WO2019036764A1

WO2019036764A1 - System and method for digitally tracking bulk commodity transfer between locations

Info

Publication number: WO2019036764A1
Application number: PCT/AU2018/050898
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sean Birrell
Original assignee: Fluidintel Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Fluidintel Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2017-08-23
Filing date: 2018-08-23
Publication date: 2019-02-28
Anticipated expiration: 2020-02-23

Abstract

Described herein is a system (100) configured to digitally track commodity transfer between first and second locations. System (11) includes a first data capture device (102) positioned at a first location and adapted to receive commodity transfer data indicative of a bulk commodity delivery. The first data capture device (102) has a first interface for receiving input metrology data from one or more first sensors (103). A data writing device (104) is adapted to write the commodity transfer data to a portable electronic device (106), which is carried to the downstream location. A second data capture device (110) is positioned at a second location and has a second interface for communicating with one or more second sensors (103). The second data capture device is adapted to read the commodity transfer data from the portable electronic device (106); receive output metrology data from the one or more second sensors; and compare the input metrology data with the output metrology data to generate verification data for the commodity transfer. The commodity transfer data, output metrology data and verification data are communicated to a cloud-based server (112) for viewing and analysing the data, and for issuing verification alerts.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DIGITALLY TRACKING BULK COMMODITY TRANSFER BETWEEN LOCATIONS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to commodity management systems and in particular to a system and method for digitally tracking bulk commodity transfer between locations. While some embodiments will be described herein with particular reference to that application, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to such a field of use, and is applicable in broader contexts.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Any discussion of the background art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

[0003] Traditional deliveries of bulk commodities such as fuels downstream from terminals to wholesale buyers or retail sites have required paper documentation through the multiple steps in the supply chain. This documentation often functions without transparency as to delivered volumes between the counterparties.

SUM MARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a system configured to digitally track commodity transfer between locations, the system including:

a first data capture device positioned at a first location and adapted to receive commodity transfer data indicative of a bulk commodity delivery, the commodity transfer data including input metrology data, the first data capture device having a first interface for receiving the input metrology data from one or more first sensors;

a data writing device adapted to write the commodity transfer data to a portable electronic device;

a portable electronic device adapted to receive the commodity transfer data and store the data in a non-transient manner; a second data capture device positioned at a second location and having a second interface for communicating with one or more second sensors, the second data capture device adapted to:

read the commodity transfer data from the portable electronic device; receive output metrology data from the one or more second sensors; and

compare the input metrology data from the portable electronic device with the output metrology data to generate verification data for the commodity transfer; and

communicate the commodity transfer data, output metrology data and verification data to a cloud-based server; and

a cloud-based server configured to:

a) host an interface for displaying the verification data, output metrology data and/or commodity transfer data;

b) provide reports and analytics on commodity transfer data; c) generate alerts based on commodity transfer data; and

d) interface with external systems.

[0005] In one embodiment the bulk commodity is a fuel. In other embodiments the bulk commodity is one of a bulk chemical, milk, ores, dairy product or food oil.

[0006] The first or second sensors may include temperature sensors, pressure sensors and/or contaminant sensors. Preferably the input or output metrology data includes one or more of:

a volume of the vehicle used to transfer the bulk commodity; a number of tank compartments available on the vehicle used to transfer the bulk commodity;

a volume of the bulk commodity to be transferred;

a mass of the bulk commodity to be transferred;

a type of the bulk commodity;

a quality or grade of the bulk commodity;

a pressure under which to store the bulk commodity during transfer; a density of the bulk commodity; and

compartments within the vehicle in which the bulk commodity is to be stored.

[0007] Preferably the commodity transfer data includes:

an origin of the bulk commodity;

one or more destinations of the bulk commodity;

a customer of the bulk commodity product; and

an estimated time of delivery of the bulk commodity.

[0008] In some embodiments the portable electronic device includes a smartphone or tablet computer. In other embodiments the portable electronic device includes an RFID storage device. The RFID storage device may include an electronic ink display configured to display at least a subset of the commodity transfer data. The RFID storage device may be embedded in a bulk commodity transport vehicle or container.

