Patent ID: 8463651

Claim:
A method for tracking an inventory distribution of a perishable product in a supply chain, the method comprising: receiving shipment data and point of sale data for the perishable product from multiple locations in the supply chain; automatically creating, based on the obtained shipment data and point of sale data, a network graph that represents a flow of the perishable product in the supply chain, the network graph including: a plurality of nodes interconnected by a plurality of arcs, each of the plurality of nodes in the network graph representing one of the multiple locations in the supply chain, at least one arc that connects one of the plurality of nodes to another node of the plurality of nodes where each arc represents a shipment of the perishable product, the at least one arc including: 1) movement data of the perishable product including information associated with a movement of the perishable product throughout the supply chain and 2) a quantity data value of the perishable product moved; automatically identifying an age of unsold inventory of the perishable product at each node of the plurality of nodes of the network graph based on: the at least one arc and the data included in the at least one arc, a manufacture date of the unsold inventory of the perishable product, and a date indicating when the perishable product entered into the supply chain; comparing, at each node of the plurality of nodes, the identified age of the unsold inventory of the perishable product against a threshold value; in response to the comparing step, automatically providing a notification to a user at each node of the plurality of nodes of the network graph, the provided notification including: the identified age of the unsold inventory of the perishable product at the each node of the plurality of nodes, a recommended action to the user relating the perishable product at the each node of the plurality of nodes, and a percentage of the unsold inventory of the perishable product whose identified age is larger than the threshold at the each node of the plurality of nodes; upon receiving the notification, modifying the movement of the perishable product among the plurality of nodes within the supply chain to decrease an amount of time that the perishable product is within the supply chain; and upon receiving the notification, adjusting, by a manufacturer of the perishable product, a production schedule of the perishable product in accordance with the identified age of the unsold inventory of the perishable product at the each node of the plurality of nodes, wherein a processor coupled to a memory device is configured to perform: the steps of the receiving, the automatically creating, the automatically identifying, the comparing, the automatically providing, the modifying, and the adjusting.