databases to verify physical products. Instead of requiring complex physical security features on each product, the system relies on easily replicable digital records that can be verified against the physical code strings, simplifying the overall management while maintaining authentication reliability.
3Reliability
If comprehensive tracking data is collected throughout the distribution chain, then product traceability and security are improved, but the amount of data storage and communication requirements increases
Solution Approach 1:
Tracking data is segmented into hierarchical levels corresponding to different packaging and distribution stages. The database stores data in a hierarchical structure that mirrors the physical product structure, allowing efficient storage and retrieval of only relevant traceability information at each level without requiring complete data duplication across all systems.
Solution Approach 2:
Code strings and associated metadata are pre-configured and registered in the database before products enter the distribution chain. This preliminary action establishes the baseline authentication data, reducing the need for extensive data collection and processing during actual distribution operations and minimizing ongoing data storage requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A subset of unique codes are generated from a set of codes. The subset of codes are stored in a database on a secure server and each of the codes is marked on a corresponding instantiation of the product. The marked instantiations are distributed. During their distribution, the marked instantiations are verified for authenticity and for routing. This verification is performed by reading or scanning the codes on the instantiations, and transmitting that information to the secure server for comparison against the codes and other information located in the database contained therein.