TY - GEN
T1 - Reconfigurable Manufacturing
T2 - IFIP WG 5.7 International Conference on Advances in Production Management Systems, APMS 2020
AU - Napoleone, Alessia
AU - Prataviera, Lorenzo B.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - To compete in the current volatile and unpredictable context, manufacturing firms increasingly need reconfigurability, i.e. the capability to adapt the production capacities and functionalities of their manufacturing systems according to evolving product families. To be attractive for practitioners, reconfigurability should require a reasonably low effort. In 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak has quickly twisted market requirements: in an unexpected market context, many firms have been reconfiguring their plants and networks to satisfy, with low efforts, the surge in the demand for very specific products. This paper analyses the reaction upheld by specific Italian manufacturing firms to the outbreak, to derive practical insights on possible ways to achieve reconfigurability in manufacturing. As for results, four insights are provided, regarding: the pre-existing know how held by firms; their network configuration; the modularity of products; and the use of smart and digital technologies. Additionally, remarking the relevance of collaboration between different firms, this paper sows the seeds for linking the reconfigurability theory with the dynamic capabilities theory.
AB - To compete in the current volatile and unpredictable context, manufacturing firms increasingly need reconfigurability, i.e. the capability to adapt the production capacities and functionalities of their manufacturing systems according to evolving product families. To be attractive for practitioners, reconfigurability should require a reasonably low effort. In 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak has quickly twisted market requirements: in an unexpected market context, many firms have been reconfiguring their plants and networks to satisfy, with low efforts, the surge in the demand for very specific products. This paper analyses the reaction upheld by specific Italian manufacturing firms to the outbreak, to derive practical insights on possible ways to achieve reconfigurability in manufacturing. As for results, four insights are provided, regarding: the pre-existing know how held by firms; their network configuration; the modularity of products; and the use of smart and digital technologies. Additionally, remarking the relevance of collaboration between different firms, this paper sows the seeds for linking the reconfigurability theory with the dynamic capabilities theory.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Convertibility
KW - Reconfigurable manufacturing
KW - Scalability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090175396&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-030-57993-7_52
DO - 10.1007/978-3-030-57993-7_52
M3 - Article in proceeding
SN - 9783030579920
T3 - IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology
SP - 457
EP - 465
BT - Advances in Production Management Systems. The Path to Digital Transformation and Innovation of Production Management Systems - IFIP WG 5.7 International Conference, APMS 2020, Proceedings
A2 - Lalic, Bojan
A2 - Marjanovic, Ugljesa
A2 - Majstorovic, Vidosav
A2 - von Cieminski, Gregor
A2 - Romero, David
PB - Springer
Y2 - 30 August 2020 through 3 September 2020
ER -