Patent Grant
11954715
The ability to trace produce back to its packing facilities, inspection points, and even the field in which it was grown is becoming more of a necessity in the produce industry as concerns regarding food safety increase. In the event of a food-borne illness outbreak, for example, damage may be limited if the source of the contaminated product is identified quickly so that other products grown in the same field, processed in the same packing facility, and/or transported in the same vehicle can be quarantined.
The events of Sep. 11, 2001 reinforced the need to enhance the security of the United States. They also raised awareness of the possibility of bioterrorism attacks. Hence, Congress passed the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Bioterrorism Act), which requires food handlers to establish and maintain records for all food directly in contact with its finished container.
In addition, many customers, such as brokers and retailers, are increasingly requesting real time access to information regarding the produce they buy. For example, they often desire to view shipping, tracing, and inspection information immediately after they place an order for produce. Many customers also require independent certification audits of all produce sold in their stores.
Currently, much of the shipping, tracing, and inspection information are recorded on paper. Moreover, a myriad of different recording techniques are used to record this information. Consequently, it is often difficult to comply with government requirements to be able to quickly trace produce back to the packing facility in which it was processed and to the field in which it was grown. It is also difficult to comply with customers' requests to instantaneously access information regarding their produce orders.
Methods of allowing a customer to access information related to an order of a commodity include gathering inspection information from a commodity lot, collecting grower, field, and packing information associated with the commodity lot, collecting pictures and videos related to the commodity lot, recording purchase orders associated with the commodity lot, assigning a trace code or electronic code to each of the purchase orders, entering the inspection information; the grower, field, and packing information; the relevant pictures and videos; the purchase orders; and the trace codes into a central database. Once entered into the central database, the content of a web-based application may be updated with the inspection information, the grower, field, and packing information, pictures and videos, the purchase orders, and the trace codes within the central database, thereby allowing the customer to access the inspection information, and the grower, field, and packing information, as well as related videos and pictures, by entering one of the trace codes into the web-based application. According to one exemplary embodiment, each of the purchase orders associated with the commodity lot is linked within the web-based application.
According to one example, systems for allowing a customer to access information related to an order of a commodity include a server configured to store the information in a central database, the information including inspection information corresponding to a single source lot of the order of the commodity including an inspection photograph of the source lot of the commodity and at least one or more of sales information, shipping information, pack out information, inventory information, and tracing information corresponding to the order of the commodity, as well as links to videos that may be relevant to the commodity. Additionally, one or more terminals having one or more applications configured to enter the information into the central database and a web-based application configured to allow the customer to access the information within the central database are included in the exemplary system. According to one exemplary embodiment, multiple orders from the single source lot are linked to facilitate access to all orders of the commodity originating from the single source lot.
According to another example, a system in which a central website links several databases populated and maintained by various members of the supply chain including packing facilities. According to this exemplary implementation, a packing facility or other member of the supply chain records and enters information into a database, including inspection information corresponding to a single source lot of the order of the commodity including an inspection photograph of the source lot of the commodity and at least one or more of sales information, shipping information, pack out information, inventory information, and tracing information corresponding to the order of the commodity, as well as links to videos that may be relevant to the commodity. The database may also contain information about the grower, field, and packing information associated with the commodity lot, pictures and videos related to the commodity lot, recording purchase orders associated with the commodity lot, audits, pesticide records, certificates, organic certificates, bills of lading, memorandums, and other pertinent information relative to the history of a commodity. Through a central website, a consumer or supplier is able to view the information related to a purchased commodity; the central website retrieves the necessary information from one or more databases maintained by members of the supply chain (e.g. The packing facility) to display information to the consumer.
According to an alternative embodiment, a central Web Server allows account access. According to this embodiment, a members of the supply chain would be able to create an account on the trace produce website. Similar to the embodiment described above, a central server or servers are populated with information from members of the supply chain, including but not limited to growers, packing facilities, shippers, customers, brokers, and re-packers; however, according to an embodiment incorporating accounts, a supply chain member creates an account and is allowed to view and enter information with limited access. Accounts would allow a limited access by one member of the supply chain to view information belonging to another member of the supply chain. For example, a shipper may have an account allowing him to send messages or negotiate with a customer; while the packing facility account may allow him to view information of the shipper, the packer may not have privileges to view information of the customer. This process will be described in greater detail below.
