A blockchain-enabled information as a service (IaaS) system for crowdsourced manufacturing: A crowdsourcing case study of tank trailer manufacturing

Abstract

Crowdsourced manufacturing leverages extensive collaboration among the cyber platform, innovators, and service providers to configure product fulfillment throughout the supply chain. Information as a Service (IaaS) emerges as a crucial and promising competency for crowdsourced manufacturing. Nevertheless, implementing autonomy, security, and decentralization for IaaS fulfillment in a crowdsourcing environment poses challenges. This paper proposes a blockchain-enabled solution for an IaaS fulfillment system to execute crowdsourced tasks and manage interactions and information flows across a cyber platform for crowdsourcing. Through critical use case analysis, we examine the workflows of crowdsourced manufacturing and the associated information flows. An IaaS fulfillment system is suggested to provide information management services using blockchain technology. This proposed IaaS system encompasses a distributed blockchain network that facilitates secured information upload and management services for information sharing. The IaaS system employs a web-based interface, smart contracts, and IPFS algorithms over a blockchain network to offer IaaS to users, allowing them to conveniently and securely upload and retrieve product fulfillment statuses at low trust costs. A case study of tank trailer crowdsourced manufacturing is provided to validate the feasibility and potential of the proposed blockchain-enabled IaaS system.