The present disclosure relates to blockchain ledgers tracking of tokens. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system or method of representing the transformation of goods with an exchange of token types and representing a transference of goods with a transfer of tokens to create an end-to-end provenance report.

BACKGROUND

Historically, a supply chain party was limited to a one-step forward, one-step back provenance history of a good. For instance, a wholesaler would likely possess a purchase order of the good in bulk from a manufacturer and an invoice record of the sale of the good to a retailer. The wholesaler, however, would not have access to the retailer’s end-customer sales records. The wholesaler would also not be able to trace back to the raw materials purchased by the manufacturer for the goods. This incomplete provenance history presents significant challenges when confronted with a product recall, compliance audits for subsidies, and import restrictions based on country of original manufacture. Documentation collection can be arduous and there is also the issue of the authenticity of the documents eventually collected. One area of commerce impacted by such difficulties is the supply chain for crude palm oil (“CPO”).

The supply chain for the palm oil industry originates with raw palm fruit (“RPF”) grown on farms. The farmers harvest the RPF and sell it to a distributor or directly to a factory. The factories, either themselves or with partners, convert the RPF to CPO, which they sell to a refinery. The refinery uses the CPO to produce biodiesel, which they sell to a fuel station as 100% biodiesel (“B 100”) or a blend thereof.

The origin of the RPF becomes an issue because of the complex governmental subsidies and import restrictions in this global industry. A subsidy for biodiesel in one country, for instance, may only apply to biodiesel produced from RPF grown in that same country. Also some government entities have implemented or proposed a prohibition on the use of CPO in the production of biofuels but not for other end products.

Such regulation and subsidies can prompt efforts to submit fraudulent paperwork to regulatory agencies and/or smuggle restricted goods into a supply chain. To address these types of concern in regard to CPO, some government initiatives have implemented or proposed colorizing purified biodiesel at the CPO factories to better identify those goods that are in compliance using a simple visual inspection. In other industries, various initiatives to track goods through the supply chain have arisen more recently using blockchain technology. One initiative is the tracking of diamonds by the Tracr branded blockchain platform originally launched by the DeBeers company. In this diamond tracking initiative, provenance of each rough diamond is documented at the diamond mine and given a token (e.g., a digital number). When the diamonds are cut or change hands, related data is entered into the blockchain ledger. Information on each diamond’s physical attributes can also be added to the blockchain ledger. The consumer, using a serial number or token information, can for instance verify the country of origin and access an authenticity report for the diamond. In this manner, each diamond can be tracked from the diamond mine to the retail counter. Another initiative is the tracking of wine bottles by the Tattoo Wine branded marketplace supported by the EY OpsChain branded blockchain platform by the company Ernst & Young. On this wine selling platform, tokens tracked in an Ethereum branded blockchain are used to trace the provenance, quality, and authenticity of various wines. Information can be accessed by a consumer by reading a QR code on the wine bottle label with their smart phone. E.g., the QR code can link to a website or an app displaying the information for their bottle of wine.

While these two initiatives are an advance from the historical one-step forward, one-step back provenance history of a good, these initiatives rely heavily on the use of a single token to track a single good. The blockchain tracking approach for these two initiatives therefore is more useful for products that represent a discrete item for sale, such a single diamond or a single bottle of wine.

Challenges arise however when, as in the case of the supply chain for CPO, the goods pass through multiple transformative production steps and through many supply chain parties. There is no single use of CPO, it can be refined for use as B100 diesel used as fuel in trucks or alternatively turned into a phase change material used in the construction industry. There is also no single source of raw material for CPO, as CPO refineries typically receive supplies of RPF from multiple individual farmers and distributors. Hence the provenance history for CPO branches out when going forward in the time-line from the CPO factory and branches out when going backward in the time-line from the CPO factory.

These same challenges apply also to other industries beyond the CPO industry production of B100. These challenges also arise for other palm oil-based products such as phase change material, biodiesel, renewable diesel, and foods (e.g., palm cooking oil).

