It is apparent that the current business model in the automotive industry, of the mass-production of identical products, is flawed and becoming dysfunctional. The industry suffers from global over-capacity and rising stock levels and exhibits inherently low profitability. The automotive industry is a major contributor to prosperity throughout the Member States, reinforcing the imperative for research and validation of an alternative and innovative approach, in order to secure its benefits for the next generation. ILIPT will address the conceptual and practical aspects of the delivery to the customer of a bespoke product only several days after placing the order, the automotive industry's exciting and radical new business model. The remaining work, on realising the opportunities for new materials and processes, and on validating designs with hardware, can then be proposed and continued with confidence.

The project represents a radical leap for the European automotive industry from the "stock push" and "mass production" thinking of the last century, to a stockless "build-to-order" (BTO) production strategy. This will require the re-invention of the complete automotive value stream from material producers to end consumers of cars, through a cost optimised system delivering what the customer really wants without delay. Within the full framework of the "EU 5-Day Car Initiative", the Integrated Project "Intelligent Logistics for Innovative Product Technologies" focuses on the following. First, product configuration for build-to-order supply chains addressing new product technologies with the tools and management methods. Second, new concepts in delivering flexible production networks addressing collaboration across complete value streams and interoperability of these processes. Finally, novel methods and tools to assess and validate this radical business model for the European automotive industry.