Development of a Knowledge Support System for Dynamic Manufacturing Networks

The survival of manufacturing companies has been a widely discussed topic over recent years, especially during the economic crisis. Manufacturing volumes have decreased radically and cost reduction is demanded continuously from the customer side. How will companies survive these difficult times? Collaboration, focusing on own core competence and outsourcing of non-core elements are familiar solutions in the survival game. Realization of these solutions in practice leads to an increasing demand for knowledge support tools. The market offers sophisticated information and communication technologies, but in many cases these are too expensive for small and medium sized manufacturers. This paper focuses on the development of a knowledge support system for dynamic manufacturing networks.