SUMMARY

Most generally, the invention is a system or computer-implemented method for end-to-end tracking of goods in a supply chain using a plurality of tokens comprising a token administration unit, remote units for entry of exchange requests or transfer requests, at least one blockchain servo·, and a data reporting unit. At each transformation of the goods, tokens representing the previous product are exchanged for tokens of different type representing a subsequent product. At each transfer of the goods, the tokens are exchanged from the transferring party to a transferee party. All transfers and exchanges are maintained in ledgers. A data reporting unit translates and cross-references the ledgers into human readable reports detailing the provenance of the goods through each transformation and each transfer between supply chain parties. Exchange requests and transfer requests must meet an authorization criteria.

A first embodiment of the invention is a system for end-to-end tracking of goods in a supply chain using a plurality of tokens, comprising: (a) a token administration unit with a first processor and a token administration wallet, wherein the first processor is configured to store or maintain access to a plurality of registration records for a plurality of supply chain parties and a plurality of provenance documentation for the goods; (b) a plurality of remote units, each remote unit including a remote unit processor and a user interface for data entry related to at least one exchange request and at least one transfer request; (c) at least one blockchain server; and (d) a data reporting unit with a third processor in data communication with the token administration unit and the at least one blockchain server. A second embodiment of the invention is a computer-implemented method for end-to-end tracking of goods in a supply chain using a plurality of tokens, comprising the steps of: (a) maintaining a token administration unit with a first processor and a token administration wallet, wherein the first processor is configured to store or maintain access to a plurality of registration records for a plurality of supply chain parties and a plurality of provenance documentation for the goods; (b) maintaining a plurality of remote units, each remote unit including a remote unit processor and a user interface for data entry related to at least one exchange request and at least one transfer request; (c) maintaining at least one blockchain server; and (d) maintaining a data reporting unit with a third processor in data communication with the token administration unit and the at least one blockchain server,

In the first and second embodiment, the data entry related to each exchange request identifies an exchanging party, the one or more tokens of a previous token type requested to be exchanged, and the one or more tokens of a subsequent token type requested in exchange. The data entry related to each transfer request identifies a transferring party, the one or more tokens of a specific token type requested to be transferred, and a transferee party.

In the first and second embodiment, each blockchain server includes a second processor configured to: (i) maintain a plurality of ledgers, wherein each ledger is limited to a unique token type and each ledger includes a series of blockchain transactions; (ii) receive each exchange request and each transfer request from the remote units through the network; (iii) execute each exchange request meeting an authorization criteria, wherein the one or more tokens of the previous type are transferred to the token administration wallet and the one or more tokens of a subsequent token type are transferred from the token administration wallet to a wallet of the exchanging party; (iv) execute each transfer request meeting the authorization criteria, wherein the one or more tokens of the specific type requested to be transferred are transferred from a wallet of the transferring party to the wallet of the transferee party; (v) within the ledgers, store and/or link to any metadata pertaining to each exchange of tokens and each transfer of tokens, wherein the metadata includes any related provenance documentation; and (vi) provide the data reporting unit with data access for the blockchain transactions.

In the first and second embodiment, the third processor of the data reporting unit is configured to: (i) in a first association, associate each unique token type in the ledgers with a unique product type and a unique quantity; (ii) in a second association, associate each exchange request meeting the authorization criteria in the ledgers as a record of transformation of the goods from a previous product type to a subsequent product type; (iii) in a third association, associate each transfer request meeting the authorization criteria in the ledgers as a record of a transfer of the goods from the transferring party to the transferee party; and (iv) generate from the ledgers a provenance report of the goods through each transformation and each transfer between supply chain parties employing each of the associations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is block representation of the system for end-to-end tracking of goods in a supply chain in an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart representing the use of the invention by supply chain parties in an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart demonstrating the transfer and exchanges of various types of example tokens between parties in an example supply chain in an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments can be utilized, and other changes can be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. Unless specified otherwise, the terms “comprising,” “comprise,” “including” and “include” used herein, and grammatical variants thereof, are intended to represent “open” or “inclusive” language such that they include recited elements but also permit inclusion of additional, un- recited elements.

