Proposing a Tool for Supply Chain Configuration: An Application to Customised Production

Abstract

The full implementation of collaborative production networks is crucial for companies willing to respond to consumer demand strongly focused on product customisation. This chapter proposes an approach to evaluate the performance of different Supply Chain (SC) configurations in a customised production context. The model is based on discrete-event simulation and is applied to the case of supply chain in the fashion sector to support the comparison between mass and customised production. A prototype web-based interface is also developed and proposed to facilitate the use of the model not only for experts in simulation but for any user in the SC management field. 10.1 Scientific and Industrial Motivations, Goals and Objectives Empirical evidence indicates the growing application of product customization strategies thanks to the possibility to consider the customers' opinion along the production process and realize goods more in line with customer's preferences [1]. It is expected that product customization will increase in the next 10 years by about 30% [2]. Fashion industry, and in particular footwear, appears to have good possibilities in implementing product customization, since Nike and Adidas are working on materials and technologies to support this business model and also small and medium companies are becoming more and more interested in customizing their offer [3, 4]. Moreover, a customized production can be a way to restore the competitiveness of European companies, enabling them to differentiate their offer from mass-productions realized in low-wage countries. However, to realize personalized productions the application

The Italian Flagship Project: Factories of the Future

“…Finally, this very book represents a contribution to the dissemination of the whole flagship project. The following chapters will present in details the scientific and industrial results of the 18 research projects (see Tables 1.6 and 1.7) [84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101]. Grounding on the experience and results of the flagship project, the final two chapters of this book present an outlook on future manufacturing research by proposing missions aimed at fostering growth and innovation [102] and discussing research infrastructures and funding mechanisms [27].…”

Key Research Priorities for Factories of the Future—Part I: Missions

“…Models and tools for the creation of dynamic supply chains for personalised production are needed to implement decentralized production models where manufacturing capabilities are not necessarily concentrated in large plants but under certain conditions may be spread in several locations [188,189]. This raises also the need to define new logistics systems where digitalization can support the tracking and provision of raw materials and components as well as supporting maintenance and usage of machines with real time remote control.…”

Managing Logistics in Collaborative Manufacturing: The Integration Services for an Automotive Application

“…In order to better address the mentioned challenges, the modern factories are transforming their logistics in a collaborative network where suppliers, trucks, dock managers and production plants share information about the status of the inbound resources for the optimization of the overall system [4]. Such a strong collaborative network is crucial for companies willing to respond to the challenges posed by the globalization [5,6]. In particular, it allows to quickly take decisions along the whole value chain, thus contributing to a more and more highly dynamic supply chain which in turn is a key factor for the I4.0 logistics [7].…”