The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments of the principles described herein and are a part of the specification. The illustrated embodiments are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.
Methods and systems for allowing a customer, a supplier, or a regulatory agency to access information related to an order of a commodity are described herein. The information may include sales information, shipping information, tracing information, related photos and videos, advertisement links, and/or inspection information corresponding to the order of the commodity, and in some instances messages from one member of the supply chain to another. In some examples, as will be described in more detail below, the information is entered into a central database via one or more applications residing on one or more terminals. A web-based application is regularly updated with the information within the central database. An authorized customer, supplier, regulatory agency, or other entity may then login to the web-based application and access the desired information related to the order of the commodity.
As used herein and in the appended claims, unless otherwise specifically denoted, the term “customer or consumer” will be used to refer to any authorized entity that logs into the web-based application and accesses information related to an order of commodity. Exemplary, but not exclusive, customers include, packing facilities, brokers, retailers, individual buyers, inspectors, shippers, growers, regulatory agencies, and others involved in the supply chain of the commodity.
It will be recognized that the systems and methods described herein may be applied to any type of commodity and are not limited to produce only. For example, the systems and methods described herein may be used to keep track of and access information regarding the production, processing, inspection, and/or shipment of any type of produce (e.g., fruits and vegetables), grain, meat, livestock, or other food product; it may be extended to include other fabricated products, where rather than including grower information it may include information pertaining to the fabrication of a certain product. However, for illustrative purposes only, produce will be used in the examples described herein.
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present systems and methods. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present systems and methods may be practiced without these specific details. Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearance of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
Packing facility operations may vary depending on the particular produce being processed. For example, packing facility operations may be as simple as moving produce from a field lug into a shipping container. Alternatively, packing facility operations may include a variety of handling practices including, but not limited to, cleaning, waxing, sizing, quality grading, color sorting, and inspecting.
Produce is often inspected at the packing facility (11) by a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspector. Alternatively, many packing facilities (11) now participate in the USDA's Customer Assisted Inspection Program (CAIP). Under CAIP, a packing facility (11) hires its own internal inspector that has been certified by the state to inspect produce. The inspector's work is reviewed periodically by a USDA certified state inspector to ensure that inspection procedures are properly followed. The inspection procedure and other packing facility operations will be described in more detail below.
Once the produce has been processed in the packing facility (11) and packed, it is transported to various buyers. Produce is often bought by a broker (12), which, in turn, distributes the produce to various end consumers (13), retailers (14), or other food service entities (15). In some alternative arrangements, the packing facility (11) serves as a broker and distributes the produce directly to the customers.
As mentioned, produce buyers often desire access to information concerning the production, processing, inspection, and transportation of the produce that they purchase. This information includes, but is not limited to, load quantities, pricing, tracing information (i.e., information describing the grower of the produce and the particular field where the produce was grown), inspection report summaries, transport vehicle information, and images of the produce while still in the processing stage.
However, as shown in
Hence, the systems and methods described herein may be used to standardize the recording procedures used by growers, packing facilities, inspectors, and shippers so that buyers may have real-time access to information related to the production, processing, inspection, and transportation of the produce that they purchase. As will be described in more detail below, a web-based application may be used to trace produce and to give produce buyers real-time access to information related to their purchase order.
