Redistributing food manufacturing: models for the creation and operation of responsive and agile production networks

Abstract

The food industry is a mature industry where its profit margins are thin and its R&D failure rate for new products is substantial. Both facts indicate that decent return on development investment cannot be provided and that the food industry cannot still rely on its traditional way of thinking and innovating. New product development cycles should involve not only the product itself but also the entire manufacturing and distribution network. Hence, collaborative manufacturing and servitization models are key elements for the rapid transformation of the new food industry. Moreover, recent developments in technology have the potential to shift manufacturing production away from large scale manufacturing plants to a network of distributed, smaller scale localized and customizable manufacturing facilities. Such a network is the crucial enabler for the on-demand manufacture of new or even, existing food products to rapidly respond to the consumers´ demands.