Digitally Enabling the Supply Chain: Integrating Existing Tools and Capabilities to Guide Application

At the outset of this project the concept for the final deliverable was a set of document style playbooks for Original Equipment Manufacturers OEMs and Small and Medium Manufacturers SMMs to use in developing understanding of the need for becoming digitally enabled to participate in the supply chains of today and into the future and provide guidance on what and how to get started. The intent of the document-based deliverable was to provide MxD- the Digital Manufacturing Institute formerly the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute DMDII with a resource that could be widely distributed to industry. After award, and delving into the research, the research team came to the realization that the deliverable in document form would have a limited shelf life and may not produce the desired outcome envisioned for the project. Further literature review supported the conclusion that industry is not as ready for implementing digital capabilities as the team had originally anticipated. The research team decided to modify the approach from writing playbooks to developing a digital manufacturing guide to overcome the lack of awareness of what digital manufacturing is and the components and technologies that are associated with it. The guide that has been created is a resource for manufacturers to learn about what digital manufacturing is, why it is valuable and necessary, and how to do it with examples from other successful digital transformations.