Aspects of the present invention describe a method of tracking an item, comprising. The items is associated with a tag and capable of responding to a query from a tag reader and tag combination. The tag reader and tag combination capable of identifying the item associated with the tag using a tag reader. In operation, a tag reader makes a request to at least one tag reader and tag combination for the identity of an item associated with a tag. The tag reader and tag combination identifies the item associated with the tag and provides the identity of the item and tag to the tag reader.