Information sharing in supply chain of agricultural products based on the Internet of Things
| Date | 08 August 2016 |
| Pages | 1397-1416 |
| Published date | 08 August 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-12-2015-0512 |
| Author | Bo Yan,Chang Yan,Chenxu Ke,Xingchao Tan |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information systems,Data management systems |
Information sharing in supply
chain of agricultural products
based on the Internet of Things
Bo Yan, Chang Yan, Chenxu Ke and Xingchao Tan
School of Economics and Commerce,
South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
Abstract
Purpose –The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the efficient ways to solve the problems on
information sharing in the supply chain of agricultural products. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach –In this paper, a scheme of information sharing in the supply
chain of agricultural products is developed and the information of agricultural products is designed
and described with Physical Markup Language.
Findings –In addition, the EPC Information Services (EPCIS) system of agricultural products is
analyzed and designed, and the design of tracking and tracing of the agricultural supply chain based
on the IoT is proposed. Meanwhile, EPCDS registration is discussed, and two methods of information
inquiry are proposed, especially the processes of inquiries for the static and dynamic information
based on Object Name Service are emphasized.
Originality/value –Once a food safety incident occurs, the model can be used for tracking, tracing,
and monitoring so as to deal with related products and strengthen the quality and safety management
of agricultural products.
Keywords Supply chain, Internet of Things (IoT), Information sharing, Agricultural products
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The field of agricultural products is a special industry because it is time-critical and
high-risk,and characterized with security that is difficult to control andhigh requirement
and demand on the supply chain integration. Agricultural products with quality issues
may endanger people’s lives. Thus, the timely tracing and tracking of information of
agricultural products is important. To achieve effective information sharing and tracing
of agricultural product information, tracking the complete supply chain of agricultural
products using advanced information techniques is crucial; the information that follows
the product’sphysical trail is tracedand the information anddata of agricultural products
are collected in a timely and accurate manner (Feng et al., 2013; Papetti et al., 2012).
At present, companies are adopting new electronic traceability systems (“information
trails”) to trackproduction, purchases, inventory, and sales therebyproviding a basis for
good supply management; this process facilitates the efficient management of resources
(Patel and Cassou, 2015; Prince et al.,2014;Kwonet al., 2014; Kang and Lee, 2013; Lotfi
et al., 2013; Bosona and Gebresenbet, 2013). The Internet of Things (IoT) is an efficient
way of solving the problems related to information sharing in the supply chain of
agricultural products.
The basic idea of IoT is inherent in all kinds of things or objectsaround us, such as
radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, sensors, actuators, and mobile phones.
The US National Intelligence Council (2008) stated that “by 2025 Internet nodes may
reside in everyday things-food packages, furniture, paper documents, and more.”
By addressing unique schemes, IoT systems can interact with each other and
Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 116 No. 7, 2016
pp. 1397-1416
©Emerald Group Publis hing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/IMDS-12-2015-0512
Received 26 December 2015
Revised2May2016
Accepted 13 June 2016
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-5577.htm
1397
Supply chain
of agricultural
products
cooperate with their neighbors to attain common goals (Mejjaouli and
Babiceanu, 2015; Chen and Chou, 2015; Wan et al., 2014; Zhu et al., 2012; Kiritsis,
2011; Wang et al., 2011; Giusto et al., 2010; So Park et al., 2010; Yan et al., 2015). IoT
can realize intelligent identification, location, tracking, and monitoring and
management functions. These functionalities have made IoT a highly investigated
topic. IoT in the supply chain of agricultural products has gained wide application.
The feasibility and flexibility of the architecture of this supply chain was proposed
through a detailed implementation that uses wireless sensor networks and web
services to introduce the use of the smart object framework; these networks
encapsulate RFID, sensor technologies, embedded object logic, object ad hoc
networking, and internet-based information infrastructure to realize the real-time
monitoring of the flow of goods through a supply chain (Sanchez et al.,2012).The
implementation of RFID in the supply chain was employed to achieve real-time
inventory monitoring and information sharing; such approach can help the system
attain high-environmental benefits and economic benefits (Nativi and Lee, 2012). A
structural model that adopts RFID technology improves information sharing among
supply chain members; such model offers empirical support for the adoption of RFID
technology within an enterprise resource planning context for the purpose of
improving supply chain performance (Zelbst et al., 2010). Two cases about the
deployment of RFID in three organizational success indicators were studied to
develop better RFID instantiations (Bardaki et al., 2012). The generic framework of
costs associated with process innovations in supply networks was tested; the tests
clarified the various costs involved in the adoption of RFID technologies by early
adopters, which influenced the decision to adopt such framework (Smart et al., 2010).
In essence, RFID technology and electronic data interchange technology based on the
internet has matured. However, a gap continues to exist in the application of RFID in
the safety of Chinese agriculture products, which is not case with advanced countries
that have attained advanced levels of implementation.
Therefore, we explored the application of IoT in the supply chain of agriculture
products to achieve information sharing based on the feature of IoT, such as “from
anytime, anyplace connectivity for anyone, we will now have connectivity for
anything”(International Telecommunication Union, 2005). First, the IoT application
model in the supply chain of agricultural products was constructed. An EPC
Information Services (EPCIS) system, which plays an important role in the informa tion
sharing of agricultural IoT, was designed and analyzed. The tracking and tracing of
the agricultural supply chain were analyzed based on IoT, including registers, records,
and inquiries for static and dynamic information. EPCDS registration was discussed.
Two methods of information inquiry were proposed. The processes of inquiries for
static and dynamic information based on Object Name Service (ONS) were emphasized.
A scheme of information sharing in the supply chain of agricultural products was
developed. Thus, the application of agricultural IoT guaranteed the security of the
entire process of circulation of agricultural products.
2. Application of IoT in information sharing of supply chains
The components of IoT include all roles in the supply chain and the providers who offer
services for the roles. Participants are connected by means of the internet or any other
means. The IoT consists of six parts, namely, Electronic Product Code (EPC), RFID tags
and reader, EPC middleware, Application Level Events (ALE), EPCIS, and ONS
(Thiesse and Michahelles, 2009).
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IMDS
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