Methods for assigning traceability information to and retrieving traceability information from a store shelf

摘要

A shelf code in a machine readable format, such as on a QR code on a printed card, is provided where bulk merchandise displayed in a bin. When the bin is stocked from a case bearing a case code, the case code is associated with the shelf code. Lot-specific and lot-independent information previously associated with the case code is then linked to the shelf code. Consumers scan the shelf code with a mobile device to establish a communication channel to access the linked information. Retailers and producers use the channel to reach the consumer, and to solicit feedback from the consumer at a known time and location. A mobile device can also be used to associate quality assessments of merchandise to the shelf code. Analysis of consumer ratings and quality inspection assessments that are tied to time and location can provide valuable insights to both producers and retailers.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
creating a batch of paired labels, each pair of labels including
a case label including a case code, anda shelf label including a machine-readable URL including a domain and an extension, the extension specifying a shelf code; storing an association between the shelf code and the case code for each pair of the batch; associating lot-specific information to a case code from the batch; and creating a web site identified by the URL from at least one of the shelf labels.