Chain4Real

Chain4Real is a PIPRA’s generic Blockchain, AI and IoT based Track & Traceability and Anti-counterfeiting platform. It is used to implement any domain specific track & trace and anti-counterfeiting solution where the time-to-market can be reduced significantly.

RealMeds uses Chain4Real to offer an extensive track & traceability and anti-counterfeiting solution for drugs.

Component Architecture

Here is the overall component architecture of Chain4Real platform:

Chain4Real Component Architecture

Pluggable Anti-counterfeiting Rule Engine

Different products have different anti-counterfeiting parameters – some are directly based on product attributes where as some are more regulatory in nature. E.g. medicine has expiry date whereas  cotton bale has manufacturer as key parameters to see if they are good to consume. For medicine, it may be required to do additional checks to ensure that the medicine is not banned by the regulatory authority.Chain4Real rule engine allows any domain/industry -specific solution to implement its product specific counterfeiting checks and leave the rest to it. This allows you to focus on your domain specific problems.

Pluggable Label Generator

There are various types of standard and non-standard labels that may be required to track & trace a product. E.g. barcode, QR codes, 2D data matrix, custom label, etc. One can implement their product specific labeling requirements and make it immediately available through API. Chain4Real comes with the support for GS1 compliant labels for primary, secondary and tertiary levels. However, if there is a need to generate a custom label, it facilitates quick implementation so that your labels can be generated at scale.

Workflow Automation

With the events and Smart Contracts in place, it is easier to extend your workflow easily. E.g. when a medicine of not of suitable quality is found, automatically send an email to the concerned authority of the drug manufacturer with the batch detail seeking clarification.

Shared Economy

Build a loyalty program that incentivises everyone who contributes to the goal of end-to-end track & traceability and anti-counterfeiting. Chain4Real makes it easier to “program” the economic model so that you can cut down on the operations, monitoring and management of such programs.

Single Ownership

With Chain4Real, you can be sure that your digital property has a single owner at any given point of time. This enables you to understand where your product is and who is the owner. This is used to ensure that others (read fake manufacturers) are not copying the label and pushing it into the supply chain.

Provenance

From manufactured to the current scanned location, you and your customer will have real-time view of how the product has reached them. With extensible map annotation markers, you have a way to show the related detail to your user to assist them in their decision in buying your product.

Data Sharing

Data Sharing component lets you control what data you want to share with whom in the supply chain network. E.g. you may want to show only the drug expiry, batch and manufacturer name to end consumers. However, to a drug control auditor you may need to show the composition detail, as well.

Smart Contracts

Offers a programmable way to put your contracts in action so that they go beyond the notarised papers and are enforced while the transactions are being done on the network. E.g. controlling the thermostat temperature based on the temperature reading sent by the sensor attached to a product.

Real-time Events

Chain4Real raises real-time events when a product is scanned and its anti-counterfeiting check outcome. It also offers events indicating ownership transfers. This offers additional integration points with your ERP system for example – real-time inventory insight. These events can be subscribed by any participant of the network (subject on their authorisation) and take specific actions at their end.

Ownership Validation

Ownership validation is a very important aspect of an anti-counterfeiting solution is that it is able to validate the ownership of asset so that anybody tries to do any mischief the system detects and prevents counterfeiting.

Upstream & Downstream integration APIs

Chain4Real offers RESTful APIs for easy integration with any kind of application. It uses JSON as the data format for quick data exchange. All APIs use HTTPS as their secure transport mechanism.

Data Flow

This component abstracts the specifics related to sending data into the Chain4Real platform. It is especially useful to interface with sensors and data loggers to get IoT data into the platform for validation. E.g. for a temperature sensitive drugs, RealMeds uses this component to get MQTT data, directly from the temperature sensor to keep a track of a medicine’s temperature during the supply chain. With this it ensures if the medicine is okay to consume. It can read data from numerous data sources – databases, files, REST endpoint, MQ, etc. Data can be pushed to the platform using Data Flow’s REST and MQTT endpoints.

Transaction Management

Keeps track of all the transactions happening in the system and raises transaction events that are relevant to the problem domain.

