Senders (15) ship products (21) in packages (13) to receivers (17) via a carrier (19). The carrier's computer system (2) receives data (23) identifying objects (20) associated with the products (21), and data (27) identifying the packages (13), links the two, and stores same in a database (29). The object (20) can be defined to be a product (21), package (13), or group of packages or objects. As the packages (13) progress through the carrier's transport and storage network (18), they pass through one or more portals (9) and are scanned to generate event data (31) transmitted to the computer system (2) for storage with the linked data to provide status information regarding the products (21) in the carrier's network (18).
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