Bosch Trac360, a cloud-based IoT solution for real-time tracking and visibility across a supply chain is designed to improve customers satisfaction, reduce inventory carrying costs, and improve distribution productivity by providing a single view from the factory to the receipt of products by customers.

A core aspect of Trac360 is the use of blockchain technology to track and verify transactions, transfer or receive bins, pallets or other containers, or delivery of finished products to customers.

Blockchain is especially important in the in industries where customers want to know the source of components or ingredients, such as packaged and perishable foods, pharmaceuticals, gemstones, and appliances. Complementing the use of blockchainis IoT-enabled sensors on goods, containers, vehicles, and other aspects of the supply chain. These sensors gather and relay real-time information on status, location, condition, issues, and other factors that contribute to the integrity of shipments from whether a sensitive part was unacceptably shaken to the performance of freight vehicles.

Trac360 focuses the following areas:

Container management:
Product traceability
Assisted user experience
Transparency
Condition monitoring
Real-time tracking
Fleet management

From a user interface point-of-view, Trac360 integrates with the Azure Cloud to display intuitive dashboards that provide the insights necessary to make smarter decisions from logistics planning to inventory levels, choice of carriers, and shipment schedules. Real-time alerts and notifications provide the information necessary to quickly respond to issues. To protect sensitive information, access can be defined by role.

Using Azure Bot Services, Trac360 simplifies communication between planners, truckers, warehouse personnel, and others across the supply chain.

Finally, the level of tracking and tracing offered by Trac360 makes it possible to continuously monitor the condition of vehicles. When issues are detected, alerts or notifications can be sent to maintenance teams or a specific technician or mechanic.