Abstract
Digitalization and the growth of big data promise greater customization as well as change in how manufacturing is distributed. Yet, challenges arise in applying these new approaches in consumer goods industries that often emphasize mass production and extended supply chains. We build a conceptual framework to explore whether big data combined with new manufacturing technologies can facilitate redistributed manufacturing (RDM). Through analysis of 24 consumer goods industry cases using primary and secondary data, we investigated evolving manufacturing configurations, their underlying drivers, the role of big data applications, and their impact on the redistribution of manufacturing. We find some applications of RDM concepts, although in other cases existing manufacturing configurations are leveraged for high volume consumer goods products through big data analytics and market segmentation. The analysis indicates that the framework put forward in the paper has broader value in organizing thinking about emerging interrelationships between big data and manufacturing.
Highlights
Manufacturing is entering a period of transition and change, prompted by new technologies and business models
We find some applications of redistributed manufacturing concepts, in other cases existing manufacturing configurations are leveraged for high volume consumer goods products through big data analytics and market segmentation
We demonstrate that redistributed manufacturing is not a finished model
Summary
Manufacturing is entering a period of transition and change, prompted by new technologies and business models. There are rapid technological advancements in areas such as sensors, cloud computing, autonomous robotics, additive manufacturing, the Internet of Things (IoT), agent-based systems; and big data (Babiceanu and Seker 2016; Zhang, Wang, et al 2016; EEF 2015; Foresight 2013; Manyika et al 2011; Rüßmann et al 2015). Such technologies are increasingly seen as redistributive enablers, as structures, processes and products become more differentiated and dispersed (Babiceanu and Seker 2016)
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