Imagine a kind of "Amazon for factories" — a place where manufacturers across Europe can list what they make, search for suppliers, negotiate deals, and manage logistics, all on one digital platform. Right now, finding the right supply chain partner often means trade fairs, cold calls, and endless emails. NIMBLE built an open-source cloud platform that lets companies publish machine-readable product catalogs, match with partners automatically, and even let their machines talk to each other directly. They tested it with real supply chains in white goods, wooden houses, fashion fabrics, and children's furniture.
European manufacturers — especially SMEs — waste enormous time and money finding, vetting, and negotiating with supply chain partners through trade fairs, cold outreach, and manual processes. There is no unified digital marketplace where factories can discover each other, compare capabilities via machine-readable catalogs, and close deals online. This fragmentation slows down production, increases costs, and locks smaller players out of cross-border supply chains.
The solution
What was built
NIMBLE built a cloud-based, open-source B2B platform where manufacturers can register, publish machine-readable product and service catalogs, find supply chain partners, negotiate contracts, and set up secure business-to-business and machine-to-machine data channels. Key deliverables include operational supply chain management services, business process templates, agent-supported negotiation tools, cost and ecological footprint estimation, and advanced platform infrastructure — all available as open-source with Apache-type licensing.
Audience
Who needs this
Manufacturing SMEs looking for a digital procurement and supplier discovery platformIndustry cluster managers wanting to digitize their member supply chainsERP and procurement software vendors seeking open-source B2B marketplace componentsPrefab construction companies managing multi-supplier coordinationRegional economic development agencies promoting digital manufacturing ecosystems
Business applications
Who can put this to work
Home Appliance Manufacturing
mid-size
Target: White goods manufacturers looking for component suppliers across Europe
If you are a home appliance manufacturer dealing with fragmented supplier networks and slow procurement cycles — this project developed a cloud-based B2B platform validated with a real white goods supply chain. It lets you publish machine-readable catalogs, search for suppliers across a federated network, and negotiate contracts digitally. The platform was validated at scale with hundreds of external firms across 7 countries.
Construction & Prefabricated Housing
SME
Target: Prefabricated wooden house builders needing reliable material suppliers
If you are a prefab housing company dealing with coordinating dozens of material suppliers for wooden house components — this project built an open-source platform specifically validated with a wooden houses supply chain. It enables automated supplier matching, digital contract negotiation, and secure machine-to-machine data exchange to streamline your procurement. The consortium of 19 partners included 8 SMEs, reflecting real small-business needs.
If you are a textile company dealing with complex cross-border fabric sourcing and slow manual ordering — this project created a federated B2B platform validated with a fashion fabrics supply chain. It supports automated catalog publishing, supply chain partner discovery, and private secure information exchange channels between businesses. The platform was designed to connect 1000 to 2000 enterprises in its ecosystem.
Frequently asked
Quick answers
What does this platform cost to use or deploy?+
The NIMBLE platform infrastructure was developed as open-source software under an Apache-type permissive license, meaning the core technology is free to deploy. Third-party providers can bundle it with added-value services at their own pricing. Your main costs would be hosting, customization, and any optional premium services.
Can this handle industrial-scale operations with hundreds of companies?+
Yes. The project's adoption plan targeted 1000 to 2000 enterprises connected to the ecosystem by project end. Final validation involved hundreds of external firms across 4 real supply chains (white goods, wooden houses, fashion fabrics, child care furniture). The platform was designed as a federation, meaning multiple providers can run interconnected instances.
What is the IP and licensing situation?+
The infrastructure is open-source under an Apache-type permissive license. This means any company can take the code, deploy it, and even build commercial services on top of it without restrictive obligations. Prospective providers can launch their own platform in the NIMBLE federation with sector-specific or regional added-value services.
How mature is this technology — is it ready for production use?+
The platform went through three development phases: a working initial platform in year one, added-value business functions in year two, and large-scale validation with hundreds of external firms in year three. The project ran from 2016 to 2020 and aimed to have two or more independent platform providers operational by project end.
Can this integrate with our existing ERP or procurement systems?+
The platform was designed with machine-to-machine (M2M) information exchange channels and machine-readable catalogs, which suggests API-based integration capability. Deliverables include an Advanced Platform Infrastructure and Services for Operational Supply Chain Management, both with links to open-source code. Based on available project data, specific ERP connectors would need to be verified.
Is there ongoing support or has the project ended?+
The EU-funded project closed in March 2020. However, the open-source codebase remains available, and the federation model was designed so that independent platform providers could continue operating commercially. Check the project website at nimble-project.org for current status of any successor platforms.
What industries has this been validated in?+
NIMBLE was validated with 4 specific supply chains: white goods (home appliances), wooden houses (prefab construction), fashion fabrics (textiles), and child care furniture. The platform's federated design means it can be adapted for any manufacturing sector where B2B procurement and supply chain coordination are needed.
Consortium
Who built it
NIMBLE's consortium of 19 partners across 7 countries (AT, DE, ES, IL, IT, SE, TR) is heavily industry-weighted at 63%, with 12 industry players and 8 SMEs — a strong signal that this was built for real-world business use, not just academic research. Salzburg Research (Austria) coordinated, backed by 4 research organizations and 2 universities providing the technical backbone. The high SME count means the platform was stress-tested against the constraints small manufacturers actually face: limited IT budgets, lean teams, and the need for quick adoption. With 46 deliverables produced, this was a well-resourced effort with broad European coverage.
Want to deploy an open-source B2B manufacturing platform or connect with NIMBLE's technology providers? SciTransfer can broker the introduction and help evaluate fit for your supply chain.
