Implementation and Operation of Collaborative Manufacturing Networks

Collaborative networks of manufacturers, suppliers and even customers are an emerging trend in global manufacturing. Higher flexibility, shorter time to market and economic as well as technological synergies create value and strengthen the market position of such virtual enterprises. The ComVantage framework already provides a sophisticated technical approach for dynamic collaborative manufacturing networks based on semantic data, mobile app orchestration, business process modelling and sophisticated access control. This article discusses the services and processes that are necessary to implement and operate a virtual enterprise using the ComVantage framework. It identifies services and service providers, and proposes an infrastructure and a tool environment for the ComVantage approach.