Systems for accessing information related to an order of commodity

• US 8,407,103 B2
• Filed: 05/08/2009
• Issued: 03/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trace Produce LLC
• Original Assignee: Trace Produce LLC
• Inventors: Farmer, Joseph W., Farmer, James G., Farmer, Charles W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jung, Allen J
• Application Number:
  US12/437,727
• Publication Number:
  US 20090254460A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,418 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1.1, 705/26.61
• US Class Current: 705/26.61
• 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 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/02 Agriculture; Fishing; Forestry; Mining

Abstract

A commodity inspection method, including gathering inspection information from a commodity lot; collecting grower, field, and packing information associated with the commodity lot; recording purchase orders associated with the commodity lot; assigning a trace code to each of the purchase orders; entering the inspection information, the grower, field, and packing information, the purchase orders, and the trace codes into a central database; updating a content of a web-based application with the inspection information, the grower, field, and packing information, the purchase orders, and the trace codes within the central database; and allowing the customer to access the inspection information, and the grower, field, and packing information, by entering one of the trace codes into the web-based application; wherein each of the purchase orders associated with the commodity lot is linked within the web-based application; and wherein the method incorporates Global Standards One (GS1) standards.

Claims

1. A system for allowing a customer to access tracing information related to an order of a commodity selected from a source lot, said system comprising:

a server configured to store said tracing information in a central database, said tracing information including inspection information corresponding to the source lot of said order of said commodity including an inspection photograph or an inspection multi-media recording of said source lot of said commodity and at least one or more of sales information, shipping information, pack out information, and inventory information corresponding to said order of said commodity;

one or more computing devices having one or more applications configured to enter said tracing information into said central database;

said one or more computing devices further configured to link a code to said inspection photograph or said inspection multi-media recording, and to said at least one or more of sales information, shipping information, pack out information, and inventory information; and

a web-based application configured to allow said customer to access said tracing information within said central database after said customer receives said commodity by entering the code into said web-based application, said web-based application comprising a web page to display a hyper-text markup language (HTML) link to access said inspection information, said inspection information comprising an inspection report that indicates a safety rating of said commodity.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said code comprises a facility identification code assigned to an account created through said web-based application, such that when said facility identification code is entered into said web-based application, data associated with said account is retrieved.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said code incorporates a 128-bit barcode.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said 128-bit barcode also comprises a company number assigned to a shipper by a brand owner, when said shipper packs and ships in a label of said brand owner different than a label of said shipper.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein a lot code associated with a product is assigned to at least one lot record within said database, depending on a source location of contents of said product.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said lot code is assigned to a plurality of lot records within said database when said contents of said product originate from different source locations.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein a plurality of lot records within said database are assigned to a new lot record when said contents of said product originate from different source locations, such that said lot code is assigned to said new lot record.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein when a first company packs a product with a label of a second company, said second company assigns a company number to said first company within internal systems of said second company.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of videos associated to an individual lot, such that all of said videos are accessible upon entering a lot code of said individual lot into said web-based application.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a printer configured to print a lot code associated with said commodity lot is on stickers and attaching said stickers to each individual item of said commodity lot.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said stickers are attached to said individual items of said commodity lot as said individual items pass through a packing line sizer comprising labeling machines.

12. A system for allowing a customer to access tracing information related to an order of a commodity selected from a source lot, said system comprising:

a server configured to store said tracing information in a central database, said tracing information including information corresponding to the source lot of said order of said commodity including a representative photograph or an inspection multi-media recording of said source lot of said commodity and at least one or more of sales information, shipping information, pack out information, and inventory information corresponding to said order of said commodity;

one or more computing devices having one or more applications configured to enter said tracing information into said central database;

said one or more computing devices further configured to link a code to said representative photograph or said inspection multi-media recording, and to said at least one or more of sales information, shipping information, pack out information, and inventory information; and

a web-based application configured to allow said customer to access said tracing information within said central database after said customer receives said commodity by entering the code into said web-based application, said web-based application comprising a web page to display a hyper-text markup language (HTML) link to access said source lot information.