As used herein, the hardware of a “computer”, a “server”, and a “system” may be implemented within: a single stand-alone computer, a stand-alone server, multiple dedicated servers, and/or a virtual server running on a larger network of servers and/or a cloud-based service. As used herein, a database may store data to and access data from a single stand-alone computer, a data server, multiple dedicated data servers, a cloud-based service, and/or a virtual server running on a network of servers.

As used herein, a “token” represents the discrete units of digital cryptographic information used in the system and method for association to real-world goods. The token can be exchanged or transferred within the system or method of this invention between supply chain parties and also between the token administration unit and one or more supply chain parties. As used herein, a “wallet” is intended to store and/or link a supply chain party or the token administration unit to digital information (such as cryptographic keys) permitting them to exchange or transfer one or more tokens under their control. The wallet may be implemented as a mobile wallet, a desktop wallet, an online wallet, a hardware wallet, or (though not preferable) a paper wallet. As used herein, the “blockchain” is a cryptographically linked series of records (or blocks) storing transaction data manages by the system and method of the the invention. The blockchain can be hosted and stored in a centralized or decentralized manner. The blockchain can be private or public. The blockchain can be hosted on a single service or accessed under a software as a service (“SaaS”) model. FIG. 1 is block representation of the system 1-00 for end-to-end tracking of goods in a supply chain in an embodiment of the invention. The token administration unit 10 includes a plurality of registration records 11, a token administration wallet 12, and a plurality of provenance documentation 13. The token administration unit 10 is in data communication with the data reporting unit 32 and the blockchain server 20 through a network 30. The token administration unit 10 could be hosted by a single computer or server, or alteratively hosted through a cloud service accessible by mobile application, desktop program, or website.

It should be noted that, in terms of human interaction with the system 1-00, a potential difference between a supply chain party using a remote unit 31 and a token administrator using the token administration unit 10 could be more of a distinction of system-level access privileges rather than an issue of hardware or software. E.g., a token administrator’s role and data access to the system’s data and configuration would be more extensive than the role and data access of a supply chain party using a remote unit 31. E.g., all data could be hosted on a remote server or cloud based service, with a token administrator and the supply chain parties having different levels of access to the system 1-00.

The blockchain server 20 manages incoming requests 22 and/or approvals 23 according to an authorization criteria 21. The blockchain server 20 includes a plurality of ledgers, represented as individual stacks of tokens T ₁ , T ₂ , T ₃ . . . T _N . For instance, each token type has its own ledger. And each specific ledger tracks a plurality of tokens of a specific token type within that specific ledger. Read-only access to selected data 24 from the blockchain transactions available to the data reporting unit 32 through the network 30. Access to the blockchain server 20 is also available to the remote units 31 through the network 30. Each remote unit 31 is possessed by a separate supply chain party, represented in FIG. 1 as P ₁ , P ₂ . . . P _N holding a smart phone enabled with an app for access to the system 1-00.

While the remote units 31 could be dedicated devices for use with the system 1-00, preferably the remote units 31 will be multi-use networked electronic devices such as smart phones or advanced barcode readers running an application or interacting with a mobile website. These devices are portable for easy access in the field and could be used to take photographs of the goods and/or read barcode labels on the goods. Laptops, desktops, and tablet computers accessing a program or a website browser could also be used as remote units 31.

Note that the provenance documentation 13 is illustrated as being located separate from the ledgers as this documentation could include photographs, scans of documents, individual electronic documents (e.g., invoices, bill of lading, and/or certificates of origin). Such documentation may not follow a predicable form and is also voluminous. Given the need of a blockchain to create hashes of previous records, this extra documentation is best made available to the blockchain in a link to and/or hash of the documentation, as is known in the art. In some applications of the invention, the provenance documentation 13 and the blockchain ledgers could be, for instance, hosted by the same server, service, cloud, and/or datacenter.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart 2-00 representing the use of the invention by supply chain parties in an embodiment of the invention through steps 2-01 to 2-08 (see below).

