In order to revolutionize the way the automotive industry’s supply chain is managed, Renault partnered with IBM to leverage the numerous benefits of blockchain technology. The initiative is called the eXtended Compliance End-to-End Distributed (XCEED) project and was developed in collaboration with IBM and is designed to enhance the transparency, efficiency, and security of sharing compliance data across the automotive supply chain for the entire European automotive industry ecosystem. XCEED is meant to archive supply chain and compliance documents, manage large quantities of data to ensure every vehicle component respect strict safety and environmental standards. The project takes a transformative approach in order to create a change towards a more interconnected and reliable compliance verification process in the automotive industry.
Why is it important to be compliant and respect regulation?
In the automotive industry, regulations and compliance are of utmost importance due to the intricate and significant impact vehicles have on safety, the environment, and consumer trust. Every car embodies over 6,000 regulatory features that span the entirety of its supply chain, illustrating the complexity and importance of compliance in every aspect of vehicle production. Renault’s XCEED project, developed in collaboration with industry giants, puts a special emphasis on this critical need by ensuring the conformity of every vehicle component from design to production. By adhering to these strict standards, the industry not only assures securtity of passengers but also meets environmental regulations, which contributes to a more sustainable future. Non-compliance is very risky and has high stakes. This can lead to repercussions such as safety risks, environmental damage and financial losses due to poor quality management. For that matter, Renault is committed to ensuring strong, transparent and efficient compliance management through XCEED. Renault’s vision is not to simply be compliant and meet the standards, but to foster operation excellence, guarantee the certification of vehicle and ensure the automotive industry’s integrity in a world where consumer expectations are very high and regulation is becoming more and more important.
Why did they choose to use blockchain?
The integration of blockchain technology is able to address the challenges in the supply chain industry such as tracking and verifying the compliance of thousands of parts from numerous suppliers. Blockchain’s distributed ledger technology enables a transparent and tamper-proof system, where all parties can access real-time certification of compliance while maintaining the confidentiality of their data. This not only streamlines the process of managing compliance documents but also significantly reduces the risk of discrepancies and increases trust among manufacturers, suppliers, and regulators.
The speed and accuracy that can be achieved by using blockchain technology ensures that compliance is not just reactive but proactive, which is important in a world where standards and regulations in the automotive industry are very important. Indeed, Renault made sure to emphasize that compliance is a priority for them. “An innovative platform like XCEED helps us all to be more reactive, robust and sustainable in compliance management. The future of industry will be collaborative and cooperative.” said Odile Panciatici, Vice President of Blockchain Projects at Renault Group.
The promise is a productivity gain of 15 to 30% for the services concerned, a 10% reduction in costs concerning the management of non-quality/non-compliance and a halving of the occurrence and cost of non-compliance. XCEED is open to other manufacturers and hundreds of global suppliers.
Forbes Magazine Blockchain Top 50 award 2022
The project was awarded Blockchain Top 50 project by Forbes magazine:
“In response to European regulators’ ever-growing technical requirements, the French automaker ($53 billion 12-month sales) launched blockchain platform Xceed in April to track thousands of car parts going into every vehicle manufactured in 16 factories across Europe. If any characteristics—such as the size of a screw or a headrest’s positioning—aren’t up to standard, the manufacturer is automatically alerted and can then notify suppliers with the push of a button, saving weeks of time on audits. Partners include top suppliers like Faurecia, one of the world’s largest makers of automotive interiors, with $18 billion in annual revenue. By 2024, Renault hopes to enlist 3,500 suppliers in a bid to track every one of its 6,000-plus regulated car parts and features. Renault has also started 20 other in-house blockchain initiatives tackling everything from car-buying transactions to supply-chain traceability.”