Pilot 1 - Adhoc Aerospace Supplier Networks

Large OEMs, such as Airbus, have streamlined their supply chains and reduced the number of 1st tier suppliers to a small number of large preferred suppliers (typically large companies such as Thales, Honeywell). Other constrains such as extensive risk sharing requirements, complex procurement and collaboration procedures, rules and diversity of IT systems create strong barriers for SMEs to become a 1st tier supplier of those companies. 
On the other hand, highly customised products such as commercial aircraft, often require very specific solutions developed and provided by small but innovative high-tech companies. The customer demands, e.g. for novel cabin features, must be developed and produced in very short time with close collaboration of OEMs and high-tech SMEs. This typically requires, an ad-hoc production / supply network and currently this is best served via a local cluster around the OEM.

As soon as the parties are geographically separated, the OEM and the innovative SMEs (organised in industrial clusters), need ICT solutions (technical platforms, novel governance approaches, coordination tools and services) to simplify the ad-hoc setup and management of collaborative production in the agile network and to manage the IPR, etc. 

The interoperable toolset in the EFPF platform can support the enactment of distributed production processes, support collaborations and provide vital visibility to distributed activities taking place across production networks.