The European Commission’s Business Innovation Observatory has published an interesting case study in its “Smart Factories” series devoted to the rise of crowdsourced manufacturing. Among its authors, different european academics as well as consulting giant PwC.
According to the document:
Crowdsourced manufacturing is the process by which manufacturers complement and expand their processes with capabilities, tools, equipment, and ideas from a large group of people rather than from their own employees or their commissioned suppliers. Crowdsourced manufacturing covers various forms of interaction (such as online contests, interactive forums, online design), between manufacturers and a community (online) of consumers, specialists and intermediaries such as crowdsourcing platforms.
The EU then discusses the different benefits that come with crowdsourcing:
- It offers quick access to specialised human resources.
- It benefits from the innovative strength of idea generation outside an organisation.
- It can decrease production costs by developing a better alignment of consumer needs.
- It helps companies adapt better to market changes.
According to this paper, “by 2017, more than half of consumer goods manufacturers are expected to receive 75% of their new consumer product development inputs from crowdsourced solutions rather than in-house R&D capabilities“. This is why we believe that Ennomotive has come up in the right place, at the right time: as the global economy comes back on track, a focus on crowdsourced innovation is essential to build a better future.
Don’t hesitate to join us as a solver! We are looking to hire talented engineers who want to make money and gain experience by developing real solutions for real business challenges.
