Method to configure agile production networks for personalised products based on customisable manufacturing services

Abstract

The increasing demand for individualised products, as well as rising product complexity, are challenging while managing production networks. To counter this, it is necessary to efficiently configure agile production networks while reducing the necessary know-how at the same time. This thesis proposes an IT-based method for connecting customisable manufacturing services to do so. First, this includes the provision of manufacturing services by manufacturers publishing service descriptions on a common platform. These services can then be selected, configured, and connected to establish agile production networks. While configuring the networks, potential dependencies between the combined manufacturing services and their properties must be considered. To support this, the developed system provides recommendations derived from previously-defined connections between manufacturing services.