Knowledge of appropriate and accurate material propertiesconstitutes a substantial challenge in the simulation ofmanufacturing processes. The appeal of multi-scale modelling lies in the quantitative link it provides between the properties we can observe on the macro-scale and the key features in the microstructure that lie at the physical origin of those properties. Fibre-reinforced composites have certain preferential fibre orientations that increase the strength in these directions. Likewise, metals consist of micrometer-sized crystals of one or several phases with specific preferential orientations, giving it direction-dependent properties. For composites and metals alike, the production process controls the initial microstructure, and consequently also the properties that control the behaviour in subsequent manufacturing steps.