Methods and apparatus for serializing a plurality of products

Abstract

An apparatus for tracking inventory is described. The apparatus includes a plurality of labels with pre-printed indicia, such that each label in the plurality of labels includes a unique indicia representing a unique serial number. Each of the plurality of labels is applied to one of a plurality of the same products. Each product in the plurality of the same products uses the same machine-readable data. An imaging device reads the machine-readable data used by the plurality of the same products and the unique pre-printed indicia on the label applied to each product. A computing device is coupled to the imaging device. Software executing on the computing device associates the machine-readable data with the unique pre-printed indicia to create an association. The association is stored in a memory.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 applying one of a plurality of labels to one of a plurality of the same products, each label including a unique pre-printed indicia representing a unique serial number, each product in the plurality of the same products using the same machine-readable data;   reading the machine-readable data used by the product and the unique pre-printed indicia on the label applied to each product with an imaging device coupled to a computing device; and   associating the machine-readable data with the unique pre-printed indicia to create an association stored in a memory.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the machine-readable data comprises a product identifier for the product. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the product identifier is one of a universal product code (UPC) and a stock keeping unit (SKU). 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the imaging device reads the machine-readable data and the unique pre-printed indicia substantially simultaneously. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising managing at least one of the plurality of products with the stored association of the machine-readable data and the unique pre-printed indicia. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining an inventory status of each product with the association. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the memory comprises a database. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of labels further comprises a radio frequency identification (RFID) circuit for storing the unique indicia. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the radio frequency identification (RFID) circuit comprises a Near-Field Communication (NFC) circuit. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the unique serial numbers of the unique pre-printed indicia of a plurality of labels comprises sequential values. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising reading both the lowest value unique serial number and the highest value unique serial number of a plurality of sequential labels and inferring all serial numbers in between. 
     
     
         12 . An apparatus for tracking inventory, comprising:
 a plurality of labels with pre-printed indicia, such that each label in the plurality of labels includes a unique indicia representing a unique serial number, each of the plurality of labels being applied to one of a plurality of the same products, each product in the plurality of the same products using the same machine-readable data;   an imaging device reading the machine-readable data used by the plurality of the same products and the unique pre-printed indicia on the label applied to each product; and   a computing device coupled to the imaging device, software executing on the computing device associating the machine-readable data with the unique pre-printed indicia to create an association and storing the association in a memory.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the machine-readable data comprises a product identifier for the product. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the product identifier is one of a universal product code (UPC) and a stock keeping unit (SKU). 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the memory comprises cloud storage. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein each of the plurality of labels further comprises a radio frequency identification (RFID) circuit for storing the unique indicium. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the radio frequency identification (RFID) circuit comprises a Near-Field Communication (NFC) circuit. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the software tracks a product with one of the plurality of labels by using the association of the machine-readable data with the unique pre-printed indicia. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the association enables the software to determine an inventory status of the product. 
     
     
         20 . A system, comprising:
 a plurality of labels, each label in the plurality of labels including a unique indicia representing a unique serial number, the unique serial numbers for a sequence of labels in the plurality of labels comprising sequential values;   means for applying each of the plurality of labels to one of a plurality of the same products, each product in the plurality of the same products using the same machine-readable data, the machine-readable data being a product identifier for the products;   imaging means for reading the machine-readable data used by each product and for reading the unique pre-printed indicia on each label applied to each product;   computing means for associating the machine-readable data with the unique pre-printed indicia to create an association; and   storing means for storing the association in a memory.