Benefits through Utilising EPC Network Components in Service‐Oriented Environments – an Analysis Using the Example of the Food Industry

Improvements in the food sector imply enhancements of delivering food which is safe, affordable, readily available, and of the quality and diversity consumers expect. However, prevalent information systems (IS) of companies in the food industry are not ready to support further significant improvements. They especially lack the capability to exchange relevant information in an efficient manner. Since recently, two major developments can be observed from IS perspective: the spreading of service-oriented architectures (SOA) as well as an increase in mass serialization (due to public and private traceability requirements, e.g.). So far, though most important due to food safety, a growing need to become more efficient as well as an increasing information demand of consumers, the food sector has attracted little attention in literature concerning an analysis about the potential of both service-orientation and the Electronic Product Code (EPC) Network. This is why this paper will investigate to which extent these two developments can contribute to facilitate food companies’ IS helping them to maintain their competiveness. As a starting point, the research paper will depict the state of the art including SOA and the EPC Network. After describing the research approach, it will proceed with a characterisation of the food sector including an examination why there is need for action. Based on current research findings as well as experience gathered in recent projects, the paper will investigate the application of the EPC Network with its three major components, i. e. EPCIS (EPC Information Services), ONS (Object Name Service) and the EPC Discovery Services, as part of future IS architectures in this sector. The paper will close with a discussion whether the envisioned IS architecture is appropriate to accomplish the previously identified challenges and requirements in the food sector in a more agile, efficient and effective way. What is more, it will highlight the most pressing challenges and provide an outlook as to the following steps of the research

Part 1

Traceability can be a tool for safety and quality assurance for food perishables as well as for process optimization and economic gain. However, it is often considered mere bureaucracy and an economic burden. Such is prevalent in small and medium-sized enterprises. As they constitute most of food sector, the adoption of traceability systems is quite slow and mostly to satisfy legal requirements. To determine the main advantages and disadvantages of traceability models, implementation and technologies, a literature review and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) focused analysis was performed in the part I of this study. In Part II, a low cost open-source traceability focused on food safety and quality is developed. It is based on HACCP flowcharts to define gateways for quality evaluation and encompasses external verification and product history maintenance. Economic gains, more quality and safety, better efficiency and a more direct contact with consumers are some of the main advantages. High implementation costs, poorly defined benefits, lack of compatibility, consumer focused perspective and exposure of sensitive information are some of the main issues. This study serves to expose these issues and suggest solutions, aiming to encourage the adoption of traceability systems, with last-end benefits to producers, retailers, and consumers.This study is within the activities of project PrunusPós—Otimização de processos de armazenamento, conservação em frio, embalamento ativo e/ou inteligente, e rastreabilidade da qualidade alimentar no póscolheita de produtos frutícolas (Optimization of processes of storage, cold conservation, active and/or intelligent packaging, and traceability of food quality in the postharvest of fruit products), Operation n.º PDR2020-101-031695 (Partner), Consortium n.º 87, Initiative n.º 175 promoted by PDR2020 and co-financed by FEADER under the Portugal 2020 initiative.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cost-Effective Implementation of a Temperature Traceability System Based on Smart RFID Tags and IoT Services

[EN] This paper presents the design and validation of a traceability system, based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and Internet of Things (IoT) services, intended to address the interconnection and cost-implementation problems typical in traceability systems. The RFID layer integrates temperature sensors into RFID tags, to track and trace food conditions during transportation. The IoT paradigm makes it possible to connect multiple systems to the same platform, addressing interconnection problems between different technology providers. The cost-implementation issues are addressed following the Data as a Service (DaaS) billing scheme, where users pay for the data they consume and not the installed equipment, avoiding the big initial investment that these high-tech solutions commonly require. The developed system is validated in two case scenarios, one carried out in controlled laboratory conditions, monitoring chopped pumpkin. 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Smart manufacturing for industry 4.0 using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) presents a unique challenge of efficiently transforming traditional manufacturing to smart and autonomous systems.Integrating manufacturing systems, materials, machinery, operators, products and consumers, improve interconnectivity and traceability across the entire product life cycle in order to ensure the horizontal and vertical integration of networked Smart Manufacturing (SM) systems. Manufacturing functions of Material Handling (MH)-control, storage, protection and transport of raw materials, work in process (WIP) and finished products- throughout a manufacturing and distribution process will need a revamp in ways they are currently being carried in order to transition them into the SM era. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), an Automated Identification Data Capture (AIDC) technology increasingly being used to enhance MH functions in the (SM) industry, due to opportunities it presents for item tracking, out of sight data capturing, navigation and space mapping abilities. The technology readiness level of RFID has presented many implementation challenges as progress is being made to fully integrate the technology into the preexisting MH functions. Recently, many researchers in academia and industry have described various methods of using RFID for improving and efficiently carrying out MH functions as a gradual transition is being made into I4.0 era. This paper reviews and categorize research finding regarding RFID application developments according to various MH functions in SM, tabulates how various I4.0 enablers are needed to transform various traditional manufacturing functions into SM. It aims to let more experts know the current research status of RFID technology and provide some guidance for future research

Supply Chain Innovation with IoT

In this chapter, we first describe and analyze the evolution of supply chain and the history of IoT technologies’ development briefly. And then, we conduct a systematic research on the characteristics of supply chain system in IoT context and analyze how to realize the innovation of supply chain system in IoT context in detail, and on this basis, we propose the architecture of cold chain traceability system. Furthermore, through the decision-making process model for supply chain disruption and establishment of knowledge management system in IoT environment, the competences needed for improving supply chain resilience is reinforced. In the end, a case study is conducted to illustrate the availability and robustness of traceability system in the food supply chan

