Clever recycling product containers meet digital, automated financial services
The intelligent sensor ITCPRO developed at Fraunhofer IML and various systems along the supply chain provide event-based data. These data are stored securely and transparently in a distributed ledger for the participants in the process. If ITCPRO initiates a disposal event because a container is full, the collection of the data protection container is handled by Rhenus Data Office. So-called smart contracts, which are intelligent electronic contracts, form the foundation for this. In these the process parameters are examined and compared. If all the agreed conditions have been met, the financial transaction is automatically completed. In this respect Rhenus sets store by a digital and decentralised cash ledger, thus ensuring greater transparency along the financial flow. In the future the customers of Rhenus will be able to view all the contractual data and the current level of recycling product containers, as well as the status quo of the disposal process, on a platform established by Rhenus and Commerzbank.
“In addition to the fully automated collection thanks to IoT sensor technology, the Rhenus Group now covers the direct debit collection command completely digitally with the aid of the Commerzbank payment solution. We expect that the time-consuming examination of invoices and the monitoring of incoming and outgoing payments will be a thing of the past. We trust in DLT and in Commerzbank as a neutral financial services provider,” adds Dr. Stephan Peters, a Member of the Board of Rhenus Group.
“We intend to digitalise and automate the supply chains of our customers with our DLT-based solutions to make these more efficient, more resilient and more productive. The Smart Waste Management use casewith Rhenus is a prime example of how attractive this technological approach is,” says Brigitte Réthier, Divisional Board Member Institutional Clients & Transaction Banking Sales at Commerzbank.
Economically sustainable thanks to secure networking
Thanks to the use of modern technologies, the processes for the Rhenus Group and its customers will be more efficient as employees no longer have to check on site whether waste containers are full, for instance. This saves time and resources, involves lowers costs and is good for the environment. Because unnecessary journeys to half-full containers are now a thing of the past. Traffic volumes are reduced through the specific deployment of vehicles, with fuel costs and CO2 emissions also lowered accordingly. At the same time technology standards and reference architectures safeguard the secure and effortless data exchange between all the parties involved.
Top address in the field of holistic logistics research on board
Rhenus and Commerzbank are enterprise lab partners of Fraunhofer IML in Dortmund. The scientists at the institute develop innovative electronic and DLT solutions for the logistics sector. “Thanks to the DLT solution as a decentralised system all companies have the same level of information. This fosters trust, in particular where the automation of order settlement and invoicing is concerned. This makes it possible to automate processes from beginning to end and ensure synchronicity between material, information and financial flows,” underlines Prof. Dr. Dr. Michael Henke, the head of Fraunhofer IML.
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