The principles of a circular economy (CE)—social, economic and en-vironmental—couldenhance the sustainability of the manufacturing sector, butradical transitions and collaborationare required in order to fully engage withthis paradigm change. Thisstudy is based on the assumption that,through col-laborative strategies,aCE could transformthe inefficiencies of linear value chains into novel competitive advantages for manufacturing companies. This conceptual paper presents a framework thatintegrates the identified inefficiencies of linear manufacturing value chains and an assessment model describing thefive maturity levels of CE. Atthe lowest level—linearity—there isno collab-oration; atthe next—industrial piloting—experiments are conducted with dis-crete pilotprojectswithin supply-chain partners. The third level—systemic ma-terial management—cannot be achieved without close collaborationand fair data exchange, while the next level—CE thinking—envisagesaclosed-loop supplychain. The highest level—full circularity—contributesnot only to environmental,but also to economic and social sustainability.Thispaper arguesthat the identi-fication of novel value circles and the co-creation of value with a variety of part-ners are crucial aspects forenabling the CE transition.