Implementation of traceability using a distributed RFID-based mechanism

Suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers are typically interconnected within networks and it is for this reason that the relationships among all of them are represented as supply networks. Having enough information about the supply network in which an organization is involved can be useful in planning strategies or in assuring product quality. In this work, we propose a mechanism for automatically obtaining the supply network associated to a specific product using the EPCglobal Network. This mechanism is integrated within the Discovery Services (DS) component, which is currently being developed. Recently, there have been several proposals for the implementation of the DS based on centralized mechanisms. In this work we are going to develop a DS prototype based on Distributed Hash Tables (DHT) and an access control service to be integrated within the DS prototype. Finally, the mechanism to reconstruct supply networks will be integrated within the DS prototype. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.