The Concept of Cyber-Physical Networks of Small and Medium Enterprises under Personalized Manufacturing

Abstract

The era of Industry 4.0 is characterized by the use of new telecommunications ICT technologies and networking of the economy. This results in changes both in the way businesses operate and in customer expectations of products offered on the market. The use of modern ICT technologies has made it possible to create cyber-physical systems based on intelligent machines and devices that communicate with each other in real time and allow the integration of resources from different companies to carry out joint production projects. Today’s consumer expects products tailored to their needs and expectations. These expectations can be met by leveraging the potential of highly specialized manufacturing service companies centered around e-business platforms. The article presents the results of research using bibliometric analysis and the results of surveys conducted among small and medium-sized enterprises. The concept of e-business platforms supporting rapid prototyping of temporary networks of companies capable of manufacturing personalized products in the environment of Industry 4.0 is presented. The task of the platform is to integrate a customer expecting personalized production with a network of companies having adequate production resources.