Fab City Hamburg e.V.

Circular Furniture Loop – Developing a Data-Driven Model for Circular Furniture Systems

Description of the company

Fab City Hamburg e.V. is a non-profit organisation driving the implementation of Hamburg’s Fab City strategy. Our goal is to strengthen local, digital and circular production and to develop practical solutions for a future in which products, materials, knowledge and value creation remain in regional cycles.

Together with companies  public institutions, research organisations and civil society partners, Fab City Hamburg develops and implements projects that connect circular economy, digital technologies and local production.

One current focus is the development of a Circular Furniture Loop for Hamburg: a system that enables used furniture to remain in productive use for as long as possible through reuse, refurbishment, repair and re-commerce.

Situation

Large quantities of furniture from companies and public institutions are replaced even though many items are still suitable for further use. At the same time, there are companies and organisations with expertise in logistics, refurbishment, repair, resale and digitalisation.

Today, however, these actors and processes are largely disconnected. There is no established system that efficiently connects the collection of used furniture with condition assessment, logistics, refurbishment, temporary storage and subsequent reuse or resale.

A particular challenge is the lack of reliable data for decision-making: Which furniture should be reused? Which refurbishment process is economically and ecologically worthwhile? How should logistics and intermediate storage be organised? And which process creates the highest value while keeping environmental impacts as low as possible?

Fab City Hamburg is therefore developing the concept for a Circular Furniture Loop together with potential partners from business, public administration, logistics, refurbishment and digitalisation.

Problem

A functioning circular furniture system requires the coordination of several stakeholders and processes:

• Collection and handover of used furniture
• Condition assessment and classification
• Transport and, where necessary, intermediate storage
• Refurbishment or repair
• Redistribution, reuse or resale

Currently, these processes are not sufficiently connected and there is no common data structure or decision-making logic across the entire loop.

In particular, there is a need to better understand:

• which data is required at the different stages of the process,
• how the condition of furniture can be documented and classified,
• how environmental and economic criteria can be integrated into decision-making,
• how logistics can be organised with the lowest possible CO₂ impact,
• which existing digital systems and software solutions could be integrated rather than developing everything from scratch.

Aims of the project

The student team will support the preparation of the Circular Furniture Loop by developing a conceptual and data-based model for an efficient circular furniture process.

The project should investigate how furniture can move from collection through assessment, logistics and refurbishment to its next use in the most environmentally and economically beneficial way.

The students are not expected to develop the complete digital solution. Instead, their work should provide the process definition, data requirements and system landscape needed for the next development phase of the Circular Furniture Loop.

Scopes

The team should address the following areas:

1. Process and stakeholder analysis

• Map the relevant stakeholders and the process from furniture handover to its next use.
• Identify the requirements and interests of relevant stakeholders such as furniture owners, logistics providers, refurbishment partners, public institutions and potential users/buyers.

2. Logistics and CO₂ perspective

• Investigate how the CO₂ footprint of the process can be minimised across:
• handover → transport → assessment → refurbishment → possible intermediate storage → redistribution/reuse
• Identify relevant influencing factors and propose suitable KPIs for evaluating environmental and economic performance.

3. Data requirements

• Define which information needs to be captured at the different stages of the process.

This could include, for example:

• furniture/product identification,
• condition and repair requirements,
• materials and relevant product characteristics,
• transport distances and volumes,
• refurbishment activities,
• costs,
• estimated environmental impact,
• destination and subsequent use.

The focus should be on identifying a practical minimum data set that enables informed decisions without creating unnecessary administrative effort.

4. Existing digital solutions

• Research existing software, platforms and digital tools that could support individual steps of the process, particularly logistics, inventory management, condition assessment and tracking.
• The objective is to identify existing solutions and reusable components rather than assuming that a new system needs to be developed from scratch.

5. Concept for an integrated system

Based on the findings, develop a conceptual model showing how the relevant processes, stakeholders, data and digital systems could interact.

The concept should demonstrate how the system could support the selection of the optimal circular path for a piece of furniture – balancing environmental impact, economic value and the potential for continued use. 

Expected outcomes

The project should deliver:

• a process map of the Circular Furniture Loop,
• a stakeholder and requirements analysis,
• a proposal for a minimum data set and relevant KPIs,
• an overview and assessment of existing digital solutions,
• a conceptual system architecture / data flow,
• and recommendations for the next development phase of the Circular Furniture Loop.

If feasible within the project timeframe, the team may additionally develop a simple digital demonstrator, simulation or proof of concept illustrating how furniture could be assessed and assigned to different circular pathways.

The results will directly support Fab City Hamburg in preparing the further development and implementation of the Circular Furniture Loop and can also contribute to the development of a future funding project.

Target group (students)
The project is particularly suitable for interdisciplinary teams including students from:

• Industrial Engineering / Business Engineering
• Logistics
• Computer Science / Data Science
• Environmental Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Entrepreneurship / Business Administration

Relevant skills include:

• Technical: data analysis, process modelling, system thinking, basic programming or software/system architecture.
• Business: market and competitive research, business modelling, stakeholder analysis and economic evaluation.
• Sustainability: circular economy, resource efficiency, environmental KPIs and CO₂ assessment.
• Soft skills: teamwork, stakeholder communication, structured problem-solving and agile project management.
• No single discipline is required. We are particularly interested in a team that combines technical, business and sustainability perspectives.

Dates
Please save these dates: Fishing for Experience Termine, additionally note the dates from the IKS

Registration
You can apply for Fishing for Experience online.