An RFID-Based Anti-Counterfeiting Track and Trace Solution

Abstract

As markets become more global and competition intensifies, firms are beginning to realize that competition is not exclusively a firm versus firm domain, but a supply chain against supply chain phenomenon (***a, 2008). Under these circumstances, an increasing strategic importance to any organization independent of size or of sector is to deliver information, goods and services in full, on time and error-free to customers. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology represents one of a number of possible solutions to enhance supply chain. RFID technology permits the unique identification of each container, pallet, case and item to be manufactured, shipped and sold, thus allowing an increased visibility throughout the supply chain. Also, an RFID anti-counterfeiting mechanism could be implemented. This chapter focuses on how RFID technology can be used to solve problems faced by supply chain, such as track and traceability, anti-counterfeiting. It proposes a track-andtrace anti-counterfeiting system using RFID technology. The submitted system (hereinafter referred to as ATPROD system) is aimed at relatively high-end consumer products, and it helps protect genuine products by maintaining the product pedigree and the supply chain integrity. Our system integrates mobile systems to extend corporate data outwards to mobile devices for viewing and querying. Also, users can use any mobile device endowed with an RFID reader for data collection. In this way, manual entry data has been eliminated. Moreover, users can read the tags wherever the items are placed, which enables a more flexible storage environment and an efficiency increase of supply chains and anticounterfeiting. We developed an RFID embedded system based on an eBox with an RFID reader attached. This system, named MICC (Interfacing, Command and Control Module), enables many applications to run at the same time as concurrent processes. Each entry or/ and exit gate of the warehouse in a supply chain could be managed by a MICC module. If there are multiple gates the installed MICC modules (from warehouse or company) could be linked together into a network. From a functional perspective, the MICC module must meet the following requirements: to read/ write data on RFID tags attached to items passing through a gate, to manage a large number of RFID tags passing through a gate at the same time, to provide data transmission via the network to a central server, to process local data and to provide the possibility of