Item tracking system architectures providing real-time visibility to supply chain

US6901304B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• SAP AG · DE

Inventors

• Richard Swan · Portola Valley, US
• Peter Ebert · Darmstadt, DE
• Tao Lin · Palo Alto, US
• Jie Weng · Lo Wu, CN
• Hartmut Vogler · Foster City, US
• Brian Mo · Fremont, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 30, 2002
• Grant date: May 31, 2005
• Expiry date: Mar 29, 2023

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G07C9/28
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for providing multiple enterprises real-time access to information about items in a supply chain. Tags bound to items are read and information read from the tags and location information about the tags is provided by at least two enterprises and used to maintain disposition information about the items, which is made visible to enterprises in the supply chain. The tags can be radio-frequency identification tags having each having an ePC (electronic product code) as unique tag identifier. Visibility of the disposition information can be controlled through authorization. Visible information can include relationships between particular items and business documents such as order and shipping documents. With shipping documents visible, information read from item tags can be used to confirm the identify or completeness of a shipment.