The database used in connection with the process of
In some examples, the lot ID is linked within the database to one or more lot attributes. For example, the lot ID may be linked to photographs, videos, or other multimedia presentations of the grower of the produce, the field where the lot of produce is grown, and the packing facility where the lot of produce is processed. According to one exemplary embodiment the lot ID has links to videos on a video hosting website such as youtube. Text describing the grower, field, packing facility, and/or third party audits of the produce may be additionally or alternatively linked to the lot ID. The text may include, but is not limited to; the name of the grower, global positioning satellite (GPS) coordinates of the field, seed variety information, a description of the packing facility, and/or any other applicable information. According to one exemplary embodiments, the lot ID may also be linked directly or indirectly to various advertisements. A lot ID may also have audits, pesticide records, certificates, organic certificates, bills of lading, and memorandums associated and linked to a lot ID. Some of these materials, such as audits and certifications may be accessible through third party websites. A link may be provided on the traceproduce website allowing a consumer to click the link and be directed to an audit or certification agency's website containing information on audits or certification documentation regarding the lot ID. As previously described, the system and method may be extended to include a wide variety of products, not exclusively produce; therefore it is possible that the system and method will incorporate a different set of informational items associated with a given product, all of which may be linked to the lot ID.
Additionally, according to one exemplary embodiment, the text may be linked to a third party information website. For example, the text may include a link to a third party mapping service such as GOOGLE MAP, YAHOO MAPS, or MAPQUEST that provides a geographical map identifying the location of the field. According to this exemplary embodiment, the lot ID is linked to coordinates of the field location. When the link to the third party mapping service is selected, the coordinates are automatically entered into the query page of the third party mapping service, providing the desired map/photos. Alternatively, rather than be redirected through links to external web pages containing information such as maps, photos, videos, advertisements, and other multimedia presentations, the information may be displayed through third party snippets on the same page. For example, the YouTube videos or Google Maps may be displayed on the webpage rather than redirecting a consumer to a third party website.
As mentioned, text or multimedia presentations describing third party audits of the produce may additionally or alternatively be linked to the lot ID. Third party audits allow end customers to verify that the grower or shipper is using “good agricultural practices” and “good handling practices.” The audits may be performed by any third party, e.g., Primus Labs. Certificates and audits may also be included verifying organically grown produce. Audits performed by any entity may be available to consumers in any format such as documentation, videos showing the audit being preformed, videos of a summary of an audit, and other pertinent information communicated in any form by members of the supply chain. It is also possible that some of these audits and certifications may be accessible through third party websites. A link may be provided on the traceproduce website allowing a consumer to click the link and be directed to an audit or certification agency's website containing information on audits or certification documentation regarding the lot ID.
As shown in
In some examples, the tracking ID is referred to as a run number and includes the date and order in which the lot is processed in the packing facility. For example, if the lot is the first lot to be processed in the packing facility on April 18 of a given year, it may be assigned a tracking ID of 04/18/01.
In some examples, the tracking ID may additionally or alternatively include a USDA positive lot identification (PLI) number. USDA PLI numbers are issued by the USDA to inspected lots of produce and are used to trace produce that is in commerce back to its packing facility. In some examples, the USDA PLI number is linked to the lot ID within the central database so that it may also be used to trace the produce back to the field in which it was grown.
In some alternative examples, both a run number and a USDA PLI number are assigned to an incoming lot of produce. A separate run number is advantageous in some instances because it may be easier for workers in the packing facility to work with run numbers rather than USDA PLI numbers. However, it will be recognized that run numbers and USDA PLI numbers are merely illustrative of the many different types of tracking numbers that may be assigned to an incoming lot of produce.
Returning to
After the produce has been processed, it is packaged into containers (step 24). Once packaged, random samples of the produce within the lot are inspected by an inspector (step 25). As mentioned, the inspector may be an internal inspector hired by the packing facility. Alternatively, the inspector may be a government inspector assigned to the packing facility. A number of different qualities of the produce may be inspected depending on the particular type of produce being processed. For example, the inspector may ensure that the produce has been properly sorted and labeled by weight, color, quality, and/or grade.
In some examples, the inspector enters an inspection report into a software program that is linked to the central database. In this manner, the inspection report may be linked to a particular tracking ID within the database. For example,
Returning to
In some examples, the camera that is used to take the digital photographs of the produce is controllable via a computer software interface. For example, as shown in
In some examples, digital video of one or more samples within the lot of produce may additionally or alternatively be taken and linked to the tracking ID. For example, digital video may record some or all of the processing of a particular sample of produce in the packing facility.
