Systems and methods for monitoring temperature or movement of merchandise

A method for monitoring the temperature of merchandise items comprising:

• by a temperature sensor at or near one or more merchandise items, measuring temperature at predetermined time intervals;
• by a control circuit, generating and encoding a barcode with data representing a first temperature measurement;
• and
• by a control circuit, updating and encoding the barcode with data representing the first temperature measurement and one or more subsequent temperature measurements.

A system for monitoring the movement of merchandise items, the system comprising:

• a sensor disposed on a merchandise item measuring movement;
• a control circuit operatively coupled to the sensor, the control circuit configured to:
• read measurements from the sensor at predetermined time intervals;
• generate and encode a barcode with data representing a first sensor measurement;
• update and encoding the barcode with data representing the first sensor measurement and the one or more subsequent sensor measurements;
• and
• an e-ink interface operatively coupled to the control circuit and configured to display the updated barcode.