MANUFACTURING PRACTICES IN DYNAMIC MARKETS: RECONFIGURABILITYTO ENABLE A SERVICE-BASED MANUFACTURING CAPACITY SUPPLY

摘要

Many markets today are characterized by a fast pace of change, coupled with high, internationally enlarged competition based on differentiation and customer-oriented production. In such scenario, Mass Customization is going to be a relevant paradigm for tomorrow. The manufacturing paradigms introduced so far are not sufficient to cope with such manufacturing challenges. This paper proposes possible evolution of the manufacturing capacity supply that may help to improve response to the market requirements, emphasizing the needs that drive such a trend. The supply of a manufacturing service is pointed out as the desirable solution when compared with other possible scenarios. Reconfigurability is viewed as the main enabler to set up a manufacturing capacity supply that puts into practice the idea of service providing.