Returning to
In some examples, the marking information is printed on a tag that is affixed to each container. Additionally or alternatively, the marking information may be stamped or otherwise printed directly on each container.
In some examples, the marking information is affixed directly to each piece of produce within an order (e.g., a sticker is affixed to each piece of fruit within an order). However, it will be recognized that in some instances, it is too labor intensive to mark each individual piece of produce or even each individual container within an order. Hence, the marking information may alternatively be affixed to one or more pallets of containers in a particular order.
As it is possible that a packing facility may pack several products originating from different sources, wherein the products are of such a nature that individually labeling each own is unrealistic, the package may be labeled with several lot ID numbers. Each lot ID number on the package corresponding to one of the products within the package. One of example of this may include a packing facility that packages potatoes, the potatoes may originate from several different fields and growers. Each of the lots of produce received from the various growers is associated with a different lot ID, as they each originated from a different field and grower. A package created by the packing facility may contain potatoes of various origins; therefore, the outside of the package may contain the lot IDs of all of the potatoes possibly included in the package. A consumer may then use the several lot IDs on the package and trace back the history and other information as is described herein as being associated with a lot ID.
Alternatively, it may be desired to package the products from varying origins and label them with a single lot ID. This new lot ID would include the history of all of the products contained within the package. An example of how this may be used in practice is that of a salad. A salad comprising lettuce, spinach, carrots, radishes, and celery has five products that are each grown in a different field by a different grower, each associated to a different lot ID number. When the packing facility receives the five products and begins to package them as a salad together in one package, the packing facility may assign a new lot ID to the packaged salad. A consumer entering the lot ID found on the packaged salad will be directed to a web page showing the information of all of the products found within the package of salad. They will see that the map for the radishes, it's corresponding field, grower, videos and other information as described herein, they will then be able to, on the same page or through linked pages, see the same corresponding information for the fresh spinach's information, the lettuce's information, etc.
As apparent, this may be extended to any other package incorporating multiple products to be packaged in a single package, or to a single product originating from various locations, such as a package of apples coming from many different growers.
The containers of produce may then be loaded onto a transport vehicle (e.g., a truck, ship, airplane, etc.) (Step 28) and transported to one or more buyers who have placed orders for various quantities of produce. Each order is assigned a purchase order (PO) number within a database.
In some examples, the tagging system identifier (e.g., the bar code) corresponding to the containers in a particular purchase order is scanned into a database as the containers are loaded onto the transport vehicle to fulfill the purchase order. In this manner, the purchase order number may be linked to the tracking ID within the database. Additional information, such as the quantity of produce included within the shipment, may also be linked to the tracking ID within the database.
After a Bill of Lading is completed with the operator of the transport vehicle, the order may then be finalized by a shipping clerk entering the information in a database. In this manner, as will be described in more detail below, a customer may see via the Internet that his or her order has shipped almost as soon as the produce is loaded onto the transport vehicle. The Bill of Lading may be associated with a lot ID and be viewable on the web page.
It is possible that during the supply chain as shown in
In one possible embodiment, food services, retailers, and other end consumers may further track the distribution of a given commodity such as produce. This may be done through the Trace Produce website or another website. This would allow a commodity distributor such as Wal-mart or US Foodservices to utilize the existing code found on products that come from the shipper, and enter the codes into an alternative tracing data system, or the traceproduce system, and track which stores or customer's the products went to.
As shown in
As shown in
Each of the terminals (50, 52) shown in
As mentioned, an authorized customer may access the information stored on the server (51) via a web-based application. In some examples, the contents of the web-based application are continuously updated with the contents of the database so that the information seen on the web-based application is always current. In some alternative applications, the contents of the web-based application are updated periodically as best serves a particular application.
In some examples, the web-based application is maintained by a produce facility, broker, or other entity. The customer may be given a username and password and may then login and view information specific to his or her produce order. An exemplary web-based application configured to provide information regarding a produce order will now be described. It will be recognized that the web-based application described herein is merely illustrative of the many different web-based applications that may be used to provide access to information regarding a produce order to a customer or to any other authorized entity.
