A Mutualistic Framework for Sustainable Capacity Sharing in Manufacturing

In order to decrease the ecological impact and footprint of supply chain actors, a promising mechanism for sustainability in the industry is represented by sharing resources with each other in a mutualistic way. The paper aims at introducing a novel framework that facilitates the collaborative work of manufacturing facilities and helps participants dynamically and safely negotiate available capacities shared within the federation. The center of the framework is an open API cloud- and simulation-based platform which supports the strategic collaboration of federated companies while helping them optimize resource utilization, avoid shortages and minimize the environmental impact of their logistics.