2-01 The token administration unit 10 is used to organize and store registration records 11 for the parties in the supply chain 40. 2-02 To start the tracking of goods, the token administration unit 10 transfer a first set of tokens to the farmer 41. These tokens identify the type of raw material produced by the farmer 41 and the quantity of these goods.

2-03 When the farmer 41 sells his raw materials to an agent 42 or factory 43, the farmer 41 uses a remote unit 31, such as an app on a smart phone, to document the transfer of the goods in the system 1-00. The agent 42 can in turn sell the same goods to a third party, again using a remote unit 31 to document the transfer.

2-04 The factory 43 transforms the raw material to a new product and, using a remote unit 31, documents the transformation. The factory 43 requests exchange of the previous tokens used to identify the raw material for new tokens that identify the new product and the quantity of these goods.

2-05 The token administration unit 10 can review the documents submitted by the factory 43 and approve or deny the token exchange. If the exchange is approved, the tokens for the raw material are delivered to the token administration wallet 12, and the farmer 41 receives the new product tokens in exchange from the token administration wallet 12.

2-06 The factory 43 sells some of the final product to one of its retailers and, again using the remote unit 31, transfers a number of new product tokens from its wallet to the wallet of the retailer. The transferred tokens represent the quantity of new product received.

2-07 After selling the new product to end-customers, the retailer transfers the final product tokens back to the token administration wallet 12.

2-08 The token administration unit 10 requests reports from the data reporting unit 32, which pulls its data 24 from the ledgers stored in the blockchain server 20. Additional provenance documentation 13 can be pulled via cross-references in the metadata stored in the blockchain.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart 3-00 demonstrating the transfer and exchanges of various types of example tokens between parties in an example supply chain 40 in an embodiment of the invention. In this flowchart 3-00, RPF represents tokens of the RPF token type, CPO represents tokens of the CPO token type, and B100 represents tokens of the B100 token type. The single arrows in FIG. 3 represent transfers of the tokens from one party to another, and associated with a transfer of the goods along the supply chain 40 from one party to another. The double arrows (each in an opposite direction) represent an exchange of tokens where a previous token is exchanged from a subsequent token, associated with a transformation of the goods from a raw material good or an interim good into another interim good or a final good.

Tokens of each token type are stored in the token administration wallet 12 found in (or accessible from) the token administration unit 10. Individual provenance documentation records PD are represented as being collected at each transformation of the goods, in a first transformation TNI by the factory 43 then in a second transformation TN2 by the refinery 44. The individual provenance documentation records PD are illustrated as collected only at the transformation of the goods, however, such individual provenance documentation records PD could also be collected at each transfer of the goods in the supply chain 40.

Not shown in FIG. 3 is the blockchain server 20 and the data reporting unit 32. The data reporting unit 32 converts the associated (or symbolic) meaning of the tokens into a human readable format for the generated reports, using data 24 from the transaction records of the ledgers. E.g., an RPF token is associated by the data reporting unit 32 as a quantity of RPF produced by the farmer 41 and later transferred to an agent 42 or factory 43.

In the FIG.3 flowchart 3-00, RPF tokens are transferred from the token administration unit 10 to the farmer 41 to start the process. The RPF tokens are transferred from the farmer 41 to the factory 43 either directly or through an agent 42 (which could be a distributor). After a first transformation TNI of the RPF to CPO, the factory 43 exchanges the RPF tokens for CPO tokens. The factory 43 transfers the CPO tokens to the fuel station 45. After a second transformation TN2 of the CPO to B100, the refinery 44 exchanges the RPF tokens for CPO tokens.