As shown in
As shown in
According to one exemplary embodiment, when the lot identification component (910) is entered into a customer portal, information related to the products assigned the lot identification component is displayed. Examples of manners in which information may be displayed will be described in greater detail below.
Additionally, according to one exemplary embodiment, all of the purchase orders associated with a lot identification component (910;
According to the present exemplary embodiment, linking the associated purchase orders stemming from a single lot allows for the rapid identification of all of the orders that are transported from a single lot. In a package containing multiple products, a single lot ID of the package may be linked to all of the products within. For example, if a problem is identified from a single purchase order, such as reports of botulism, e-coli, rot, or other difficulties, the purchase orders associated with the entire lot may then be identified and inspected or re-called as the situation merits. If a spinach in a salad is determined to be contaminated it would be possible to identify all of the locations the spinach was distributed, including packages such as a salad that may contain additional produce other than salad.
For example, according to one exemplary embodiment, a user may enter the USGA code to identify a single order. Once entered, all of the orders related to the entered USGA code will be identified. As illustrated in
As discussed previously the ID tag associated with a lot of produce may contain a URL. A consumer may enter the URL in a web browser and encounter a web portal allowing a consumer to view information relevant to the purchased produce.
As illustrated in
Additionally, as illustrated in
Additionally, a button may be present on the interface that allows a customer to view a sample of the produce associated with the lot identification component (910;
In some examples, the produce is additionally or alternatively inspected at a receiving point (e.g., at the broker's place of business or at the retailer's place of business). For example, the federal government has recently established the Fresh Electronic Inspection Reporting/Resource System (FEIRS), which includes an electronic means of recording the inspection summaries prepared by the receiving point inspectors. In some examples, the results of these receiving point inspections are linked to the tracking ID of the produce. In this manner customers may also access the receiving point inspection results.
In addition to the page as illustrated in
The web portal shown in
Upon selecting what is to be viewed relative to a chosen lot of produce, information in the form of web pages and downloadable portable document format (PDF) files may be available, including multimedia formats. According to one exemplary embodiment, the supplier may view a Sales Order page as shown in
According to one embodiment, a more detailed search may be performed on a lot of produce allowing a supplier or other authorized person to view details of sales that have been made. An exemplary webpage screen shot is shown in
According to one exemplary embodiment, a supplier or other authorized person may also view shipping details, these shipping details may include a variety of information including but not limited to, date, lot ID, description, USDA PLI Trace number, quantity, destination, and various links or buttons allowing navigation to other parts of the web page. An example screen shot according to one embodiment is shown in
Once logged in the supplier or other authorized person may navigate via a navigation bar near the top of the page; the navigation bar may contain, but is not limited to links to MAIN, INSPECTIONS, COMMENTS, CONTACT US, and/or other useful links. By selecting INSPECTIONS a user is directed to a webpage allowing the user to select the inspection reports desired for viewing. An exemplary screen shot according to one embodiment is shown in
Returning to
In some examples, the customer may desire to view the details regarding the inspection of a specific sample of produce within the order. Hence, a link (not shown) to the full inspection note sheets that are averaged together to obtain the inspection report summary of
In some examples, some or all of the information shown in any of the web pages of
Hence, the web-based application described in connection with
Moreover, the web-based application described in connection with
In some examples, the web-based application described herein may also be used by a government inspector to ensure that proper procedures are followed by on-site inspectors. The government inspector may be a state or federal inspector. The government inspector may access and sort inspection summaries by packing facility, customer, order number, on-site inspector name, product, brand, date, etc. The web-based application saves the government inspector considerable time and resources by allowing him or her to access the information via the Internet.
For example, a government inspector may desire to access information regarding inspections of specific samples of produce within a lot of produce that is processed at a particular packing facility. If all the packing facilities use the present systems and methods to input processing and inspection information into the central database, the government inspector may use the web-based application to quickly access the desired inspection information, regardless of the packing facility where the produce was processed.
