19th, May 2023
Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is a significant transformation we are witnessing in the present days, a game changer in many ways and is the next phase of digitization of Manufacturing sector. Cornerstones to this are Digital Engineering, Manufacturing, Service, Supply Chains and Sales & Marketing and integrated through a seamless Digital Thread. Industry 4.0 is a fast-emerging area and has become quite a common buzzword in Manufacturing Industries that has its origins in Germany around 2011.
The industrial revolution has been from an Agricultural Economy to Steam Power in the 1700s, onwards to Mass Production in the 1900s followed by Automation in the 1970s and finally culminating into Industry 4.0 where we talk about Cyber-Physical Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Actions and various other cutting-edge technologies and applications.
Industry 4.0 is enabled by various technological advances such as Big Data, IOT, Analytics (including Advanced Analytics as Machine Learning, Computer Vision, etc.), Augmented Reality, Cybersecurity, etc. These technologies have touchpoints in various degrees across the domains of Engineering, Manufacturing, Maintenance & Service, Supply Chain and Sales & Marketing and help in creating a Digital Thread.
The value derived through such transformations include Better Asset Utilization, Faster Time to Market, Optimized Resource Utilization in Factories, Improved Service, Improved Labor Utilization, Better match-up of Supply with Demand to name a few. All these, at unprecedented levels.
Executives in Manufacturing Companies are making a great effort to make best use of Industry 4.0. Many have started experimenting with prototypes and even fewer would have implemented it in some part of their organization. However, they are often thrown with a challenge of understanding which part of Industry 4.0 is most relevant for them, and what path they should take in this transformation journey.