Bossard

SFA - Smart Assembly Solutions

Problem Statement

OEM produce goods. They are responsible for the quality and with the latest regulations they have more and more the duty to prove the quality. Companies as well as users want to know who is behind a product and how they have secured the expected quality. Transparency is often lost in multi-stage manufacturing processes (component in assembly, assembly in end product). This leads to the problem of traceability to secure transparency in the process. In some cases, product data can be retrieved online from the manufacturer, but this requires trust in the manufacturer's platform which needs to be built up. New technologies will need to build trust and connect us as a manufacturer to our clients.

Challenge

We need a smart tool, who is able to report on a blockchain the results of the quality assessment linked to our assembly line. The data must be secure and transparent to our customers, we must be able to proof that the data cannot be altered in the process. Each product will need an ID or serial number so customers are able to trace it with the relevant information about the quality assessment as well as the given certificate of highest quality.

SFL - Smart Factory Logistics

Problem Statement

Customers want to have their supply chain as easy as possible on the other hand suppliers want to reduce the effort of their customers as much as possible. There are processes in place which make processes as simple as possible. Bossard for example has the SmartBin (a Box with a builtin scale), which measures online the stock level of parts at production facilities. If the stock level is below a certain level, SmartBin orders automatically a defined replenishment quantity at the supplier to refill the box. If the parts arrive at the box, SmartBin measures the increase of parts and the replenishment cycle is closed. This process is quite good automated and works well. With such systems, parts of several suppliers are managed with Supplier Consolidation Service.

The payment of these items is still somehow manual. Supplier sends paper invoices to a service center, which consolidating the invoices manually and creating a consolidated invoice for the customer. After the customer's payment to the service center, the service center deconsolidate the payment and sends it to the suppliers. Such invoices could contain hundreds of positions and the control is inefficient and nearly impossible.

Our current idea is: The customer buys an amount of Bossard-Coins and holds it in his wallet. The order signal from SmartBin triggers a SmartContract. The SmartContract reserves the exact amount of Bossard Coins at the customers wallet to pay the parts. The Supplier accepts the replenishment order: Oracle 1, The Supplier confirms the shipment: Oracle 2, then SmartBin confirm the stock increase: Oracle 3 then SmartContract pays the Supplier with Bossard-Coins.

Challenge

How could we create a stable, lightweight, fully automated payment process? Do a POC on how an IoT Device (like our SmartBin) can be used to initiate and control such a payment process. Prove in the concept how this process can be ensured to be private (between seller and buyer) as suppliers don't want to make their prices transparent and customers don't want to be traceable about their usage of parts.