Digital Technologies Enabling Resilience in Manufacturing Networks

Abstract

Unforeseen events have the potential to cause disruptions throughout the entire manufacturing value chain, ranging from interruptions in production processes on the shop floor level to shutdowns in the supply chain and logistics. These disruptions increase the necessity for the establishment of manufacturing networks that prioritize cooperation and circularity to strengthen resilience, predict and counteract such impacts. This paper provides an overview of the main digital technologies required to create a resilient and sustainable manufacturing network and the implementation of the Manufacturing as a Service (MaaS) approach. For each digital technology, a synthetic characterization is provided, with respect to requirements, exemplary applications and involved standards. Challenges on the use of such technologies are presented and suggestions for future developments on the integration and deployment of digital technologies with the aim of achieving resilience in manufacturing networks is described.