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The primary objective of this book is to offer readers an insightful exploration into the realms of innovation and sustainability within the textile industry. As global competition intensifies, organizations are increasingly compelled to revisit and refine their business strategies, emphasizing the imperative for continuous innovation and adaptability. This shift towards innovation-centric strategies is driven by the pursuit of sustainability and a competitive advantage, underscoring innovation as the cornerstone for business growth and market expansion. Innovation not only opens avenues for companies to overhaul their business models and enhance process technologies but also enables them to achieve optimal productivity and minimize waste. In an era characterized by swift technological advancements, the demand for rapid information flow, and evolving consumer preferences, a firm's capability to innovate emerges as a critical determinant of its growth, sustainability, and competitive positioning in the textile sector. Process innovation, which entails the adoption of novel or significantly improved manufacturing or delivery methodologies, plays a pivotal role. This could involve substantial modifications in techniques, equipment, and/or software, aimed at bolstering production efficiency, augmenting quality, or facilitating the creation and delivery of significantly improved or new products. Manufacturing firms, through their marketing departments, are in a constant quest for opportunities to develop new products to maintain their competitive edge. Organizations that lag in embracing innovation risk losing their market share and profitability as competitors seize the opportunity to outperform them. A firm's innovative capabilities are instrumental in fostering long-term market sustainability and business growth by delivering unparalleled value to customers. Consequently, innovation is integral to corporate strategies for a myriad of reasons – from achieving more efficient production processes and enhancing market performance to cultivating a forward-thinking brand image and securing a sustainable competitive advantage.

This seminal compendium, available through open access, illuminates the forefront of digital collaboration in production. It introduces the visionary concept of the Internet of Production (IoP), an ambitious initiative by Germany's esteemed Cluster of Excellence at RWTH Aachen University. This handbook pioneers the integration of data, models, and knowledge across development, production, and user cycles, offering interdisciplinary insights into production technology's horizons with the overall objective to create a worldwide lab.The work is organized into seven key parts, each contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the IoP. Part I lays the foundation with interdisciplinary visions and concepts. Part II delves into IoP's infrastructure, encompassing digital shadows and actionable artificial intelligence. Part III examines materials within the digitalized production landscape. Part IV confronts the challenges and potentials of production processes under novel digitalization methods.Part V focuses on production management with data-driven decision support, while Part VI explores agile development processes. Finally, Part VII delves into the interplay between internal and external perspectives in the IoP, human-centered work design, and platform-based ecosystems.Supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG), this compendium redefines manufacturing through the transformative IoP lens. Embrace this scholarly endeavor to embrace technological advancement. This is an open access book.