We just wrapped up Q3 and it’s an exciting time at SyncFab. We’ve opened a new office and have been expanding our team to accelerate our progress. We’ve been utilizing feedback from customers and partners to adjust and refine our product towards their needs. As new developments have come about within the industry, we’ve been adapting to use them to our advantage. The feedback we received and changes in the industry have caused us to take a step back and re-prioritize initiatives in our roadmap for Q4. This update will detail the changes we’re making and why.

Hello Hyperledger

Due to the scaling challenges faced by Ethereum, SyncFab has been looking at various workarounds and emerging blockchain platforms to keep our product development on schedule while achieving uninterrupted scalability. We are currently exploring the possibility of creating an Ethereum-Hyperledger hybrid, in order to support current business processes and buyer-supplier smart contracts within our platform. This approach means we’ll be pushing back formatting of buyer-side contracts from Q3 to Q4 to roll out alongside supplier-side contracts.

The underlying technology will be the marriage of Ethereum and Hyperledger blockchain networks. The Ethereum network will be used for the MFG token distribution and any future exchange of MFG tokens within the platform. The Hyperledger network will be a private blockchain that operates as a sidechain for all the business transactions including generating purchase orders and tracking the progress of the production. By utilizing a sidechain, not only do we save on transactional gas costs, but we’ll be able to avoid the delays and hassles associated with Ethereum’s current scaling issues. While a slight change in plans, we estimated this direction will give us flexibility to implement the MFG tailored smart contracts in the SyncFab platform sooner than the scheduled release of Q1 2019. Stay tuned for updates.

“The goal of this feature is to migrate important data of our business processes from our database to a blockchain built on the Hyperledger Fabric technology. This will allow for a more secure, transparent and immutable way of storing important data regarding our users’ purchase orders, IP, payments and proprietary information,” said Jay Lidga, CTO of SyncFab.

Official MFG Wallet Integration

While MFG is available as a payment option, the current iteration requires the use of external wallets to hold MFG. To create a more cohesive and streamlined process for token users, the creation of an official MFG wallet is underway. By having an internal, official MFG Wallet, we will avoid the need for external wallets to hold and utilize MFG inside the SyncFab Manufacturing Platform. The MFG Wallet Integration is in the code review stage and undergoing routine security testing and audits before formal release. Once cleared by the security auditors, the wallet will start to be rolled out on a limited basis for testing and client feedback before being rolled out to the entire user base.

MFG Token Purchasing

Once an official wallet has been integrated, new manufacturing service buyers will have the option to easily purchase MFG Tokens directly in the platform at a fixed price to allow manufacturing buyers to attach to orders to incentivize manufacturing suppliers. The amount that is purchased in fiat by manufacturing service buyers on our platform will be replenished from the market. Manufacturing buyers may also opt to transfer tokens from external wallets to attach to orders. Manufacturing service buyers will then be able to attach more MFG tokens to an RFQ to incentivize more suppliers to take part in the bidding process and produce quotes faster. The direct purchasing of tokens is expected to be available in the platform by the end of October.

Incentivize suppliers for faster quotes with MFG Rewards

Buy MFG Tokens in-platform at a pre-fixed package price to attach to orders

Suppliers view an RFQ and can submit a quote to receive an MFG Award

MFG Token Reward System

As we already outlined in our white paper and product roadmap, we are working on creating a system within SyncFab’s platform where machine shops are incentivized to provide quick and competitive quotes through MFG token rewards. The system for rewarding tokens to suppliers who participated in the RFQ bidding process will be updated based on feedback from suppliers. This system will allow for MFG Tokens to be automatically distributed by buyers to suppliers as rewards to encourage faster quotes. The amount of rewards are to be distributed to suppliers in a tiered fashion based on a number of variables. Since the suppliers who won the bid see that as reward enough, less MFG tokens will be rewarded to the winner and varies based on the number of suppliers who participated. For suppliers who lost the bid, they will be rewarded the lionshare of MFG Tokens as a consolation prize for participating. These tokens could be used by suppliers to lower the cost of their bid to incentivize buyers to select them or to provide to buyers as a discount on future orders. Additionally, a small percentage will be allocated to the loyalty pool for future use. This update is scheduled to be rolled out by the end of November.

We’re excited to announce these changes to our roadmap. It’s been a lot of work to get this far and we still have quite a ways to go. The team can’t wait to roll out these new features and functionality to continue our leadership as the first blockchain manufacturing platform and to accelerate adoption amongst the community. Interested in helping us revolutionize the manufacturing industry? We’re looking to expand our team with a VP of Software Engineering and a Sales Manager.