REsponsive and REconfigurable value network for the manufacture of bulky parts

The demand of large and complex part manufacturing is growing rapidly in the capital goods sectors, such as energy generation, yellow goods or railway, due to increasingly required energy generation efficiency, larger infrastructures and cost effective means of transport, respectively.The manufacturing process of bulky parts usually involves high labour intensity workpiece handling and set up, as well as a final assembly stage.

Many of these tasks are completed manually and this occasionally leads to low precision, low efficiency, poor stability, and high physical burden.Difficulties in the manufacturing of bulky parts result in a shortage of companies capable of producing components within the required standards, even when they have the production equipment to do so.

The homologation process of subcontractors is very sensitive and it is usually based on a trust relationship between customer and supplier.Manufacturers' accessibility to auxiliary equipment for workpiece setup, handling and modelling is cumbersome and based on word of mouth, leading to rigid supply chains and a lack of flexibility to find alternative partners.This rigidity in the supply chain of bulky components contribute to the need to identify, monitor, and reconfigure traditional supply chains into more flexible and responsive value networks, in order to effectively address supply chain distresses.The main objective of REED project will be the development of a Manufacturing as a Service (MaaS) platform that will provide the enabling technologies, equipment and services for the manufacturing of bulky parts of the capital goods sector, assuring the quality of the produced components while maximising productivity and minimising environmental impact.

The REED platform will redefine the B2B relationships through a networked digital productive model.