[0009] In some embodiments the first data capture device and the data writing device are the same device.

[0010] In some embodiments the data writing device writes the data to the portable electronic device wirelessly.

[001 1] In some embodiments, the one or more first sensors and one or more second sensors are the same sensors. In some embodiments, the sensors are located on or within a delivery vehicle which is delivering the bulk commodity between the first and second locations.

[0012] In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method to digitally track bulk commodity transfer between locations, the method including the steps:

at a first location:

receiving, at first data capture device positioned at the first location, commodity transfer data indicative of a bulk commodity delivery, the commodity transfer data including input metrology data received from one or more first sensors through a first interface of the first data capture device; writing, with a data writing device, the commodity transfer data to a portable electronic device and storing the commodity transfer data on the portable electronic device in a non-transient manner;

upon transfer of the bulk commodity to a second location, at the second location:

reading, by a second data capture device positioned at the second location, the commodity transfer data from the portable electronic device;

receiving output metrology data from one or more second sensors through a second interface of the second data capture device;

comparing the input metrology data with the output metrology data to generate verification data for the commodity transfer; and

communicating the commodity transfer data, output metrology data and verification data to a cloud-based server; and

at the cloud-based server:

hosting an interface for displaying the verification data, output metrology data and/or commodity transfer data;

providing reports and analytics on commodity transfer data;

generating alerts and alarms based on commodity transfer data; and interfacing with external systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Preferred embodiments of the disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic system diagram illustrating the primary components in a system for digitally tracking bulk commodity transfer between locations;

Figure 2 is process flow diagram illustrating the primary steps in a method for digitally tracking bulk commodity transfer between locations; and

Figure 3 is a schematic system level overview of a system for digitally tracking bulk commodity transfer between parties, the system including. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

System Overview

[0014] Referring to Figure 1 , there is illustrated a system 100 for digitally tracking bulk commodity transfer between locations, in particular, through ground transport of the commodity in vehicles such as tank trucks. Embodiments of the invention will be described herein with reference to the transfer of a fuel such as petroleum from a first location (loading location) to a second location (delivery location). However, it will be appreciated that the invention is more broadly applicable to the transfer of other bulk materials or commodities such as ores and minerals, bulk chemicals, milk and dairy, bulk foods, food oils and fungible dry goods . Examples of fungible dry goods include fertilizers or commodity crops. In some embodiments, the invention may also be applicable to commodities such as gas and other consumables.

[0015] System 100 is adapted to perform a method 200, as illustrated in Figure 2.

[0016] System 100 includes a first data capture device 102 positioned at a first upstream location such as a fuel storage depot. At step 201 , device 102 is adapted for receiving commodity transfer data indicative of a bulk commodity delivery. The data may be automatically pushed to device 102 from an external server or computer and related sensors, and/or may be manually entered at an interface (first interface) of device 102. The data capture may also involve a combination of automatic data pushing and manual data entry.

[0017] Data capture device 102 includes a proprietary modular computer device having a microprocessor, touchscreen display, network and power connections, and a wireless transceiver. However, in other embodiments, it will be appreciated that data capture device 102 may utilize standard computer hardware and software such as a desktop computer, laptop computer or tablet computer.

[0018] The commodity delivery data includes input metrology data and commodity delivery data. The input metrology data includes real-world data that is obtained from sensors connected directly or indirectly to first data capture device 102. In particular, the input metrology data relates to the particular tank or container for storing the commodity, the conditions under which the commodity is stored and the commodity itself. Example input metrology data includes but is not limited to:

> a volume of the tanker used to transfer the bulk commodity; > a number of tank or container compartments available on the vehicle used to transfer the bulk commodity;

> compartments within the vehicle in which the bulk commodity is to be stored;

> GPS data;

> a volume of the bulk commodity to be transferred;

> a mass of the bulk commodity to be transferred;

> a temperature of the tank or container, or of the bulk commodity;

> temperature compensated volume of the bulk commodity; a type of the bulk

commodity;

> a pressure under which to store the bulk commodity during transfer;

> a density of the bulk commodity;

> compensation factors to be used in calculating the commodity parameters;

> contaminant data; and

> objective measures of quality and compliance;.

