Abstract: A commerce visibility network allows for the collection and distribution of real-time location and status information regarding the movement of goods and assets through a supply chain. Items and/or conveyances may be individually tagged using radio frequency identifiers or other tagging technologies, such as global positioning satellite technology. The location of an item or conveyance may be marked and information on the location may be stored at a site server. The site server may then upload location information to a data center. Supply chain users may then be charged a fee per tracked item or fee per transaction to access the data center and view reports compiled using the location information regarding each tracked item. This allows for instantaneous access to location and status information of any item in the supply chain. Additionally, aggregation information is provided to allow for the tracking of items which are stored in conveyances, even in several levels of conveyances.

Abstract: A commerce visibility network allows for the collection and distribution of real-time location and status information regarding the movement of goods and assets through a supply chain. Items and/or conveyances may be individually tagged using radio frequency identifiers or other tagging technologies, such as global positioning satellite technology. The location of an item or conveyance may be marked and information on the location may be stored at a site server. The site server may then upload location information to a data center. Supply chain users may then be charged a fee per tracked item or fee per transaction to access the data center and view reports compiled using the location information regarding each tracked item. This allows for instantaneous access to location and status information of any item in the supply chain. Additionally, aggregation information is provided to allow for the tracking of items which are stored in conveyances, even in several levels of conveyances.