Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS)

Various MaaS platforms have now established themselves on the market that offer the production of parts - currently mostly machining, 3D printing or the production of sheet metal parts - as a service. Manufacturing companies become part of such platforms by making their capacities available; the platform takes over all administrative activities: Based on the 3D data provided by the customer, the software automatically calculates the price and delivery date and places the production order with one of its connected factories. The platform also takes care of all the logistics.

MaaS thus enables a paradigm shift in the current manufacturing landscape: from rigid, fragile supply chains to open production and flexible, resilient supply chains. MaaS requires a "matchmaking" between the requirements for the production of a component and the capabilities that manufacturers can offer.

Fraunhofer IOSB has developed a service-based digital ecosystem that enables this complex "matchmaking" with the help of AI and a microservice architecture. This enables MaaS marketplaces, cooperation platforms and similar applications to find suitable manufacturers or partial supply chains.