[0019] Although some of the input metrology data may be input manually, much of the data relies on real-time or near real-time inputs from associated sensors. Thus, system 100 includes a network of sensors 103 configured to measure various parameters at both the upstream loading end of the commodity delivery and at the downstream unloading end of the commodity delivery. Sensors 103 may comprise first sensors at a first location (loading location) and second sensors at a second location (delivery location). Some of sensors 103, which may include temperature sensors, pressure sensors and contaminant sensors, may be mounted within the vehicle 105 used to transport the commodity and preferably within the tank or container holding the commodity, these may be located at the first location and second location and/or on the tank or container of the vehicle 105. Additional, sensors may be external to the vehicle such as ambient temperature, sound and light sensors disposed at locations around the loading of vehicle 105. Example sensors may include positive displacement flow meters, turbine flow meters, Coriolis flowmeters, RTD temperature probes, MEMS sensors.

[0020] Sensors mounted on or within vehicle 105 can be used to obtain metrology data at both the first and second locations. Thus, some or all of the first and second sensors may be the same sensors. Any sensors that are external to vehicle 105 will be location specific and not common to both locations.

[0021] The vehicle 105 may be a road-based vehicle such as a tanker truck, a train, ship or airplane.

[0022] Sensors 103 communicate with data capture device 102 through a communications interface. This interface may be in the form of a wireless transceiver (e.g. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC adapter), a network port (e.g. Ethernet port) or other wired connection, which is capable of receiving raw or processed data from sensors 103 in a data push or data pull arrangement. In the case where sensors 103 are mounted on or within vehicle 105, vehicle 105 may include a wireless transceiver device which is powered by the vehicle battery and adapted to wirelessly transmit data obtained from sensors 103 to device 102.

[0023] The commodity transfer data also includes commodity transfer data specific to the transfer of the commodity from one party to another or between two locations under the care of a single party. Example commodity transfer data includes:

> an origin of the bulk commodity;

> one or more destinations of the bulk commodity;

> a customer of the bulk commodity product;

> one or more operators of the transport of the bulk commodity (loading,

transporting, unloading operators etc.);

> intermediaries involved in the transport of the bulk commodity;

> supply chain safety and compliance information; and

> an estimated time of delivery of the bulk commodity.

[0024] In step 201 , upon loading vehicle 105 with the bulk commodity, data from the various sensors is read from sensors 103 and received at data capture device 102. This data is combined with the commodity delivery data to act as a quality control and verification check, as described below.

[0025] Supply chain safety and compliance information is becoming increasingly important as end users realise the social impacts of where products came from. One example include the ethical sourcing of raw minerals and ores from sources having compliance with labour and environmental laws. Another example includes the compliance with national and international treaties to reduce terrorist and unethical activities (cartels, warlords etc.).

[0026] At step 202, a data writing device 104 in communication with data capture device 102 writes the commodity transfer data to a portable electronic device 106. In some embodiments, data writing device 104 is integral with data capture device 102 forming a single device. In particular, the data writing device 104 may include the wireless transceiver of device 102. In other embodiments, data writing device 104 is wirelessly or electrically connected with data capture device 102.

[0027] The portable electronic device 106 may be an RFID storage device such as a datacard able to be carried in a user's pocket or wallet. The RFID card may be passive (non powered) or active (having a local power source) and may include a display screen to display the commodity transfer data or a subset thereof to a user. In one embodiment, the portable electronic device 106 is a passive RFID device including an electronic ink display. In some embodiments, the portable electronic device 106 is embedded into the vehicle 105 transporting the bulk commodity. In other embodiments, the portable electronic device 106 is carried by a driver of the vehicle 105.

