5.09 New forms of collaborations for enabling the factory of the future: experiments with machinery producers and original equipment manufacturers

The research project addresses the theme of new forms of collaborations in the industrial context for machinery producers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), as a mean to create new circular factories, increasing the economic and environmental sustainability. The project will focus on three main themes of interest: new forms of collaborations, new customer needs and requirements, new enabling technologies. The project will analyze and characterize factory configurations and companies’ offerings based on the specific needs of target markets.

In details, the project aims to focus on the following elements:

• The study and analysis of the peculiarities of Italian industrial manufacturers.
• The study and analysis of offerings that companies can offer to their clients. This analysis will also consider the network dimensions and how companies can collaborate with each other to orchestrate their activities.
• The exploration of how the “Made in Italy” philosophy can be applied to manufacturers’ offerings.
• The study and analysis of selling channels through which companies can propose new forms of relationship.
• The opportunities to increase sustainability in the proposed context.

Finally, the project will leverage on the digital technologies that enable new forms of collaboration paths and the required digital and data architecture. The themes of interest are:

• The study and identification of enabling technologies, processes, and competences, particularly technologies for equipment data collection, storage, sharing and analysis of data.
• The identification and characterization of relevant equipment data and how they can be leveraged in their integrated offerings.
• The analysis of architectural alternatives to enable the sharing of data, and its integration among stakeholders within the collaborative manufacturing system.