Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft, better known as BMW, has announced that the company has successfully tested a platform called “PartChain”. According to the announcement, the test was already completed in 2019.

Pilot project has already been successfully tested at several locations

PartChain will use blockchain as well as cloud technologies from Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure to ensure the traceability of automotive parts. The company wants to ensure greater data transparency for automotive parts involving parties that are distributed around the world. In the pilot project already completed, the solution was used for purchasing and tracking headlights. At the time, two of the Group’s 31 plants were involved in the project. In addition, another three locations of the supplier Automotive Lightning were involved.

In 2020 the project is to be expanded to include additional suppliers

So far the project has been limited to the tracking of individual parts. However, BMW wants to expand the platform in the future to include the entire production value chain. To this end, the platform will in future include, for example, raw materials from extraction to processing and make them traceable. Andreas Wendt, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG and responsible for the purchasing and supplier network of the group, now wants to extend the project to other suppliers. This year, 10 more suppliers are to join the project.

BMW shares solution with other companies in a blockchain initiative

According to Wendt, the long-term goal is to create an open platform that makes data exchange and sharing within supply chains across industries secure and anonymous. BMW wants to share the PartChain solution with other members of the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI). The company founded the initiative in 2018 with GM, Ford and Renault, among others. Other companies such as Bosch, Hyperledger, IBM and IOTA have also joined the initiative.

*Originally published in German at CVJ.ch