The factory 43 and refinery 44 also provides individual provenance records PD that are depicted in FIG.3 as stored in the token administration unit’s 10 provenance documentation 13 as part of an exchange request. However (not shown in FIG. 3) the provenance documentation 13 also preferably partially stored and/or linked to a ledger transaction in the blockchain transaction record associated with the exchange of tokens. While FIGs. 2 and 3 illustrate the example of the CPO related goods in the supply chain 40, the invention can be used for any type of goods. As discussed above, the invention is most advantageous for a supply chain 40 with multiple transformations of the goods along the supply chain 40 and/or multiple suppliers of goods at various junctures along the supply chain 40. Possible uses of the invention include the supply chains 40 for petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and processed foods (though this is not intended to be a complete list). The invention is especially useful in heavily regulated industries or industries subject to frequent counterfeiting of goods. At the ends of the supply chain 40, not depicted in FIG. 3, an end-user purchases the B100 or a blend thereof from the fuel station 45. In some embodiments of the invention, the end-user can access provenance data linked by the B 100 tokens associated with their purchase of B 100 diesel or a blend thereof. Using a report generated from data 24 of the ledgers by the data reporting unit 32, any supply chain party could obtain documentation for their subsidy requests, their tax filings, or their compliance reports. This information could potentially also be submitted directly to the applicable agency from the token administration unit 10, such as in the case the token management unit is managed already by a governmental agency.

It is also helpful for a certification agency to have real-time access to the reports generated by the data reporting unit 32 to monitor for the improper introduction of RPF, CPO, or B100 into the supply chain 40. Information related to price controls imposed for transactions could also be monitored. Note that, as illustrated in FIG. 1, authorization criteria 21 must be met for each exchange request and each transfer request prior to any update in the ledgers. Such authorization criteria 21 could include price guidelines, quantity guidelines, or approval by a certification agency.

While FIG. 3 provides the example of the CPO industry producing B100, the invention is equally applicable to other industries beyond the CPO industry production of B 100. The invention, for instance, can be applied to the end-to-end tracking of other palm oil-based products such as phase change material, biodiesel blends, renewable diesel produced from palm oil, and cooking oils (e.g., palm cooking oil). The invention could also be applied to other industries, such as the food industry and the petrochemical industry. E.g., the invention is useful for any supply chain involving a transformation process of raw materials into a final product.

A first embodiment of the invention is a system 1-00 for end-to-end tracking of goods in a supply chain 40 using a plurality of tokens, comprising: (a) a token administration unit 10 with a first processor and a token administration wallet 12, wherein the first processor is configured to store or maintain access to a plurality of registration records 11 for a plurality of supply chain parties and a plurality of provenance documentation 13 for the goods; (b) a plurality of remote units 31, each remote unit 31 including a remote unit processor and a user interface for data entry related to at least one exchange request and at least one transfer request; (c) at least one blockchain server 20; and (d) a data reporting unit 32 with a third processor in data communication with the token administration unit 10 and the at least one blockchain server 20.

A second embodiment of the invention is a computer-implemented method for end-to-end tracking of goods in a supply chain 40 using a plurality of tokens, comprising the steps of: (a) maintaining a token administration unit 10 with a first processor and a token administration wallet 12, wherein the first processor is configured to store or maintain access to a plurality of registration records 11 for a plurality of supply chain parties and a plurality of provenance documentation 13 for the goods; (b) maintaining a plurality of remote units 31, each remote unit 31 including a remote unit processor and a user interface for data entry related to at least one exchange request and at least one transfer request; (c) maintaining at least one blockchain server 20; and (d) maintaining a data reporting unit 32 with a third processor in data communication with the token administration unit 10 and the at least one blockchain server 20,

In the first and second embodiment, the data entry related to each exchange request identifies an exchanging party, the one or more tokens of a previous token type requested to be exchanged, and the one or more tokens of a subsequent token type requested in exchange. The data entry related to each transfer request identifies a transferring party, the one or more tokens of a specific token type requested to be transferred, and a transferee party.

