In the following description  various aspects of the present invention will be described. However  it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with only some or all aspects of the present invention. For purposes of explanation  specific numbers  materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However  it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. Parts of the description will be presented in terms of operations performed by a computer system  using terms such as data  state  link and the like  consistent with the manner commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. As is well understood by those skilled in the art  these quantities take the form of electrical  magnetic  or optical signals capable of being stored  transferred  combined  and otherwise manipulated through mechanical and electrical components of the computer system; and the term computer system includes general purpose as well as special purpose data processing machines  routers  bridges  switches  and the like  that are standalone  adjunct or embedded. Additionally  various operations will be described as multiple discrete steps in turn in a manner that is helpful in understanding the present invention. However  the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent  in particular  the order of their presentation.
Reference in the specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature  structure  or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
FIG.1 shows a top level flowchart 100 of a process for validating a product in a supply chain according to an embodiment of the invention. The process includes identification of product manufacturing details 101  generation of codes for the identified product 103  allocation of codes for the manufactured product 105 and authentication of the allocated codes by a user 107.
FIG. 2 illustrates the core central server 200 of the system according to an embodiment of the invention. The core server 200 includes an interface 201. A central database 202 for retrievably storing data is coupled to the interface 201. The data for the central database 202 is obtained from the interface 201 through the authorized user. The central database 201 is also configured for storing data obtained from a code generator 203 and a code allocator 204. The core central server 200 also includes a product authentication system 205 for validating a code received by at least one user. An analytics unit 206 is provided for generating plurality of reports for the product supply chain.
In an embodiment of the invention  the interface 201 is a secured interface. The interface allows an authorised user to enter information which includes but is not limited to the manufacturer of a product  production lines specific to the manufacturer and the product manufactured at the designated production lines. The authorised user allocates a database for retrievably storing the aforementioned information. Further  a distinct allocation is provided for each manufacturer identified and a unique code specific to the manufacturer is assigned. In an example of the invention  the assigned code is a code compliant with the international standards for code assignment  namely  global standards and referred to herein after as GS1. The manufacturer identified has at least one production line. The manufacturer  in another embodiment of the invention has plurality of production lines. The authorised user assigns a distinct code to each of the identified production lines associated with the identified manufacturer. Further each of these production lines assigned can manufacture at least one product. The product manufactured in each of the production line is identical in one example of the invention. In another example of the invention  each of the production line manufactures a distinct product. The authorised user collates information related to each of the product manufactured in the identified production line. The information of the product includes but is not limited to a product name  a product code  a product type  a product description  a packaging level and a global trade item number  referred to herein after as GTIN  associated with the product. Subsequent to identification of the manufacturer  the production line associated with the manufacturer  the product to be manufactured at the identified production line and the level of packaging for the product manufactured  the authorised user initiates a request to the code generator 203. The initiation of the code generator 203 disables further changes to the database entry made by the authorised user.
The code generator 203 is configured for generating a plurality of random codes specific to the information provided by the authorised user. In an embodiment of the invention  the code generated is an alpha numeric code. The generated code is retrievably stored in a database provided within the code generator for allocation to the product manufactured.
The code allocator 204 is coupled to the code generator 203. The code allocator 204 initiates a request for code generated from the code generator 203 only subsequent to the initiation of the production line manufacturing the product. The code allocated is distinct for each packaging type of the product. The quantity of product manufactured in a single run of the production line is referred to as a batch. For each batch obtained  a plurality of codes is allocated by the code allocator 204. The allocated codes are then sent for labelling to the production line.
The labelled allocated codes are then verified with the list of codes generated by the code generator for establishing coherence between code generation and code allocation. The code status is verified by a scan and/or vision system on the production line. A list of allocated codes verified by the scan and/or vision system is sent to the central database 202 for validation of the product supply chain by the product authentication system 205.
The product authentication system receives a code from at least from one user. The users include but are not limited to customers of the product  suppliers of the product  dealers of the product  distributors of the product and regulatory authorities. The product authentication system verifies the validity of the code by employing an authentication matrix which takes the combination of codes received to obtain an identical match with the code stored in the central database.
FIG. 3 shows an authentication system 300 according to an embodiment of the invention. The authentication system 300 includes a web server 301 and an SMS gateway 302 The web server 301 is configured for receiving at least one code for validation from a user group 304. The SMS gateway is configured for receiving at least one code from a user 307. The received code is transmitted to the central core server for comparison with the code maintained in the central database described herein before. In an embodiment of the invention  the user includes but is not limited to customers of the product  suppliers of the product  dealers of the product  distributors of the product and regulatory authorities. In one embodiment of the invention  the customers of the product dispatch code for authentication only through a SMS sent from a device 304 including but not limited to a mobile phone  a handheld device  a tablet  a smart phone  a touch enabled device and the like. The SMS is routed through a cellular network 305 which includes a 3G network  a WI-FI network  a GSM network  a CDMA network and the like capable of communicating to the SMS gateway 302. The suppliers of the product  dealers of the product  distributors of the product and/or regulatory authorities communicate only to the web server 301 through a network 303 including but not limited to a local area network  a wide area network and the like capable of communicating through the internet . Where a communication is established through the network 303  the user is required to provide details of the user prior to dispatching a code for authentication. The preferential route of code dispatch provides the system to identify the source of code and hence enable rapid authentication of the code.
FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic representation of hierarchy of product packing and labelling 400  according to an embodiment of the invention. The product packing and labelling 400 shows the multiple levels of code allocation for a product. A unique code is allocated for each level of packing of the product. Initially the lowest sellable unit  referred to as LSU hereinafter is allocated with a code and labelled accordingly. The boxes containing the LSUs are then labelled with a code distinct from the LSU code. The containers which hold the plurality of boxes are also allocated a distinct code and labelled with the allocated code. Finally  the pallets on which the containers are retained are allocated with a code and labelled. Authentication of the supply chain of the product includes authentication of each of the packing levels described herein above. An aggregation of the codes obtained from the pallet  the container  the box and the LSU establishes the e-pedigree of the product. However  the authentication of each of the code associated with each of the packing described herein is physically and geographically distributed. The aggregation of the codes and hence validation of the product is established only by the central database. Subsequent to establishing the validity of the product  the status is communicated back to the user seeking validation.
FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic representation of multipoint authentication system in tracking a product through a supply chain  according to an embodiment of the invention. The multipoint authentication along the supply chain includes a authentication of the product at the shipping port 501 wherein the code authenticated is a container code 507. The product is authenticated at the next stage in supply chain  namely warehouse and distributor 502  wherein the code authenticated is a pallet code 508. At this stage  even the container code 507 which contains the pallets is also authenticated. Subsequent to authentication at the warehouse and/or distributor  the product is authenticated once the product reaches distributor and wholesaler 503 wherein a shipper carton code 509 is authenticated. At this stage even a inner box code 510 is authenticated. The next stage of product authentication includes retailer 504 wherein the inner box code 510 is authenticated along with the LSU code 511. The product is also authenticated by the consumer 505 identified by the LSU code 511. The authentication at each of the stage of supply chain of the product can be verified by a regulatory authority and/or an authorised user 506.
Example 1: The invention as described herein provides a system and method for validation of a product supply chain. The supply chain of the product begins at the manufacturing unit and ends with the user. The manufacturing facility is also referred as the production line referred to hereinafter as client unit  CU. For each of the production line as part of a given manufacturer  there will be a client application installation. The CU will initiate an encrypted network channel to the manufacturer server unit  MSU whenever it is needed and does not maintain a perpetual connection. Batch is a unique entity to represent each lot of production. Once the production line decides upon the batch  it requests the code Allocator in MSU to give a list of alphanumeric random unique codes for a given batch number. The code-allocator in MSU in turn pulls the random codes from code-generator and allocates codes using a proprietary algorithm. The output of code-allocator is pushed to a queue and made available to the CU. Once the products are ready to be labelled  the client reconnects with the server and retrieves the allocated codes for a specific product mix in the batch. Alternatively the retrieval can also happen by a printer installed in the client side in any compatible format the printer can accept. The codes are sent out for each LSU  Inner box  shipper carton  pallet and container in the given batch. The next stage involves physical association of labelled printed codes on to the respective product package. The scan system and/or vision system verifies the physical association of labels with the respective product package updates the client application with status of each code  establishing parent child relationship of each code by entering details regarding the details of specific LSUs going inside a particular inner box  specific inner boxes going inside a particular shipper carton  specific shipper cartons going with a particular pallet and details of specific pallets going inside a particular container. At the end of this process  the client reconnects to MSU and updates the status of each code in the code status update system. Thus the central now has a list of all the unique codes that were allocated to the production lines and the status of each of the codes. The manufacturer server upon request from the authentication server  checks against this list and relays the relevant message to the end-user.
Further embodiments of the invention along with detailed explanation of various embodiments and further illustrations shall be explained in detail in the complete specification to follow. The aforesaid description is enabled to capture the nature of the invention. It is to be noted  however  that the aforesaid description and appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope  for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

ADVANTAGES:
• User friendly authentication process  no special device required. Authentication facilitated through internet/text messaging
• Backward traceability for complete product genealogy
• On-premise data management for Data privacy and Data security
• Proprietary random code generation algorithm
• Authentication process independent of coding process
• Provision for custom code generation algorithms to suit any specific customer requirement
• Provision for emergency code generation in the local application
• Extreme high speed of data transfer between server and client
• Dependence of production on perpetual connectivity to the server is removed
• Ease of operation at the Manufacturing site. The solution can be used by personnel without any familiarity with use of IT applications
• Data security and ease of authentication maintained
• Cost effective packaging - No special printing or packaging technology required