COMPOSITION · Project

A Digital Operating System That Connects Your Factory Floor to Your Supply Chain

manufacturingPilotedTRL 7

Imagine every machine in your factory and every supplier you work with speaking different languages — nobody can coordinate properly, so you waste time, materials, and money. COMPOSITION built a kind of universal translator for manufacturing data: one platform that pulls together everything happening inside your factory and across your supplier network. It gives managers a live dashboard to spot bottlenecks, predict problems, and make faster decisions. Think of it as the operating system that lets your entire production ecosystem finally talk to each other.

By the numbers

consortium partners

countries represented

67%

industry partner ratio

SMEs in consortium

total project deliverables

demonstrated pilot deliverables (supply chain + value chain)

multi-sided pilot domains validated

The business problem

What needed solving

Most manufacturers today run disconnected systems — the factory floor doesn't talk to procurement, suppliers can't see your demand changes, and managers make decisions on outdated spreadsheets instead of live data. When a rush order comes in or a supplier is late, the whole chain stumbles because nobody has a shared, real-time picture of what's happening. This disconnect costs time, materials, and missed delivery windows.

The solution

What was built

COMPOSITION built an Integrated Information Management System (IIMS) — a digital platform that connects data flows both inside a factory and across its supply chain. Concrete outputs include 4 demonstrated pilots (2 supply chain iterations led by KLE, 2 value chain iterations led by BSL), a decision support system with real-time cross-domain analytics, and an agent-based marketplace for inter-company collaboration, all validated across 69 deliverables.

Audience

Who needs this

Medical device manufacturers with multi-stage production linesAutomotive tier-1 suppliers managing 10+ component suppliersContract electronics manufacturers handling multiple client product linesIndustrial plant operators looking to connect legacy systems to modern analyticsManufacturing SMEs wanting to plug into larger supply chain ecosystems

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Biomedical Device Manufacturing

mid-size

Target: Mid-size medical device manufacturers with multi-step production lines

If you are a medical device manufacturer dealing with disconnected production steps where quality data from one stage never reaches the next — this project developed an Integrated Information Management System tested in a biomedical device pilot across 2 iterations. It connects your internal value chain data in real time, giving your floor managers a decision support dashboard that flags quality issues before defective batches move downstream.

Automotive & Discrete Manufacturing

enterprise

Target: Tier-1 automotive suppliers managing complex supplier networks

If you are an automotive parts supplier dealing with supply chain blind spots — late deliveries, mismatched orders, no visibility into supplier capacity — this project built an agent-based marketplace that lets multiple companies share real-time supply chain data securely. The supply chain pilot ran 2 iterations proving that cross-company collaboration can cut response time to demand changes.

Electronics Contract Manufacturing

mid-size

Target: Contract manufacturers juggling multiple clients and product lines

If you are a contract manufacturer struggling to dynamically adapt production when customer orders shift unexpectedly — this project created a modular platform demonstrated across 2 separate pilot domains to be scalable and reconfigurable. It optimizes resource management across your production lines using real-time analytics, so you can reassign capacity without manual replanning.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would this cost to implement in our factory?

The project did not publish pricing or licensing costs. Since the platform builds on open components like FI-WARE and LINKSmart® Middleware, implementation costs would depend on integration complexity. Contact the Fraunhofer team for a commercial assessment.

Can this scale beyond a single factory or pilot setting?

Yes — the 2 pilots were specifically designed to prove modularity, scalability, and reconfigurability across multiple application domains. The supply chain pilot tested cross-company data exchange, while the value chain pilot tested intra-factory integration, both running through 2 iterations each.

Who owns the intellectual property and can we license it?

The consortium of 12 partners across 7 countries jointly developed the platform. Fraunhofer, as coordinator, is the primary contact for licensing discussions. IP terms would have been defined in the consortium agreement — direct inquiry is needed for specifics.

Does this work with our existing factory systems (ERP, MES)?

The platform was designed as an integration layer, not a replacement. It extends existing FI-WARE and FITMAN catalogues and uses LINKSmart® Middleware, which are designed to connect heterogeneous systems. The Integrated Information Management System pulls data across domains rather than requiring you to rip out what you already have.

How long would deployment take?

The project ran from 2016 to 2019, with each pilot going through 2 iterations. Based on available project data, a production deployment timeline would depend on your existing IT infrastructure and how many supply chain partners need onboarding. The modular architecture is designed for phased rollout.

Is this compliant with data sharing regulations when exchanging data with suppliers?

The platform adopted the Industrial Data Space concept, which was specifically designed for sovereign, secure data exchange between companies. Each participant controls what data they share. However, GDPR and sector-specific compliance would need to be verified for your use case.

What kind of ongoing support is available?

Fraunhofer is one of Europe's largest applied research organizations with a track record of commercializing project results. With 8 industry partners in the consortium including 4 SMEs, there is likely commercial interest in continued development. Direct contact with the coordinator is recommended.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a strong, industry-heavy consortium with 12 partners from 7 countries, and a 67% industry ratio — well above average for EU research projects. Fraunhofer, one of Europe's top applied research institutes, leads the coordination, which adds credibility for commercial follow-through. The presence of 4 SMEs alongside larger industry players suggests the platform was designed to be accessible beyond just large corporations. With only 1 university partner versus 3 research organizations and 8 industry members, this project was clearly oriented toward practical, deployable results rather than pure academic research.

IN-JET APSparticipant · DK
KLEEMANN HELLAS SAparticipant · EL
NEXTWORKS SRLparticipant · IT
ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXISparticipant · EL
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC LIMITEDparticipant · IE
ATOS SPAIN SAparticipant · ES
FONDAZIONE LINKS - LEADING INNOVATION & KNOWLEDGE FOR SOCIETYparticipant · IT
ATLANTIS ENGINEERING AEparticipant · EL
CNET SVENSKA ABparticipant · SE
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK - NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, CORKparticipant · IE
ELLINIKI DIAHEIRISI APPRIMATON ANONYMI ETAIRIA - ELDIAparticipant · EL

How to reach the team

Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (DE) — reach out to their Industry 4.0 or digital manufacturing division for licensing and deployment inquiries

Order a report on this consortium

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how COMPOSITION's factory integration platform could fit your manufacturing operations? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the development team and help evaluate the business case for your specific setup.

Order a report on this topic More in Manufacturing & Industry 4.0