In the first and second embodiment, each blockchain server 20 includes a second processor configured to: (i) maintain a plurality of ledgers, wherein each ledger is limited to a unique token type and each ledger includes a series of blockchain transactions; (ii) receive each exchange request and each transfer request from the remote units through the network 30; (iii) execute each exchange request meeting an authorization criteria 21, wherein the one or more tokens of the previous type are transferred to the token administration wallet 12 and the one or more tokens of a subsequent token type are transferred from the token administration wallet 12 to a wallet of the exchanging party; (iv) execute each transfer request meeting the authorization criteria 21, wherein the one or more tokens of the specific type requested to be transferred are transferred from a wallet of the transferring party to the wallet of the transferee party; (v) within the ledgers, store and/or link to any metadata pertaining to each exchange of tokens and each transfer of tokens, wherein the metadata includes any related provenance documentation 13; and (vi) provide the data reporting unit 32 with data access for the blockchain transactions.

In the first and second embodiment, the third processor of the data reporting unit 32 is configured to: (i) in a first association, associate each unique token type in the ledgers with a unique product type and a unique quantity; (ii) in a second association, associate each exchange request meeting the authorization criteria 21 in the ledgers as a record of transformation of the goods from a previous product type to a subsequent product type; (iii) in a third association, associate each transfer request meeting the authorization criteria 21 in the ledgers as a record of a transfer of the goods from the transferring party to the transferee party; and (iv) generate from the ledgers a provenance report of the goods through each transformation and each transfer between supply chain parties employing each of the associations.

In an alterative embodiment, the provenance documentation 13 for each exchange request includes at least one of: (a) a description of the goods both before and after a related transformation of the goods; (b) at least one of a transformation date, a transformation location, and a transformation process description; and (c) a characterization of the tracking of the goods as identity preserved, segregated, or mass balance.

In an alterative embodiment, the provenance documentation 13 for each transfer request includes at least one of: (a) an address and a contact for any facility used to transfer the goods; (b) an identification of means employed to store or ship the goods at the time of the transfer request; (c) a characterization of the tracking of the goods as identity preserved, segregated, or mass balance; (d) at least one of an invoice, a bill of lading, and a contract related to the transfer request. In an alternative embodiment, the authorization criteria 21 for any exchange request or any transfer request includes at least one of: (a) an ad hoc approval of any request 22 by the token administration unit 10, wherein the ad hoc approval is at least one of a prior approval or a subsequent approval; (b) a blanket approval for at least one of any request 22 falling within a pre-determined guideline set by the token administration unit 10 and any request 22 involving a specific party.

In an alternative embodiment, the token administration unit 10 transfers, from the token administration wallet 12, a first plurality of tokens of a raw material token type to a raw material producer.

In an alternative embodiment, at least one remote unit 31 transfers a retail product token type to the token administration wallet 12 after sale of an associated retail product.

In an alterative embodiment, the goods are tracked through a sequence of supply chain parties that includes: (a) a farmer 41 producing RPF, employing an RPF token type; (b) a factory 43 producing CPO, employing a CPO token type; (c) a refinery 44 producing B100 diesel, employing a B100 token type; and (d) a fuel station 45 selling the B100 diesel or a blend thereof to end customers, employing the B100 token type.

In an alternative embodiment, the quantity of goods associated to each token of a specific token type is a standardized measurement unit and metadata for a specific exchange or a specific transfer can include fractions and/or multiples of a relevant token.

In an alternative embodiment, the supply chain parties include at least one of a raw material producer, a storage provider, a distributor, one or more manufacturers, one or more shippers, one or more retailers, and one or more agents of another supply chain party.

In an alternative embodiment, the registration records 11 include for each supply chain party biographical data, certification data, and permissions for interaction with the blockchain server

20.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, it will be apparent that various other modifications and adaptations of the invention will be apparent to the person skilled in the art after reading the foregoing disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended that all such modifications and adaptations come within the scope of the appended claims. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the appended claims.