[0028] In some embodiments, the portable electronic device 106 may be a portable computer device such as a smartphone, tablet computer or laptop computer. Writing of the data to the portable electronic device 106 from data writing device 104 may be through various known wireless communication protocols, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and near field communication (NFC), and may have suitable security encryption.

[0029] The commodity transfer data is stored on the portable electronic device 106 in a non-transient manner. By way of example, in the case of an RFID card, the storage is through the RF energizing of the embedded RFID tag. In the case of a portable computer device, the storage is on a local hard drive of the device.

[0030] Steps 201 and 202 are performed at the loading location prior to commencement of delivery of the bulk commodity. In some cases, the data may be pre-loaded onto the portable electronic device 106 and picked up by a driver of the transport vehicle. In other embodiments, the driver or another person may facilitate the writing of the data to the device 106 by holding the device within wireless communication range of data writing device 104 or electrically connecting the portable electronic device 106 to the data writing device 104.

[0031] Following shipping of the bulk commodity in vehicle 105, the vehicle arrives at a downstream delivery location. Here, at step 203, a second data capture device 110 is adapted for reading the commodity transfer data from the portable electronic device 106 . The reading of the portable electronic device 106 is performed by bringing the device into close proximity with the second data capture device 1 10 for data transfer.

[0032] In conjunction with this data transfer of the input commodity transfer data, at step 204, transfer of data from sensors103 to device 110 also occurs once vehicle 105 reaches the delivery location. Like with device 102, data capture device 110 is also able to communicate with sensors 103 through a communications interface on device 1 10. This interface (second interface) may be in the form of a wireless transceiver (e.g. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC adapter) or a network port (e.g. Ethernet port) or other wired connection which is capable of receiving raw or processed data from sensors 103 in a data push or data pull arrangement.

[0033] In some embodiments, the connection between the portable electronic device 106 and second data capture device 110 triggers the transmission of input metrology data from sensors 103, which are received by data capture device 110.

[0034] The second data capture device 110 is preferably similar or identical to the first data capture device 102. However, these two devices may be implemented in different hardware while having similar software executed thereon.

[0035] At step 205, the input metrology data is compared with the input metrology data to verify the correct delivery of the commodity . In response to the comparison, verification data is generated to indicate the delivery of the commodity has been verified. The commodity transfer data may also be stored in association with other related data such as the time of arrival of the vehicle 105, and updated telemetry data such as commodity temperature and pressure

[0036] At step 206, the fluid transfer data, output metrology data and verification data are communicated from device 1 10 to a cloud-based server 112. The data is stored at the cloud-based server 1 12 for subsequent processing and analysis as described below.

[0037]

[0038] At step 207, the server 112 hosts an interface, either locally or remotely, for displaying the commodity transfer data amongst other data. This allows various authorized parties to access the data to verify the delivery and perform other data analysis. The commodity transfer data may also be used in machine learning algorithms to optimize delivery routes and delivery costs. [0039] At step 208, the server 1 12 provides reports and analytics on commodity transfer data, generate alerts and alarms based on commodity transfer data and interfaces with external systems through a network connection. Example external systems include Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and accounting systems.

[0040] The cloud storage and data interfaces may be implemented utilising a distributed ledger or block chain eliminating the need for a centrally trusted server to broker the transfers.

[0041] The commodity transfer data may be modified during the shipping process where sensors are available. For example, sensors may monitor the commodity temperature or pressure and this additional data may be incorporated into the original commodity transfer data. The GPS location of the vehicle 105 may also be tracked and stored with the commodity transfer data.

[0042] Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the overall system process of digitally tracking bulk commodity transfer between locations, including the interaction of components across the process.

Conclusions

[0043] It will be appreciated that the embodiments of the invention described above provide a technical solution to logistical problem of digitally tracking bulk commodities between geographically separated locations.

[0044] The invention necessarily replaces a paper docket system with a digital receipt or ledger in the overall commodity transfer process as well as providing a reconciliation method that can be completed in real time and is visible to both counter parties. This mitigates the need to have comprehensive back office integration between counterparties to automate elements of the supply chain process and resulting commercial transfers. Additionally, it adds a layer of security utilising proximity based technology and encryption that is not present in a paper based system.

