Enhanced Brand Label Validation

• US 20090198541A1
• Filed: 12/24/2008
• Published: 08/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Aginfolink Holdings Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Aginfolink Holdings Incorporated
• Inventors: Dolan, Andrew J., Pape, William R.
• Application Number:
  US12/343,857
• Publication Number:
  US 20090198541A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/29
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials

Abstract

Enhanced brand label validation, in which identification information uniquely identifying items that have moved through one or more nodes of a supply chain is received, and event data associated with the uniquely identified items is received from the one or more nodes, based on the received identification information. The process also includes performing a validation of a characteristic of the uniquely identified items based on applying the received event data to multiple discrete evaluation frameworks, and providing a result of the validation for each of the multiple discrete evaluation frameworks.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving identification information uniquely identifying items that have moved through one or more nodes of a supply chain;

receiving, from the one or more nodes, event data associated with the uniquely identified items based on the received identification information;

performing a validation of a characteristic of the uniquely identified items based on applying the received event data to multiple discrete evaluation frameworks; and

providing a result of the validation for each of the multiple discrete evaluation frameworks.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the result of the validation is provided in real time or near real time to receiving the identification information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the validation is performed simultaneously using the multiple discrete evaluation frameworks.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple discrete evaluation frameworks further comprise a first evaluation framework that evaluates a validity of the characteristic according to a first compliance standard, and a second evaluation framework that evaluates the validity of the characteristic according to a second compliance standard which is more stringent than the first compliance standard.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first compliance standard comprises a minimum compliance standard, and the second standard comprises an elevated standard predefined for a particular brand under which the items will be sold.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple discrete evaluation frameworks further comprise an internal evaluation framework performed on behalf of one of the nodes of the supply chain, and a third-party evaluation framework performed by a disinterested third party not involved in the supply chain.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the third party validation comprises an age and source verification.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the result of the validation further comprises providing indicia responsive to the validation, the indicia identifying, for each of the multiple discrete evaluation frameworks:

conforming and non-conforming items which do and do not validly satisfy the characteristic, respectively.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the indicia comprises a conforming percentage and a non-conforming percentage of the items which do and do not validly satisfy the characteristic, respectively.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the indicia comprises a conforming list and a non-conforming list of the items listing the identification information of the items which do and do not validly satisfy the characteristic, respectively.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the result of the validation further comprises providing indicia responsive to the validation, the indicia identifying items evaluated as validly satisfying the characteristic by a first discrete evaluation framework and evaluated as not validly satisfying the characteristic by a second discrete evaluation framework.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining reasons why the items were evaluated as both not validly satisfying the characteristic by the second discrete evaluation framework and as validly satisfying the characteristic by the first discrete evaluation framework,

wherein the indicia further comprises the determined reasons.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, responsive to providing the result, a signal indicating that a user intends to accept, reject, or remediate at least a portion of the items evaluated by any of the multiple discrete evaluation frameworks as not validly satisfying the characteristic, and

accepting, rejecting, or remediating the portion of the items based on the received signal.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the identification information further identifies the characteristic to be validated.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the validation of the characteristic of the uniquely identified items further comprises:

determining a role of a user requesting the validation;

applying the received event data to a set of rules associated with each of the multiple discrete evaluation frameworks, and tailored to the determined role.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the result includes a statistical likelihood that one or more of the items validly satisfies the characteristic.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a user selection of a trusted third party from among several trusted third parties to at least partially perform the validation,

wherein performing the validation of the characteristic further comprises applying the received event data to an evaluation framework associated with the selected trusted third party.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic is associated with a label claim.

19. A system comprising:

one or more computers; and

a computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more computers having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

receiving identification information uniquely identifying items that have moved through one or more nodes of a supply chain,

receiving, from the one or more nodes, event data associated with the uniquely identified items based on the received identification information,

performing a validation of a characteristic of the uniquely identified items based on applying the received event data to multiple discrete evaluation frameworks, and

providing a result of the validation for each of the multiple discrete evaluation frameworks.

20. A computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program comprising instructions that, when executed, operate to cause a computer to perform operations comprising:

receiving identification information uniquely identifying items that have moved through one or more nodes of a supply chain;

receiving, from the one or more nodes, event data associated with the uniquely identified items based on the received identification information;

performing a validation of a characteristic of the uniquely identified items based on applying the received event data to multiple discrete evaluation frameworks; and

providing a result of the validation for each of the multiple discrete evaluation frameworks.