Is there some kind of Track & Trace module.

I have build a track & trace option for our products. Below I will outline how the solution looks like. Thanks to ablommers for the trick for bypassing the security for a view.

CCK fields:
General noticeWe use one field for all our computed code. Say for example: field_operations_ccktype (type: Computed). In this field we put all our computed code for the other fields.

Add field:
Unique ID (Track and Trace) / field_unique_id / Text

Add computed code to the field_operations_ccktype:
// ---------------------------------------------------------
//  Set Unique ID for Track & Trace (one time)
//--------------------------------------------------------
if ($node->field_unique_id [0]['value'] == null)
{
$random_id_length = 20; //set the random id length 
$rnd_id = crypt(uniqid(rand(),1)); //generate a random id encrypt it and store it in $rnd_id 
$rnd_id = strip_tags(stripslashes($rnd_id)); //to remove any slashes that might have come 
$rnd_id = str_replace(".","",$rnd_id); //Removing any . or / and reversing the string 
$rnd_id = strrev(str_replace("/","",$rnd_id)); 
$rnd_id = substr($rnd_id,0,$random_id_length); //take 20 characters from the $rnd_id 
$node->field_unique_id [0]['value'] = $rnd_id;
}

So the code below, populates the field_unque_id.
In the field_operations_ccktype there is also other php code available to populate other fields. By doing it this way (putting all the code in one field) you have all your code in one place. This is easier for migration.

Views
I have created a view where I display certain CCK fields (like ID and workflow status). The argument I use in the view is the field_unique_id. You can also specify this as a filter.

Security
I had some trouble with the security of nodes. In our applications we use the Node access node reference and Node access user reference for the security of our nodes.
This setup enables us to make sure people only can see the nods they are entitled to. However, anonymous users cannot see anything on our Portal. For the Track and Trace option, you don't want people to log in. They should see the status of their ccall or instance without having an account.

The Views module will only show the nodes you are entitled to. But for the Track and Trace module, you want people to see the status of the node even if they have no access to this node.

There is an option in the Views module to do this, however it is not documented anywhere so it took a while to find out.

In the Views module,
go to "Basic Settings", "Access" and select "Role" and "Anonymous user".
go to "Query settings" and select "Disable SQL rewriting".

Now the view will display the nodes ignoring the security. You can not open the node itself because then the security kicks back in. So this only enables you to show some fields anonymous users have rights to, without showing the full node.

Remarks
When a new instance is created, an email is sent to the person who can track & trace the instance. In the email an URL is given to the path of the view (including the unique id). By clicking on this URL, he is redirected to the view and the status of the instance is shown on the screen. He is not enabled to see anything else on the Portal because of our strict security policies (he is an anonymous user and they aren't allowed to see any information on the Portal.