[0045] The invention includes hardware which is able to quickly and efficiently draw metrology data from real-world sensors to speed up the commodity transfer process.

[0046] The invention has a number of modes of redundancy available which help ensure that transfers can be completed even with system outages or failures. This provides for a more robust system than the prior art paper-based solutions as well as avoiding some of the complexity of more traditional Business-to-Business integrations. [0047] The invention minimizes the software integration required between companies to automatically perform a number of steps in the custody transfer of fuel or other bulk commodities by providing a common field hardware platform and software backend that can be used between multiple vendors and customers. This reduces complexity and costs associated with integration.

[0048] The invention is transparent during many steps of the supply chain and the hardware can be integrated with existing automation and control systems without any significant change or re-certification.

[0049] The invention solves a number of challenges in the bulk commodities supply chain. The characteristics of this problem are:

Multiple parties involved in the supply chain and resulting commercial transactions. I.e. fuel supplier, terminal operator, haulage company, wholesale purchaser, retail purchaser both independent and owned by the fuel supplier.

The product being transferred is fungible.

There are opportunities for theft and misappropriation along the supply chain that are difficult to secure.

The transaction volume in the supply chain is large and complex to manage.

[0050] Industry experience has shown that these characteristics create challenges with existing approaches that lead to supply chain re-routes, failures and rework.

INTERPRETATION

[0051] Throughout this specification, use of the term "element" is intended to mean either a single unitary component or a collection of components that combine to perform a specific function or purpose.

[0052] Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specification discussions utilizing terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining", analyzing" or the like, refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform data represented as physical, such as electronic, quantities into other data similarly represented as physical quantities.

[0053] In a similar manner, the term "controller" or "processor" may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data, e.g., from registers and/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data that, e.g., may be stored in registers and/or memory. A "computer" or a "computing machine" or a "computing platform" may include one or more processors.

[0054] The methodologies described herein are, in one embodiment, performable by one or more processors that accept computer-readable (also called machine-readable) code containing a set of instructions that when executed by one or more of the processors carry out at least one of the methods described herein. Any processor capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken are included. Thus, one example is a typical processing system that includes one or more processors. Each processor may include one or more of a CPU, a graphics processing unit, and a programmable DSP unit. The processing system further may include a memory subsystem including main RAM and/or a static RAM, and/or ROM. A bus subsystem may be included for communicating between the components. The processing system further may be a distributed processing system with processors coupled by a network. If the processing system requires a display, such a display may be included, e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT) display. If manual data entry is required, the processing system also includes an input device such as one or more of an alphanumeric input unit such as a keyboard, a pointing control device such as a mouse, and so forth. The term memory unit as used herein, if clear from the context and unless explicitly stated otherwise, also encompasses a storage system such as a disk drive unit. The processing system in some configurations may include a sound output device, and a network interface device. The memory subsystem thus includes a computer-readable carrier medium that carries computer-readable code (e.g., software) including a set of instructions to cause performing, when executed by one or more processors, one of more of the methods described herein. Note that when the method includes several elements, e.g., several steps, no ordering of such elements is implied, unless specifically stated. The software may reside in the hard disk, or may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the RAM and/or within the processor during execution thereof by the computer system. Thus, the memory and the processor also constitute computer-readable carrier medium carrying computer-readable code.

[0055] Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment", "some embodiments" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments.

[0056] As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives "first", "second", "third", etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.

[0057] In the claims below and the description herein, any one of the terms comprising, comprised of or which comprises is an open term that means including at least the elements/features that follow, but not excluding others. Thus, the term comprising, when used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being limitative to the means or elements or steps listed thereafter. For example, the scope of the expression a device comprising A and B should not be limited to devices consisting only of elements A and B. Any one of the terms including or which includes or that includes as used herein is also an open term that also means including at least the elements/features that follow the term, but not excluding others. Thus, including is synonymous with and means comprising.

[0058] It should be appreciated that in the above description of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, various features of the disclosure are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, Fig., or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claims require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this disclosure.

