Case Studies | SaaS B2B

A data platform for smarter, less wasteful packaging

Sensor Data Platform

About

A SaaS B2B business working with Cloud Combinator on AWS. The client is anonymised at their request.

Challenge

The challenge had three focus areas.

Unifying five heterogeneous data sources

Data arrives from factory scanning machines producing CSV data and two BMP images per pack, a customer fulfilment centre scanning machine producing CSV and one image per pack, and manual CSV entries for factory reject records, gas testing, and fulfilment centre rejects. The platform had to bring all five into one consistent, validated pipeline, at roughly 50 GB a day.

Moving data reliably and promptly off the line

Some data is extracted automatically from scanning machines via Netbiter remote devices, and some is uploaded manually through a secure web portal. Production CSV data had to be ingested within two hours of production, while large image files could be batched daily into lower-cost storage, all without losing traceability.

Serving many stakeholders, securely

The client, food manufacturers, retailers, and investors all need different views of the same data, and the environment had to be secure, GDPR-compliant, and auditable end to end. That meant role-based access control, authenticated accounts, and a Cyber Essentials Plus certified environment from the outset.

Solution

Cloud Combinator delivered the platform in three phases, using an agile approach with bi-weekly sprints and workshop-based handover so the client could operate it confidently.

~50 GB

Sensor and image data the platform is designed to ingest each day

5

Distinct factory and fulfilment-centre data sources unified into one pipeline

2 hours

Target window to ingest production CSV data after each run

By the numbers:

  • ~50 GB - Sensor and image data the platform is designed to ingest each day
  • 5 - Distinct factory and fulfilment-centre data sources unified into one pipeline
  • 2 hours - Target window to ingest production CSV data after each run
Changes

The engagement gives the client a single, scalable data platform behind its commercial launch: automated and manual ingestion for all five sources, validated and audit-logged

  • One pipeline for five sources — Automated machine extraction and a secure manual-upload portal feed a single validated pipeline, replacing scattered, inconsistent data handling.
  • Clean, traceable data — Validation and cleaning handle format, schema, completeness, duplicates, and timestamp alignment, with full audit logging for end-to-end traceability.
  • Cost-aware, scalable storage — Structured CSV data is kept query-ready while large images move to cold storage tiers, with architecture designed to scale from two machines to many sites.
  • The right view for each stakeholder — Role-based dashboards give the client, manufacturers, retailers, and investors tailored, drill-down access within a GDPR-compliant, Cyber Essentials Plus certified environment.
  • Handover — Cloud Combinator ran knowledge-transfer workshops and managed AWS funding support, leaving the client able to operate and extend the platform itself.

Processing, tiered secure storage, and role-based dashboards for every stakeholder group, delivered with knowledge-transfer workshops so the client's team can run it. Figures below reflect the scope and targets set out in the statement of work.

With the data platform in place, the client is positioned to scale its intelligent packaging technology from launch across many manufacturing and retail sites, turning the data behind every pack into insight that helps reduce food waste.

AWS Stack

Amazon S3

For scalable, structured storage of production and sensor CSV data.

Amazon S3 Glacier

Cold storage tiers for cost-effective retention of large BMP image files.

AWS Lambda

And AWS Glue for automated ingestion, validation, and cleaning of data from all five sources.

Amazon Cognito

For authenticated, role-based access across the client, manufacturer, retailer, and investor users.

Amazon QuickSight

For role-based dashboards with drill-down reporting on production, rejections, and operations.

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