The web-based application described herein may also be used by a government agent to trace a product back to its corresponding packing facility and/or field where it was grown. For example, if a certain product in a particular grocery store is found to be contaminated, a government agent or onsite inspector may quickly determine where the product was grown and where it was processed prior to shipping by using the tracking number (e.g., the USDA PLI number) to query the web-based application to display tracing information corresponding to the product. If it is determined that the contamination occurred at the packing facility, for example, the government agent may then use the web-based application to quickly determine the location of all other produce processed at that packing facility so that the produce may also be tested, quarantined, or otherwise dealt with. In this manner, acts of bioterrorism, contamination, or any other problem associated with produce may be quickly remedied.
According to one exemplary embodiment described herein, the present exemplary system and method may be used to allow a customer to enter a trace code on a website and pull up all information regarding the grower, field, and packer of the product; or in the case of a lot ID associated with a number of products packaged together, the information corresponding to all of the products within the package.
Additionally, according to one exemplary alternative embodiment, the act of entering the HTML address or other identifier found on the exemplary tag (900) illustrated in
According to one alternative embodiment, produce or other commodities are labeled with a tracking number. Through this tracking number a user may be directed towards advertising campaigns related to the purchased commodity. A Trace Produce website may not be available; however, a consumer may simply be directed to an advertisement campaign. This campaign may include any known method of advertising, for example video advertisements through sites such as YouTube.
According to one alternative embodiment, produce may be assigned a tracking number and consumers, suppliers, or other persons may enter the tracking numbers in a website and retrieve inspection reports related to the produce tracking number assigned. According to one embodiment, the website may not contain other information as described above such as sales, shipping, and other details, but it would contain some or all pertinent inspection documents. Thus, inspection details or part of inspection details would be accessible to authorized users allowing them to quickly and conveniently view inspection documents. In this embodiment a web server application is used to allow the posting and viewing of inspection documents and possibly photos or videos of the inspection process.
It will be recognized that the web-based application described herein may additionally or alternatively be used to access any other type of information corresponding to produce that is processed in one or more packing facilities. For example, a grower may use the web-based application to access pack out and/or inventory information regarding produce that he or she grows or otherwise produces. Such pack out and/or inventory information may include, but is not limited to, bin reports, pack out reports, lot reports, and truck reports. These reports may allow the grower to view how his or her produce is being inspected, processed, and shipped. They may also allow the grower to calculate an expected return on investment due to the packing performance of his or her produce. Web pages may be designed that allow access to such information as best serves a particular application.
Online Account Based Commodity Tracing System
The preceding information is useful in describing both a system utilizing a central server or various servers containing a database or databases which allow a particular item of produce to be traced; that is all the information relevant to a particular commodity is stored within a database, and each member of the supply chain has limited or unlimited access to the information regarding the commodity. In an alternative embodiment illustrated in
Each account is associated with a member of the supply chain of one or more commodities. Within the account, other members may be able to view contact information of that member, such as name, address, fax, telephone, personal websites, email address, and other information that may facilitate in contacting the entity associated with a given account. This may be useful during a recall or during a contamination warning, as through the account system any party having anything to do with a problematic commodity can be notified with ease.
Illustrated in
By associating a lot ID number to this lot record, an end customer will be able to enter the lot ID number on a purchased commodity and view information as described above in reference to
As is illustrated in
According to one exemplary system and method, the system and method also allows one member of the supply chain to log into their account and subsequently perform a search. The search may allow the member of the supply chain to locate a shipper, packing facility, grower, broker, inspection agent, certification boards, consumers, vendors, or other member of the supply chain. The search allow one member to find another member offering a commodity or service that they are in need of, or simply a search to find another member of the supply chain that they currently do or would like to do business with.
Just as one member of the supply chain may be prevented from viewing privileged information of another member, one member may allow another member access to a portion or all of their information. This allows any member of the supply chain to have an account, access other accounts as permission is given, communicate with other accounts, and generally be connected to other members of the supply chain for all desired purposes. Members of the supply chain include but are not limited to growers, packing facilities, shippers, customers, brokers, and repackers;
The customer would be allowed, from their account, to upload information regarding the commodity lot to the shipper's account. The shipper account may limit the types and formats of the information allowed to be uploaded. The shipper account may also give different privileges to different customers. Content that a customer may upload includes, but is not limited to, documents, inspections, certifications, pictures of inspected product, other pictures, and any other information deemed relevant to the commodity lot. The information may be uploaded in a secure customer access page within the shipper account that allows for privacy settings. Privacy settings would prevent other customers that do business with the shipper from seeing this information, even though they have access to the shippers account.
