An electronic component passes through several stations before it reaches the final product: goods receipt, inspection, storage, programming, packaging, and handover. At each of these points, information is generated that can become important later.
Often it isn't the individual document that's missing. What's missing is the link between component, process step, and outcome. A Chain of Trust creates exactly this connection, making it possible to trace what actually happened to a component.
Keeping the process chain in view
A Chain of Trust doesn't start with programming. It connects the information from each individual step so it can be read together later.
| Process step | What can be recorded | Why it matters later |
| Goods receipt | Source of supply, lot, serial number, and status of the goods | The component can be linked to the rest of the process |
| Inspection | Test result and release for the next step | Deviations and decisions remain traceable |
| Storage | Stock movements, storage location, status, and handovers | The component's path stays traceable between goods receipt, processing, and delivery |
| Programming | Firmware version, process data, and outcome | Software version and component can be brought together |
| Packaging and handover | Labeling, packaging data, and handover point | The record doesn't end at the programming station |
Where information gets lost
Most gaps occur at handovers. A lot arrives from the supplier, gets inspected, is passed on to a programming station, and is later packaged. If the related information sits in separate systems or is only partially handed over, the connection is lost later on.
This becomes relevant at the latest when a firmware version needs to be traced, a quality issue needs to be narrowed down, or a specific component needs to be matched to a shipment. At that point, finding individual documents isn't enough — they need to fit together.
Why CRA and NIS2 look at these processes
CRA and NIS2 set different priorities. The CRA applies to products with digital elements. NIS2 applies to specific organizations and their cybersecurity and risk management.
Both frameworks, however, increase the need for traceable processes. Customers must be able to explain which data states were used, how sensitive process steps were carried out, and what information is available in the event of an incident.
At btv technologies, this information isn't generated only for an audit. It's generated in the ongoing process — at goods receipt, inspection, storage, programming, processing, and delivery.
Evidence that isn't created for regulation
Traceable process steps have been part of everyday work at btv for as long as the company has existed — long before CRA and NIS2 placed new requirements on customers and supply chains. Components aren't just moved or processed. Origin, stock movements, inspections, programming states, handovers, and deliveries are documented within the respective process.
For customers, this creates a practical advantage: much of the information they need today for audits, security assessments, technical documentation, or specific queries doesn't have to be pieced together afterward. It already exists where it was created.
btv TAK® extends this process wherever components are accompanied throughout their supply. Every agreed step — from procurement and goods receipt through storage and processing to delivery — is documented transparently. For programmable components, btv SEEL® adds the programming and initialization step to this chain of evidence.
This makes it possible to view component, process step, data state, and handover together. Process documentation doesn't replace product responsibility or a case-by-case legal assessment. It does, however, give customers reliable information from the process steps that btv technologies actually carries out.
Programming as a sensitive process step
In microcontroller and IoT components, programming is where component, firmware, certificates, configurations, and process data all come together. That's why it must be possible to trace afterward which data state was written to which component, and how the process was carried out.
btv SEEL® makes programming and initialization traceable. The process data generated in this step can be linked to the specific component and is available for quality, information security, and technical documentation purposes.
FAQ – Chain of Trust
No. Which obligations apply depends on the product, the company's role, and the specific use case. A traceable process chain, however, ensures that information from goods receipt, inspection, storage, programming, and delivery is available when customers need it for their own security, quality, or evidence processes.
Yes. btv TAK® documents the agreed steps across a component's supply — from procurement and goods receipt through storage and processing to delivery. Evidence within the btv process is available at the level of the individual packaging unit.
For programmable components, btv SEEL® extends this evidence to programming and initialization at the level of the individual component or device. This makes it possible to narrow down anomalies or field failures far more precisely — down to specific components, packaging units, or programming states. That reduces unnecessary inspections and helps focus measures on the actual affected scope.
