Contracts - Models & Prototype for Digital Contracting System

This document examines contracting models for distributed manufacturing, highlighting the need for flexible, role-based frameworks and digital tools to address quality, payment, legal, and coordination challenges while unlocking its potential for localised, efficient, and sustainable production. The report presents the outcomes of research into contracting and order processing models tailored for distributed manufacturing (DM). Distributed manufacturing represents a shift from centralised production to localised, smaller-scale manufacturing networks, enabling products to be designed, produced, and distributed closer to end-users. While this approach offers flexibility, cost reduction, and local empowerment, it also introduces significant complexities in contracting due to decentralised roles and varying stakeholder responsibilities.