[0059] Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some but not other features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the disclosure, and form different embodiments, as would be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

[0060] In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

[0061] Similarly, it is to be noticed that the term coupled, when used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being limited to direct connections only. The terms "coupled" and "connected," along with their derivatives, may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. Thus, the scope of the expression a device A coupled to a device B should not be limited to devices or systems wherein an output of device A is directly connected to an input of device B. It means that there exists a path between an output of A and an input of B which may be a path including other devices or means. "Coupled" may mean that two or more elements are either in direct physical, electrical or optical contact, or that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other but yet still co-operate or interact with each other.

[0062] Thus, while there has been described what are believed to be the preferred embodiments of the disclosure, those skilled in the art will recognize that other and further modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the disclosure, and it is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the disclosure. For example, any formulas given above are merely representative of procedures that may be used. Functionality may be added or deleted from the block diagrams and operations may be interchanged among functional blocks. Steps may be added or deleted to methods described within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

A system configured to digitally track commodity transfer between locations, the system including:

a portable electronic device adapted to receive the commodity transfer data and store the data in a non-transient manner;

a second data capture device positioned at a second location and having a second interface for communicating with one or more second sensors, the second data capture device adapted to:

compare the input metrology data with the output metrology data to generate verification data for the commodity transfer; and communicate the commodity transfer data, output metrology data and verification data to a cloud-based server; and

a cloud-based server configured to:

b) provide reports and analytics on the commodity transfer data;

c) generate alerts and alarms based on commodity transfer data; and d) interface with external systems.

A system according to claim 1 wherein the bulk commodity is a fuel.

A system according to claim 1 wherein the bulk commodity is one of a bulk chemical, milk, ores, dairy product or food oil. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the one or more first or second sensors include temperature sensors, pressure sensors and/or contaminant sensors.

A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the input or output metrology data includes one or more of:

a volume of the vehicle used to transfer the bulk commodity;

a number of tank compartments available on the vehicle used to transfer the bulk commodity;

a volume of the bulk commodity to be transferred;

a mass of the bulk commodity to be transferred;

a type of the bulk commodity;

a pressure under which to store the bulk commodity during transfer;

a density of the bulk commodity; and/or

compartments within the vehicle in which the bulk commodity is to be stored.

A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the commodity transfer data also includes commodity delivery data and wherein the commodity delivery data includes:

an origin of the bulk commodity;

one or more destinations of the bulk commodity;

a customer of the bulk commodity product; and/or

an estimated time of delivery of the bulk commodity.

A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the portable electronic device includes a smartphone or tablet computer.

A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the portable electronic device includes an RFID storage device.

A system according to claim 8 wherein the RFID storage device includes an electronic ink display configured to display at least a subset of the commodity transfer data.

10. A system according to claim 8 or claim 9 wherein the RFID storage device is embedded in a bulk commodity transport vehicle.

11. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the first data

capture device and the data writing device are the same device.

12. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the data writing device writes the data to the portable electronic device wirelessly.

13. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the one or more first sensors and one or more second sensors are the same sensors.

14. A system according to claim 13 wherein the sensors are located on or within a

delivery vehicle which is delivering the bulk commodity between the first and second locations.

15. A method to digitally track bulk commodity transfer between locations, the method including the steps:

at a first location:

receiving, at first data capture device positioned at the first location, commodity transfer data indicative of a bulk commodity delivery, the commodity transfer data including input metrology data received from one or more first sensors through a first interface of the first data capture device;

writing, with a data writing device, the commodity transfer data to a portable electronic device and storing the commodity transfer data on the portable electronic device in a non-transient manner;

comparing the input metrology data with the output metrology data to generate verification data for the commodity transfer; and communicating the commodity transfer data, output metrology data and verification data to a cloud-based server; and

at the cloud-based server:

hosting an interface for displaying the verification data, output metrology data and/or commodity transfer data.

providing reports and analytics on commodity transfer data;

generating alerts based on commodity transfer data; and

interfacing with external systems.