Specific Challenge:

The current lack of stability in the markets does not create strong incentives for industry for long term investments in tangible fixed assets, and a quick response to market demand is crucial to market success. At the same a new generation of highly flexible production and process technologies and equipment, such as 3D-printing, has become available, enabling industry to adapt faster to the market demand and to produce in smaller series.

All European companies, especially SMEs, need to have access to technology infrastructure with appropriate manufacturing facilities to help them develop their innovative product-services from the early stage of feasibility assessment up to the fabrication of first series of prototype's products. Purchasing is not always the best option.

It is also important to develop value systems that take into account the new extended supply chain from the early stage of the design process up to the end-of-life activities. In addition, the real production can nowadays take place anywhere in the world and leave Europe with unused or outdated production capacities. The current overall process does not necessarily take into account economic, social and environmental benefits for Europe.

Scope:

Business models supporting the novel supply chains for innovative product-services would need to facilitate the flow of information on free utilisation capacity among service providers, which could be dedicated business set-ups for that kind of product-services, or just existing manufacturers with free production capacity at certain moments in time and business companies seeking short term solutions for their capacity shortages.

New equipment, internet, digital technologies and social media have the potential to support new supply chain models that are focused on business-to-business (B2B) as well as business-to-consumer (B2C) relationships, on improving the use of manufacturing capacity in Europe.

Solutions should facilitate the flow of information on free manufacturing capacity among service providers (which could be dedicated businesses or existing manufacturers with spare capacity).

The research activities should focus on all of the following areas:

• New, adaptive business models, networks and configurations to optimise the integration of KETs in industrial contexts, in order to increase the leadership of EU industry in the global markets. The approaches to integrate KETs should lead to a new model for European industrial production and consumption, based on more sustainable and efficient production and consumption patterns, supporting increasingly customised sustainable products.
• New business solutions for extended supply chains and the integrated sustainable European framework, which would take into account the needs of design, production, utilisation and end-of-life and overcome the risk of under-utilised capacity.
• Solutions that would enable businesses in the supply chain to use new flexible production and processing systems tailored to their needs; to increase connectivity and inter-operability to rapidly coordinate; and to react to market demand as a whole system.
• Solutions for local cooperation and supply, which can reduce the environmental footprint. These solutions should converge into high value-added production capable of responding dynamically to competing global economies demonstrating how the EU could benefit from international cooperation.

Project activities will focus on new concepts and methodologies for knowledge-based, specialised product-service, which can fulfil the requirements of fast changing markets for innovative product-services. The service could be supplemented by after-sale services and extended guarantees provided by any entity from the supply chain base on common agreement.

Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) elements should be considered, such as economics and business administration. In particular, proposals should address the role of consumers and users as active participants in the innovation process.

Activities are expected to focus on Technology Readiness Levels 4 to 6. This topic addresses cross-KET activities.

This topic is particularly suitable for SMEs.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU between EUR 2 and 4 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected Impact:

• Decreased production costs in Europe, through a better use of the available manufacturing capacity;
• Increased investment in the manufacturing industry in Europe;
• Reduced environmental footprint compared to products produced in traditional value chains, by the use of local and regional product-services capacity;
• Development of novel supply networks for organisations, and of solutions that could be also applied by other industrial sectors;
• Creation of new embedded services supporting the business-to-business supply chain;
• Possibility for further development of the new supply chains for other business scenarios;
• Creation of novel models of work organisation and sustainability-driven networks/clusters, able to integrate the product-service life-cycle stages in the same industry, as well as across industries.
• Creation of sustainable networks and clusters, by integrating the various suppliers devoted to the collection, disposal, recycling and reuse of critical materials and components into a perspective of sustainability and corporate social responsibility

Proposals should include a business case and exploitation strategy, as outlined in the Introduction to the LEIT part of Work Programme.