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Factory‑X — The Digital Ecosystem for Factory Outfit­ters and Oper­a­tors

What is
Factory‑X?

Factory‑X is a collab­o­ra­tive project under the Manufacturing‑X umbrella that builds a secure and trusted data ecosystem for the manu­fac­turing industry. Factory‑X focuses on 11 dedi­cated use cases that aim to enhance and inte­grate both hori­zontal and vertical aspects of the supply chain within indus­trial oper­a­tions. These use cases are designed to extend the existing supply chain-oriented solu­tions by adding vertical inte­gra­tion, which directly connects and opti­mizes shop floor oper­a­tions. Each use case is centered around specific busi­ness appli­ca­tions, which are care­fully concep­tu­al­ized, proto­typ­i­cally devel­oped, and vali­dated to ensure they address the unique needs of the manu­fac­turing envi­ron­ment. The project is funded by the BMWE.

Why this project
matters and for who

Factory‑X matters because it addresses one of the most crit­ical chal­lenges in modern manu­fac­turing: how to share and use produc­tion data securely across compa­nies without losing control over it. Today, valu­able data often remains locked within factory systems or propri­etary plat­forms, limiting collab­o­ra­tion, inno­va­tion, and effi­ciency. Factory‑X provides a trusted frame­work that allows machine builders, compo­nent suppliers, soft­ware providers, and oper­a­tors to exchange infor­ma­tion safely — from design and produc­tion to main­te­nance and circular economy use cases.

For manu­fac­turers, it means better inte­gra­tion with part­ners and fewer manual inter­faces; for suppliers and OEMs, it opens new data-driven service models; for IT and OT providers, it ensures inter­op­er­ability with stan­dard­ized APIs and gover­nance rules. Ulti­mately, Factory‑X creates the foun­da­tion for a secure, sover­eign data economy in manu­fac­turing, where collab­o­ra­tion drives compet­i­tive­ness instead of risk.

What’s our part
in Factory‑X?

Factory‑X is not just a concept. It is an ecosystem in progress, built on real collab­o­ra­tion across indus­tries. As part of this initia­tive (along­side 46 other part­ners and 10 asso­ci­ated part­ners) , the OI4 Alliance plays an active role in four key sub-projects (in german: “Teil­pro­jekte” = TP) that bridge strategic coor­di­na­tion, tech­nical enable­ment, transfer, and cross-project align­ment.

Here is a closer look at how OI4 Alliance contributes to making Factory‑X work in prac­tice:

TP1: Agile Project Manage­ment Office

In TP1, the focus is on helping estab­lish and main­tain a struc­tured, agile project envi­ron­ment. This includes contributing to the defi­n­i­tion of modeling frame­works and project method­olo­gies that ensure consis­tent coor­di­na­tion between use cases, tech­nical devel­op­ment teams, and indus­trial stake­holders. By partic­i­pating in the devel­op­ment of shared project struc­tures, OI4 Alliance helps align tech­nical mile­stones and releases across all Factory‑X partic­i­pants, ensuring that soft­ware compo­nents and inter­op­er­ability goals stay in sync.

TP6: Transfer Measures

The goal of TP6 is to trans­late tech­nical results into real-world impact, espe­cially for SMEs. Here, OI4 Alliance helps design and vali­date modular transfer pack­ages that make Factory‑X outcomes easy to adopt. These pack­ages are tailored to different user groups and include prac­tical mate­rials that lower entry barriers for imple­men­ta­tion. With a strong under­standing of market needs and deploy­ment chal­lenges, OI4 Alliance helps ensure that Factory‑X results do not remain theo­ret­ical but can scale in produc­tion envi­ron­ments across indus­tries.

TP4: Factory‑X Kernel – Basic Services

Sub project 4 focuses on devel­oping core services that provide the tech­nical foun­da­tion for the Factory‑X data space. The OI4 Alliance contributes by supporting the design and vali­da­tion of inter­op­er­able refer­ence imple­men­ta­tions, espe­cially based on stan­dards like the Asset Admin­is­tra­tion Shell (AAS). These services built are built on the foun­da­tions of Catena‑X and the prin­ci­ples of Plat­tform Indus­trie 4.0. The OI4 Alliance helps ensure that these building blocks are tech­ni­cally robust, reusable, and aligned with broader ecosystem require­ments.

TP7: Manufacturing‑X Coor­di­na­tion

TP7 focuses on the over­ar­ching inte­gra­tion of Factory‑X with other X‑projects and the broader Manufacturing‑X strategy. OI4 Alliance supports this by contributing to the harmo­niza­tion of tech­nical frame­works, gover­nance struc­tures, and stake­holder engage­ment. This includes partic­i­pa­tion in national and inter­na­tional working groups, helping ensure that archi­tec­tural prin­ci­ples, inter­op­er­ability models, and commu­nity struc­tures devel­oped in Factory‑X are consis­tent with adja­cent initia­tives. The aim is to reduce redun­dancy, increase compat­i­bility, and accel­erate joint progress.

Wanna know
more?

Curious how Factory‑X and the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance are shaping secure, data-driven collab­o­ra­tion in manu­fac­turing? We’re happy to share more insights, connect you with our experts, or explore how your company can get “Factory‑X ready”.

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