The Strategy of Openness in industrial production

Flexibility and adaptability of production systems are still some of the most discussed characteristics of production systems within the traditional manufacturing industry. Because of increasing complexity and dynamics within the corporate environment, some approaches to optimize these traditional characteristics are no longer sufficient to achieve competitive advantages. The ongoing paradigm shift from traditional industrial production to a system of value co-creation forces manufacturers to redefine their role and position within a more open value creation process. Companies have to add principles of openness to previous strategic success factors. In future, the competitiveness of a company will rather be determined by the ability to cooperate with different actors in heterogeneous global networks. Moreover, we have to be aware that the traditional factory as the central production facility will be dissolving more and more. A new strategic approach for those companies might be what we call the Strategy of Openness.