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Honeywell Aerospace creates online parts marketplace with Hyperledger Fabric
Technology Category
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Blockchain
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
Applicable Industries
- Aerospace
Applicable Functions
- Procurement
- Sales & Marketing
Use Cases
- Supply Chain Visibility
- Track & Trace of Assets
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Honeywell Aerospace, a global provider of avionics, engines, systems, and services, wanted to create an Amazon-like marketplace for used aircraft parts. The existing process of purchasing used aircraft parts was outdated and time-consuming, often taking days or even weeks to complete a transaction. The websites put up by vendors were basic and lacked crucial information such as a part’s condition, pricing, and availability. The main challenge was the lack of trust in online transactions due to the heavily regulated nature of the aviation industry. Each part sold required certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies, and each part must be documented with a complete history of its ownership, use, and repairs. The goal was to cut purchasing time from days or weeks down to seconds and to connect each physical part to its digital pedigree.
About The Customer
Honeywell Aerospace is a division of Honeywell International, a multinational conglomerate that produces a variety of commercial and consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems. Founded in 1914, Honeywell Aerospace is now a global provider of avionics, engines, systems, and services. Its products and services touch virtually every aircraft in the world and in space. In 2018, the company reported sales of $12.9 billion. Honeywell Aerospace is committed to improving the buying and selling experience in the aerospace industry, as demonstrated by its creation of the GoDirect Trade platform.
The Solution
Honeywell Aerospace set up a modern-looking and secure B2B marketplace for used aircraft parts called GoDirect Trade. The marketplace was modeled on popular e-commerce sites, and every transaction was recorded on an immutable blockchain built with Hyperledger Fabric. The blockchain records allowed buyers to view vital data on many parts, such as the entire lifecycle of a part, the number of hours it was in service, any and all repairs made and by who, when and where, and all previous owners of the part. Honeywell developed a middleware layer on top of Hyperledger Fabric, and the marketplace apps were designed to work with major other blockchains such as Ethereum or R3’s Corda. The network currently includes five validating nodes running Hyperledger Fabric version 1.4 deployed on Honeywell enterprise cloud and other commercial clouds. To preserve data security, the system uses channels and private data collections.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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