Blockchain

An IoT B2B Security & logistics platform and A Distributed Ledger Alliance: Interview with Bruce Garcia, CEO of Conventment

Conventment is a SaaS company that creates software based on DLT solutions. The company offers an IoT-based B2B Security & logistics platform and a Distributed Ledger Alliance (DLA) for businesses. The CEO Bruce Garcia will be discussing this project with us in this interview.

1) Please tell us your name and about yourself?

My name is Bruce Garcia and I’m the Founder and CEO of Conventment. Ever since 2015 when Ethereum launched, I became intrigued and eventually got involved in the blockchain/crypto space. Since Distributed Ledger Technologies were something I was already heavily invested in mentally, I was able to see Ethereum’s potential as a logistics platform. Of course, so have many others. While this isn’t a bad thing, it’s sadly hurt Ethereum in the long-term with its scalability issues when it comes to dApps. While Ethereum may have it’s issues, I believe blockchain tech is essential to any type of logistics platform that wants to have any kind of foothold in the future. Luckily, we believe we have finally found a perfect solution to Ethereum’s scalability problem which I’ll get into later on.

Before getting involved in Blockchain and DLT solutions, especially the cannabis industry, I was a freelance Web Application Developer for 6 years until 2008 when I received a job  offer from Oxagile where I remained until 2011. From 2011 until 2017, I worked at various organizations overseeing the development of various applications until I decided to get involved in the creation of Conventment. I’ve always been a cannabis enthusiast and I’ve always noticed that every single dispensary has inventory problems. They’re using outdated ledger tech that is prone to problems which inspired me to work on a solution. In August, we held multiple successful trial runs to test our Proof-of-Concept. Things are just getting started and we’re excited that dispensaries are interested in what Conventment has to offer.

2) What is Conventment and what services do you offer?

Conventment is an IoT-based B2B security & logistics platform which enables distributors, grow centers, manufacturers, and dispensaries in the legal cannabis industry to have complete control over their inventory while also allowing real-time communications between employees and businesses. While allowing inventory and products to be streamlined with a DLT, all information can be shared between everybody with full transparency. Eventually, this could also lead to being a vital tool for medical professionals as well if they need a real-time outlook/consultation on something such as a specific strain or edible.

Businesses who utilize Conventment for logistics apply simple RFID tags to their products. These RFID tags will be different depending on what they’re being used for. For example, dispensaries will have inactive RFID stickers while manufacturers will have active RFID chips attached to an MCU to monitor temperature and whatnot. In September, we announced that we would be utilizing 4ZeroPlatform’s IoT solution to bring Conventment to organizations/businesses in the legal cannabis industry all over the world.

Aside from being a B2B and IoT platform, we are also releasing a ‘B2B Contract Bidding’ Center where Manufacturers and Grow Centers can bid on contracts to provide cannabis or a specific service. Since these B2B contracts will also be embedded in smart contracts, there’s a new level of security that was never possible 5 or even 10 years ago.

3) What is the technology behind the Conventment project?

We originally developed Conventment and the DLA Center with Ethereum as the base DLT. We had looked at other services but Ethereum had the most promise at the time. Of course, this was in early 2017 before Ethereum had it’s insane ICO craze. This was disappointing because it could’ve been a golden moment for Conventment but as much as we wanted to jump right in, we needed to make sure the tech was right.

As of October 2018, we’ve determined that while Ethereum is a wonderful platform overall, we need to work with something with much more scalability. This is where TomoChain comes in. TomoChain, in a strong sense, builds on Ethereum and goes places where Ethereum simply can’t. With TomoChain, after it finally launches, we’ll be able to continue development without the heavy barriers that plague Ethereum such as high fees and sluggishness.

Besides TomoChain as a DLT, we’re utilizing the 4ZeroPlatform IoT solution in order for manufacturers and grow centers to track their inventory as well as the health of their crops. We’re also utilizing Zerynth IoT middleware along with the 4ZeroPlatform to enable a full suite that enables live statistics and a permanent record of everything needed to enable a steady workflow environment.

4) Could you give us a little more explanation of legal cannabis, how does it work and what is the difference?

Legal cannabis is basically cannabis that has been obtained from a legal medical or recreational dispensary in a location where it’s considered recreationally acceptable. This also pertains to cannabis that grows in areas where there are laws stating that it’s acceptable.

This doesn’t mean any ‘legal cannabis’ can be brought anywhere. If you were to bring lawfully purchased cannabis to a location where cannabis is illegal, you could be arrested or fined. Legal cannabis is only legal in the jurisdiction is purchased in.

Conventment is only focused on the legal cannabis industry in locations where it has been deemed safe for recreational use.

5) Could you give us a highlight of the legal cannabis market and what benefits will Conventment bring to this market with Blockchain?

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been a cannabis enthusiast for quite some time and I only make my purchases at medical or recreational dispensaries. Most of these dispensaries have long waiting times due to a plague of software issues. Many of the times, it’s the employee that simply needs more training on the specific software. Surprisingly, many of the times, it’s the software not recording inventory correctly. This holdup from dispensary employees has happened to me on multiple occasions in 4 different states.

Conventment and the DLA Center will enable real-time inventory which is directly stored on the blockchain. Since all inventory is stored and retrieved from the blockchain, there’s an extremely low rate of error. Any kind of ‘inventory’ issues would be eliminated and would allow these dispensaries to speed up their overall business. We also want a high turnaround of learning how to use the DLA Center so future employees can jump right in.