Anomaly Detection

Some checks can only be done on the history of data and also by comparing other inputs – e.g. check for distribution channel deviation. These checks are carried out by the Anomaly Detection component. It offers real-time insights and notifications. RealMeds uses this component to ensure that the sales representatives are not routing the medicines to different locations in the name of better commission.

Component Architecture

Here is the overall architecture of the component

Pluggable Anti-counterfeiting Rule Engine

Different products have different anti-counterfeiting parameters- some are directly based on product attributes where some are more regulatory in nature. E.g. medicine has expiry date whereas cotton bale has manufacturer as a key parameters to see if they are good to consume. For medicine, it may be required to do additional checks to ensure that the medicine is not banned by the regulatory authority. Chain4Real rule engine allows any domain/industry - specific solution to implement its product specific counterfeiting checks and leave rest to it. This allows you to focus on your domain specific problems.

Pluggable Label Generator

There are various types of standards and non-stable labels that may be required to track and trace a product. E.g. barcode, QR codes, 2D data matrix, custom label, etc. One can implement their product specific labeling requirements and make it immediately available through API. Chain4Real comes with a support for GS1 compliant labels for primary, secondary and tertiary levels. However, if there is a need to generate a custom label, it facilitates a quick implementation so that your labels can be generated at scale.

Workflow Automation

With the events and Smart Contracts in place, it is easier to extend your workflow easily. E.g. when a medicine of not of suitable quality is found, automatically send an email to the concerned authority of the drug manufacturer with the batch detail seeking clarification.

Shared Economy

Build a loyalty program that incentivizes everyone who contributes to the goal of end-to-end track & traceability and anti-counterfeiting. Chain4Real makes it easier to “program” the economic model so that you can cut down on the operations, monitoring and management of such programs.

Single Ownership

With Chain4Real, you can be sure that your digital property has a single owner at any given point of time. This enables you to understand where your product is and who is the owner. This is used to ensure that others (read fake manufacturers) are not copying the label and pushing it into the supply chain.

Provenance

From manufactured to the current scanned location, you and your customer will have real-time view of how the product has reached them. With extensible map annotation markers, you have a way to show the related detail to your user to assist them in their decision in buying your product.

Data Sharing

Data Sharing component lets you control what data you want to share with whom in the supply chain network. E.g. you may want to show only the drug expiry, batch and manufacturer name to end consumers. However, to a drug control auditor you may need to show the composition detail, as well.

Smart Contracts

Offers a programmable way to put your contracts in action so that they go beyond the notarized papers and are enforced while the transactions are being done on the network. E.g. controlling the thermostat temperature based on the temperature reading sent by the sensor attached to a product.

Real-time Events

Chain4Real raises real-time events when a product is scanned and its anti-counterfeiting check outcome. It also offers events indicating ownership transfers. This offers additional integration points with your ERP system for example – real-time inventory insight. These events can be subscribed by any participant of the network (subject on their authorization) and take specific actions at their end.

Ownership Validation

Ownership validation is a very important aspect of an anti-counterfeiting solution is that it is able to validate the ownership of asset so that anybody tries to do any mischief the system detects and prevents counterfeiting.

Upstream & Downstream integration APIs

Chain4Real offers RESTful APIs for easy integration with any kind of application. It uses JSON as the data format for quick data exchange. All APIs use HTTPS as their secure transport mechanism.

Data Flow

This component abstracts the specifics related to sending data into the Chain4Real platform. It is especially useful to interface with sensors and data loggers to get IoT data into the platform for validation. E.g. for a temperature sensitive drugs, RealMeds uses this component to get MQTT data, directly from the temperature sensor to keep a track of a medicine’s temperature during the supply chain. With this it ensures if the medicine is okay to consume. It can read data from numerous data sources – databases, files, REST endpoint, MQ, etc. Data can be pushed to the platform using Data Flow’s REST and MQTT endpoints.

Transaction Management

Keeps track of all the transactions happening in the system and raises transaction events that are relevant to the problem domain.

Anomaly Detection

Some checks can only be done on the history of data and also by comparing other inputs – e.g. check for distribution channel deviation. These checks are carried out by the Anomaly Detection component. It offers real-time insights and notifications. RealMeds uses this component to ensure that the sales representatives are not routing the medicines to different locations in the name of better commission.