Customers and shippers would be allowed to send messages to one another in a secure manner as well. This may be extended allowing the end consumer to send a message, such as feedback, to an interested member of the supply chain. In the preceding description, as noted previously, the term customer refers to any authorized entity that logs into the web-based application and accesses information related to an order of commodity. Exemplary, but not exclusive, customers include, brokers, retailers, individual buyers, inspectors, shippers, growers, regulatory agencies, consumers, and others involved in the supply chain of the commodity. Any member of the supply chain ‘A’ is able to communicate with another member of the supply chain ‘B’, if both ‘A’ and ‘B’ choose to allow communication from one another. Communication allowed through the account based system and method allows for communication of any form including, but not limited to, text transmission, videos, forms, photos, applications, requests, responses, bids, and any other message one member of the supply chain may choose to send to another member of the supply chain. The host of the web site may choose to limit what can be sent and who is allowed to send what time of material. According to one exemplary embodiment, an inspection video, a video attesting to quality control, or a video of a method used may be sent from one member of the supply chain to another. Additional examples of members of the supply chain communicating with other members of the supply chain include, but are not limited to, a grower communicating with a packing facility, a packing facility with an inspector or shipper, a shipper with a broker, a broker with a consumer, a shipper with a consumer, etc.
Describing in detail the drawing in
Expanding further on the drawing, a dashed arrow extending from the Customer X Secure Account to three dashed bubbles each corresponding to information that the customer X shares with each of the three different shippers. Each bubble may represent different information; that is, the information provided by customer X to shipper A is different than the information provided by customer X to shipper B and shipper C. Information that the customer X may desire to share with each shipper may be information such as documents, photos, further inspection information, and/or other items of interest relating to the commodity purchased from each of the shippers.
It should be understood that
Using an account model is beneficial over the prior described methods involving servers maintained by the members of the supply chain in several ways. In a system involving accounts, where each member of the supply chain creates an account with a website, allows the various members of the supply chain to enter information on their account. Once the information is entered they have access to edit it as well as set security controls enabling other members of the supply chain limited access to view, add to, or edit the information originally entered. Accounts also allow all of the above end consumer benefits as well.
It will be recognized that the systems and methods described as related to the online account based commodity tracing system may be applied to any type of commodity and are not limited to produce only. For example, the systems and methods described herein may be used to keep track of and access information regarding the production, processing, inspection, and/or shipment of any type of produce (e.g., fruits and vegetables), grain, meat, livestock, or other food product; it may be extended to include other fabricated products, where rather than including grower information it may include information pertaining to the fabrication of a certain product. However, for illustrative purposes only, produce is used in the examples described herein.
The members of the supply chain, prior to the end consumer, each have an account allowing them to easily share inspection information as deemed necessary, while the end user notices no difference from the system and method described above in reference to the
The preceding description has been presented only to illustrate and describe embodiments of the invention. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to any precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. Modification of the above disclosure may include only pieces of the process as exclusive entities or combinations of pieces to form a useful application in which various described elements of the disclosure are not incorporated. As three specific embodiments of the system and method have been described, namely, a central server, various servers, and an account based version, it is important to recognize that each embodiment may be used alone or in conjunction pieces of the other embodiments. Specifically, the embodiment involving accounts is easily modifiable to incorporate any piece of the other embodiments.
This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/502,884, filed Jul. 3, 2019, which is Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/121,461, filed Sep. 4, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,922,729, which is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/154,354, filed Jan. 14, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,096,047, which is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/061,868, filed Apr. 3, 2008, which is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/636,128, filed on Dec. 8, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,996,285, which is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/363,785, filed Feb. 27, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,131,599, which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.
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