Platform architecture

Four product layers and an operational signal chain — complementary to the canonical layered ecosystem model (C5/C8).

Platform architecture

How the four product layers connect: Loop Engine, Commerce Gateway, SCM/DCM modules, and Signal Tags.

Canonical layered messaging (Infrastructure → Protocol → Reference → Control → Platform) lives in Core Concepts — Layered ecosystem. MCP surface roles (Gateway Console vs Commerce Gateway vs Registry MCP): MCP surfaces. Full C8 contract: Surface contract.

The ASCII diagram below is the operational signal chain across those product layers — not a second competing “flat stack of products,” and not the same as the MCP deployment table.

The four layers

Layer	What it does	OSS	Hosted
Loop Engine	Governs decisions — AI, human, and automation	@loop-engine/* · loopengine.io	loops.betterdata.co
Commerce Gateway	Connects LLMs to commerce data	@commercegateway/commerce-gateway · commercegateway.io	gateway.betterdata.co
SCM/DCM modules	Supply and demand chain operations	@betterdata/scm-*, @betterdata/dcm-*	app.betterdata.com
Signal Tags	Physical product authentication	@signal-tags/* · tagd.sh	verify.betterdata.co

How they connect

Signal Tags scan
      ↓
Loop Engine          ← decision governance
      ↓
Commerce Gateway     ← LLM commerce data
      ↓
SCM/DCM modules      ← supply / demand operations
      ↓
Better Data platform ← AI, compliance, analytics

A tag scan, procurement approval, or order event can open or advance a loop. The gateway exposes tooling to LLMs against the same operational data the SCM/DCM modules maintain.

Agent composition (C12)

Agents are not an autonomous platform or a separate “agent SKU.” They use Registry MCP to discover, Commerce Gateway to act, and Loop Engine to govern — the same layers as the rest of the system:

Agent
  ↓
Registry MCP
  ↓
Commerce Gateway
  ↓
Loop Engine
  ↓
Demo / UI

→ Commerce Agent pattern · Build an agent

OSS vs hosted

Every layer is available as Apache-2.0 open source (self-hostable). The hosted platform adds:

• Multi-tenant isolation
• AI-assisted demand intelligence and forecasting
• Industry Pack policy overlays (Healthcare, Pharma, Retail, Manufacturing, Food & Beverage, Construction)
• Compliance reporting (DSCSA, EU FMD, FDA UDI/FSMA, and related regimes)
• Enterprise SLA and support

Industry Packs and parts of the control plane are proprietary; domain packages and loop definitions remain OSS.

The loop model

Everything important in the platform is modeled as a loop: a governed workflow with named actors, guard policies, evidence, and an audit trail.

Examples:

• Procurement loop — AI recommends → guard evaluates → human approves → PO executes
• Quality loop — Signal Tag scan → verification → quarantine or release
• Returns loop — RMA request → inspection → disposition

See Loops and Hosted Loop Engine.

Where to go next

• SCM workspace (apps/scm) — tenant app; SCM vs DCM split and usage-based billing in Settings → Billing
• Loops
• Signal Tags (platform)
• Commerce Gateway integration
• SCM packages
• DCM packages
• Signal Tags OSS
• Loop definitions