In the fight against COVID-19, one major bottleneck has been and still is, the shortage of such basic items as face masks and other personal protective equipment.
The manufacturing industry, from materials to production, has responded by coming together, revamping lines and re-engineering products and processes to help relieve the urgent need for medical supplies, equipment and replacement parts.
Now, Netherlands-based Royal DSM has announced the launch of UNITE4COVID, a digital, open, collaborative marketplace designed to provide solutions for healthcare professionals, as well as a forum and collaboration hub for inventors, manufacturers and certification labs in the fight against the coronavirus.
The platform makes finding approved COVID-19 solutions easier by providing transparency on approved COVID-19 solutions. Healthcare professionals, as well as organisations, institutions and companies looking to protect their patients, employees and customers, can access UNITE4COVID to see and request the currently available solutions.
Solution providers – from inventors to production hubs – can utilize the platform to share ideas, solutions, capacity and more.
The platform brings together players in additive and traditional manufacturing industries in one collaborative marketplace.
A truly open and industry-wide platform, the Unite4COVID platform is highlighted on the World Economic Forum’s COVID Action Platform as a key effort from the manufacturing community to better connect those with a need and a global network of solution providers.
“We strongly believe that value chain collaboration is a must. The 3D printing industry was able to respond very fast when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the traditional supply chains as its digital, distributed way of manufacturing allows for creating solutions where the demand is highest,” explained Hugo da Silva, VP Additive Manufacturing at DSM.
“By bringing together organizations with different manufacturing competencies and matching them with the needs of the organizations in vital sectors, we can offer effective solutions more quickly. It’s by collaborating that we’ll make the biggest impact in beating COVID-19 and saving lives.”
DSM calls upon all organizations actively fighting Covid-19 in the manufacturing industry to join and add solutions to UNITE4COVID. To visit the platform: www.UNITE4COVID.org