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Service provider

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savicsava edited this page Mar 2, 2018 · 2 revisions

Is service provider mandatory?

SP is considered as a company or individual with knowledge of ERP system and business of the entity who is in the process of implementation of OriginTrail protocol (data creator DC) who is performing integration. Technical requirements for integration are part of this guide. If DC is able to execute integration with this guide then they will not need service provider. We must emphasize that OriginTrail is not primary point for the support of the protocol integration. OT will respond to support requests:

  1. by forwarding you the list of service providers that belong to Trace Alliance
  2. providing the list of available online resources
  3. redirecting to social networks that can provide support

OriginTrail will work hard to create and maintain network of effective solution providers that will be able to respond to support requests.

Defining service provider scope

There are several types of service providers based on their role. Within this group, you can find companies like ERP integrators, IT consulting companies, software and hardware applications providers for supply chains, etc. Based on implementation guide steps you must choose what parts of process will service provider execute. There is a possibility that you will need several service providers. For example, one service provider can perform consulting services and prepare technical documentation, while the other service provider can perform only development based on that documentation.

Choosing the service provider

There are several ways to choose SP:

  1. In-house IT department
  2. The Trace Alliance is a collaboration partnership hub connecting businesses, startups, academics, business leaders and technology vendors with supply chain subject matter experts. On Trace Alliance SP directory you can view their profiles and contact details.
  3. Existing ERP or IT vendors that are working with data creator. If they can perform integration by our implementation guide, than there are no obstacles for choosing them as SP.

Known issues and best practice tips

  • If there are several DC involved where each of them has different ERP, it can be very hard to find one solutions provider that will perform integration. It is possible to engage one SP that will deal with project management and several SP for integration of each entity in supply chain.

  • Some service providers are providing services for monthly maintenance of node and crypto account. If entities don't want to be directly responsible for maintenance of ODN node and their account, they can outsource this part of the process to SP and receive monthly invoice for their services. Alpha version of the protocol does not require ODN services to be compensated, but it will be required in future versions.

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