Chapter 5 — full chapter
5.4 Local and distributed manufacturing
Local and distributed manufacturing uses regional facilities and digitally connected networks to produce closer to demand. Shorter supply chains can improve responsiveness, collaboration and traceability, while automated micro-factories make smaller batches and on-demand orders more feasible for SMEs that cannot meet large overseas minimum order quantities.
Local production is not automatically lower impact. Benefits depend on energy sources, transport, capacity utilisation, material availability, labour conditions and the efficiency of the selected technology. A business case should compare total lead time, inventory risk, quality, logistics and environmental performance with the existing route. Piloting one product family helps reveal whether faster replenishment and smaller runs actually reduce overproduction rather than simply relocating it (Bertola & Teunissen, 2018).
Figure 5.6 Rodinia Generation’s O-FACTORY®, a compact automated manufacturing system designed for on-demand and onshore apparel production. Credit: Rodinia Generation. Source: Rodinia Generation, O-FACTORY®.
Resource insight: Digitalisation as a lever for sustainability: the example of textile microfactories, Transition-pathways, June 2026 Source: https://transition-pathways.europa.eu/textiles/best-practices/digitalisation-lever-sustainability-example-textile-microfactories