Business models with new supply chains for sustainable customer-driven small series production

Specific challenge:For small series production of, for instance, consumer goods, the traditional supply chains are not suitable. Although internet sales, both B2C and B2B, are fast growing, most of the underlying supply models are still traditional. The change to a faster supply of smaller series and fully personalised products is hampered by the fact that current industrial supply chains are mainly cost-driven, resulting in large series and long lead times. Supply and demand are not in balance. Quality and customer satisfaction are often compromised. Moreover actual production is taking place anywhere in the world and does insufficiently take into account issues of social, environmental and energy sustainability.

Scope: The internet has the potential to support a fully new supply chain model that is fully customer driven. New business solutions should enable consumers to become designers and ""customisers""; retailers to become virtual business brokers; manufacturers to produce in a dist