MANUFACTURING 4.0
54 suppliers demonstrating new capabilities around the likes of metal 3D printing and polymer 3D printing .
“ Our distributed manufacturing network can provide the connective tissue so that companies looking to adopt new technologies can try them without having to invest in capital equipment ,” says Geyer , explaining that Fictiv ’ s partnership strategy is based on the creation of a manufacturing ecosystem , not just reliance on linear supply chains . “ It ’ s a holistic perspective ,” he adds . “ In many cases , we connect our customers with other customers because they provide services , like engineering and design , that early stage companies don ’ t . We ’ re taking a system approach and using AI and machine learning to analyse engineering designs to be able to provide real time feedback on manufacturability , cost and quality while mapping that to our supply base .”
Fictiv positions itself as the manufacturer of record , but doesn ’ t own factories or machine shops . “ We think of our distributed business model as consolidating fragmented demand across companies that develop products , whether that ’ s the cell phone you ’ re holding in your hand , your new electric car or a surgical robot ,” says Geyer of a company hailed by Forbes as “ the Airbnb of manufacturing ”. “ We channel that into latent capacity in our manufacturing network . This means small to medium size manufacturers are getting demands they would have never had access to otherwise . For me personally , that ’ s really exciting
JANUARY 2020