Elementh - Jeremy's success story (originalworks writing contest)

Jeremy's Dilemma

Jeremy owns a small software development company that works in the business to business market. The software he develops requires above average system specifications, and as a service to many of his customers he works with a vendor called Advanced Computer Systems (ACS) to procure the hardware needed. Then, Jeremy and his team install and configure their software and ship the systems to their customers.

Occasionally, a component in a machine might fail or otherwise need replaced. Jeremy’s partnership with ACS offers warranty benefits for many of the components. In addition, as a selling point Jeremy and his team often agree upon their own extended warranty terms where if an item malfunctions or breaks just outside of the ACS warranty, the customer can still get a replacement from Jeremy’s team free of charge. With many systems deployed all across the country, Jeremy does regularly find himself sifting through data to determine if a part is under warranty and which warranty the part is under. This can sometimes get confusing because customers may have several systems they purchased at different times, so they need to take extra steps to identify which system is having the issue and if it’s covered.

The extra time it takes to handle these situations often takes away from more important tasks that need done. In addition, the delay that this causes sometimes can strain a customer relationship, and in order to prevent this Jeremy will often authorize a replacement be sent out before completely verifying that the part is under warranty. This means on occasion, Jeremy's company is eating an unnecessary cost. Jeremy has found that most methods of tracking this information are either tedious or expensive and has been forced to make the difficult decision to work with what he has. Until now!

The Solution

Jeremy heard about a new blockchain technology called Elementh that allows him to identify and track all the components easily and effectively. Jeremy worked with ACS to use the Elementh blockchain from start to finish. Now, when Jeremy orders components from ACS the items and their serial numbers are already in the Elementh ledger. Once Jeremy pays for the items, they ship right away. Once Jeremy gets the products he ordered, the payment is authorized through the blockchain and ACS has access to the funds from Jeremy. Now, Jeremy has ownership of these components on the ledger. When Jeremy and his team configure a machine for a sale, they follow the same process where the funds are committed to the blockchain, the system gets delivered to the customer, and upon arrival the company will confirm they received the items and the funds will become available for Jeremy and his team.

After implementing this system, Jeremy gets his first call from a customer letting him know that a graphics card in one of the machines is malfunctioning. Jeremy simply asks the customer to confirm the serial number on the machine that was provided so he can do a quick query on the blockchain. Jeremy sees that this item is still under warranty through ACS and notifies ACS that they need a replacement part. Since Jeremy provides reference to the transaction on the blockchain, ACS immediately knows what part to replace and also knows the warranty is valid. Jeremy and his team are able to procure the new item and fix the customers machine in a timely fashion without any of the headaches they used to experience for this type of request.

The customer, impressed by the response from Jeremy and his team, decides to commit to a longer term contract with Jeremy and an expansion of the number of systems they will be purchasing starting next fiscal year. Jeremy’s team saves time and money processing each request and sees several other customers follow suit and expand their business. Jeremy, being a fantastic and caring owner, decides to spread the love by providing an extra bonus to the team for the year. Jeremy, his team, and his customers have all come out ahead thanks to Elementh.

@originalworks Writing Contest Link
elementh2018