A Survey of RFID Authentication Protocols Based on Hash-Chain Method

Security and privacy are the inherent problems in RFID communications. There are several protocols have been proposed to overcome those problems. Hash chain is commonly employed by the protocols to improve security and privacy for RFID authentication. Although the protocols able to provide specific solution for RFID security and privacy problems, they fail to provide integrated solution. This article is a survey to closely observe those protocols in terms of its focus and limitations.Comment: Third ICCIT 2008 International Conference on Convergence and Hybrid Information Technolog

A Blockchain-based traceability system in Agri-Food SME: case study of a traditional bakery

In this paper we present a blockchain based system for the supply chain management of a particular Italian bread. Goal of the system is to guarantee a transparent and auditable traceability of the Carasau bread where each actor of the supply chain can verify the quality of the products and the conformity to the normative about the hygienic-sanitary conditions along the chain. To realize this system we relied on the Blockchain and the Internet of Thing technologies in order to provide a trustless environment, in which trust is placed in cryptography, in mathematical operations and on the network, and not in public or private companies. Thanks to the use of digital technologies the system aims to reduce the data entry errors and the risk of tampering. Our system is designed so that along the supply chain, the nodes equipped with several sensors directly communicate their data to Raspberry Pi units that elaborate and transmit them to Interplanetary File System and to the Ethereum Blockchain. Furthermore, we designed ad hoc Radio Frequency Identification and Near Field communication tags to shortly supply the proposed system with information about the products and batches. The dedicated RFID tags robustness during on-bread operation was numerically tested. The system will easily allow end consumers to have a transparent view on the whole journey from raw material to purchased final product and a supervisory authority to perform online inspections on the products’ quality and on the good working practices

Global traceability

The use of Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in supply chain management (SCM) systems was a big source for optimism. However, the expected rapid industry adoption of RFID did not take place. This research explores some of the existing challenges and obstacles to RFID adoption, such as the lack of consistent UHF spectrum regulations for RFID or the absence of standards that promote integration with Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) media. As a conclusion, in this project we suggest some solutions to these challenges in the use of multi-frequency RFID tags that can be read at more that one frequency or novel migration strategies and standards that would help expand the industry.Outgoin

Supply chain traceability using blockchain

Mestrado em Gestão MBARastreabilidade é a capacidade de rastrear a origem, a história e a distribuição de produtos numa cadeia logística. Para implementar rastreabilidade completa, é crucial estabelecer uma cadeia de custódia, normalmente definida como uma sequência de procedimentos que valida a propriedade e o controle de produtos ao longo da cadeia de logística. No mercado atual globalizado, as cadeias de logística podem abranger um grande número de países e fronteiras e exigir a interoperabilidade de numerosas organizações. Esta vastidão e complexidade impacta a competitividade dos negócios e dificulta a segurança, e a transparência da cadeia de logística. A implementação da rastreabilidade é fundamental para que as organizações possam posteriormente demonstrar a rastreabilidade, proveniência e integridade e conformidade do produto. A tecnologia Blockchain, com os seus atributos de descentralização, transparência e imutabilidade, tem sido apontada como destinada a revolucionar vários setores, com aplicação ao gerenciamento de cadeias de logística. O presente estudo começa pela revisão da literatura publicada para encontrar aspetos que influenciam o problema e segue a Metodologia de Pesquisa de Projeto para analisar os requisitos e propor uma solução para um sistema de gestão de cadeia de logística com melhor rastreabilidade. Os resultados da tese são artefactos de arquitetura, incluindo um contracto inteligente para Ethereum e um sistema de autenticação baseado em certificados, que permitem a implementação de um sistema de cadeia de logística suportado em Ethereum Blockchain que providencia aos seus utilizadores e ao consumidor final, as funcionalidades de proveniência, rastreabilidade e cadeia de custódia.Traceability is the ability to trace the origin, processing history, and the distribution of products in a Supply chain. In order to implement a complete traceability system, it is crucial to establish a chain of custody. Chain of Custody is typically defined as a sequence of procedures that validates the ownership and control of products along the supply chain. In the current global marketplace supply chains can span a huge number of countries and require interoperation of a multitude of organizations. This vastness of supply chains impacts business competitiveness since it adds complexity and can difficult securing traceability, chain of custody and transparency. In this work it is proposed a complete approach for organizations to be able to demonstrate traceability, provenance (proof of origin) and product integrity and compliance. Blockchain technology with its attributes of decentralization, transparency and immutability has been touted to revolutionize several industries, and most recently has been proposed for supply chain management (SCM). The present study reviews the published literature to find the aspects that influence the problem and then follows the Design Science Research Methodology to analyze the requirements and propose a solution to a more complete traceability in SCMs. The results of this thesis were architectural artifacts, including an Ethereum SC (Smart Contract) and a certificate-based authentication system. These deliverables would allow implementation of a supply chain system over the Ethereum Blockchain that can provide decentralized and trustful assurance of the provenance, chain of custody and traceability functionalities for the participants and consumers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Innovative Solutions of the Future Internet: Needs of the Food Chain Users

Within the SmartAgriFood project 135 in depth interviews in 6 countries, and 8 focus group discussions in 5 countries were carried out for identification and evaluation of the potential applications of the Future Internet (FI) in the agri-food area. Several innovative ideas were described by the participants and there were also some demands, expectations and limitations which were universally mentioned by them. One of the main expectations is that FI should be accessible for anybody, anywhere and anytime. In addition the followings should be ensured: higher privacy; compatibility; integration of systems; longer range in communication; lower implementation costs; and user-friendly interfaces. The most important prerequisite is making aware and training of the users, as most of them do not have appropriate experience about using the Internet. For enhancing the application of the ICT solutions in the agri-food sector the above mentioned needs of the users should be considered and met by the ICT community