The role of Engineering-to-Order machinery manufacturers in future Cloud Manufacturing supply chains: a business case and a strategic perspective
通过欧洲金属加工平台案例，研究面向订单设计的机械制造商如何利用自身资源推动云制造平台成功，并指出其需借助外部资源才能完全构建平台。
The visionary paradigm of Cloud Manufacturing (CM) struggles to take off in the real manufacturing world. This paper develops a single-case study on one fully-operative platform we found in Europe (metal processing business) which can be regarded as representative - and maybe ‘revelatory’ - for the future CM paradigm. The case, with an explanatory purpose, studies the platform success from a resources perspective. The findings show how an Engineer-to-Order (ETO) company, namely the manufacturer of the machineries virtualised, provided a key contribute to build such a system, thanks to its own peculiar resources and competences. Resorting to theoretical available knowledge, the paper suggests that ETO machine manufacturers should consider CM as a strategic option for their competitiveness but – at the same time - they should recognise that their internal resources and competences are not enough to build completely a CM platform on their own.