Autor: Oliver Jeken

The complexity of nowadays logistics processes calls for new approaches to improve the logistics performance. The concept of autonomous logistics processes has proven to be a promising way to cope with these challenges. In this paper the idea of autonomous product manufacturing will be presented with a special focus on the development of locked flexibility potentials. In particular we introduce a new way to let products decide by themselves what to become and how.

This article deals with flexibility of production and distribution processes within global production networks. It introduces the concept of autonomous products, classifies different types of flexibility and develops according object models. The decision alternatives resulting from the increased flexibility are modelled as a mathematical function. Different decision methods are proposed for decision rendering and selecting between these alternatives. Exemplary applications in some scenarios are proposed.