6) What is the DLA Center for businesses, how does it work?

For any business to utilize Conventment’s services, they must become a part of the Distributed Ledger Alliance or DLA for short. Once a business becomes a part of the DLA, they are required to use the DLA Center to take advantage of Conventment’s services. Once a business has access to the DLA Center, they can easily set everything up depending on what their organization needs it for.

The DLA Center contains everything needed to monitor inventory, track sales and much more. One of the requirements to accessing the DLA Center is to connect through a Conventment Distributed Wireless Statistic Network or CDWSN. There are 3 networks to choose from depending on the type of business. CDWSN1 is used for grow centers, CDWSN2 is used for manufacturers and CDWSN3 is used for dispensaries.

Luckily, the average employee won’t need to know any of these networks and will be able to jump right into the DLA Center as if they had already used it before.

7) Do you have any major investors and partners in this project you will like to share with us?

We’ve worked with NETA in Massachusetts on multiple trial runs to test our Proof-of-Concept and we plan on keeping NETA as one of our major clients when the DLA Center comes out of Beta stage into Release Candidate stage in 2019. Aside from NETA aiding us in investments and trial runs, we’ve also been in talks with 4 separate dispensary franchises about utilizing Conventment and the DLA Center in the future.

8) On what stage of development is the Conventment platform  and what is next on your roadmap?

Right now, we’re in the Alpha stage of DLA Center development. Our Token Generation Event (TGE) is also ongoing which is due to end in under 2 weeks. Next on our roadmap, we plan on releasing a marketing campaign after our TGE ends. Conventment’s CNVT token is valuable to many and they want to see it succeed on an exchange. We’ll be announcing all exchanges immediately after our TGE ends as well.

Eventually, throughout 2019, we plan on releasing the blockchain-enhanced build of the DLA Center as well as showing off some features through live demonstrations.

9) We will like to know more about your team,  who are the brains behind this project?

Besides me being involved, we have a talented team of wonderful individuals.

Linda Hopkins, Marketing Outreach Coordinator – Linda is an energetic individual who has had over 13 years of experience when it comes to strategic marketing. Over time, she has been known as the ‘Queen of Marketing’ in the South Dakota area among friends and colleagues. Immediately after receiving her BBA in 1998, she received nearly a dozen job offers before finally settling down with TDG for over 9 years until she decided to take on new challenges. From being an assistant to a clever strategic marketer, Linda simply can’t be stopped when it comes to advertising a product.

Jorge Santos, Compliance Specialist – Jorge Santos has one of the most interesting personalities and can sometimes come off the wrong way. While he’s never been involved in coding a project before, he’s an expert when it comes to law & compliance. When it comes to getting things right in the eyes of the law, Jorge is the guy to go to as he often acts as if he’s in the courtroom. Jorge Santos can best be described as a genius, lovable guy with a tough ‘hard to discern’ shell.

Omar Vitello, Logistics Technology Specialist & Financial Advisor – Omar has been a wonderful help when it comes to financial structure, advice and overall input. From New York, Omar has been a Financial Advisor to organizations such as ADP and Pfizer. Before joining Conventment, Omar was the Financial Security Advisor to Joseph & Gunnar Co., LLC, a broker-dealer.

Michael Palmer, Lead Developer – Without Michael, Conventment wouldn’t be here today. After meeting through several colleagues, I eventually met Michael where we discussed the future of the cannabis industry. As wonderful as the entire team is, I believe Michael has the spark that will bring Conventment to new heights. I mean, hell, he’s the one that convinced us to move development to TomoChain to solve the scalability issues we were having.

10) The Cannabis industry is a sensitive one, how Safe is Conventment , would you like to talk about your legal and security measures?

From an investment perspective, Conventment is completely safe since we don’t deal or sell cannabis ourselves. In essence, Conventment is a SaaS company that creates software based on DLT solutions. That being said, Conventment is safe to invest in for those that question our involvement in the cannabis industry.

Asides from the cannabis industry, our security measures include a simple KYC process for our initial investors.

11) Do you have more information for our readers?

We’ve released 2 updates on Medium regarding our TGE and how we plan on branching development out of Ethereum to TomoChain.

https://medium.com/@brucegarcia/joining-conventments-tge-ico-133975191fa

https://medium.com/@brucegarcia/branching-out-of-ethereum-tomochain-and-the-dla-center-fdcf7f90a78f

Also, one of the next milestones is becoming a TomoChain Masternode so we’d love your support by joining our TGE!

https://conventment.com/tge.

Risk warning:
The provision of this information is for the blockchain technology information shared in this article. Since the legal cannabis market is highly regulated and Investment in cryptocurrencies carries high degree of risk and volatility and is not suitable for every investor; therefore, you should not risk the capital you cannot afford to lose. Please consult an independent professional financial or legal advisor to ensure the product meets your objectives before you decide to invest or use this information. Under no circumstances shall Techbullion have any liability to any person or entity for (a) any loss or damage in whole or part caused by, resulting from, or relating to any transactions related to the asset tokens or (b) any direct, indirect, special, consequential or incidental damages whatsoever. Please consider our Risk Disclosure and our Terms of Use before using this information.

Comments
To Top

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This