Industry 4.0

We are facing a radical transformation as manufacturing and production processes change. The real and digital worlds are merging.

Major industrial and IT companies as well as industry associations are certain that the influence of innovative information technology will have a similarly strong effect on our society as industrialization did in the course of the 19th century.

Acatech, the German Academy of Science and Engineering, coined the term the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0 for short.

What is new and what contribution can SAP perform? Industry 4.0 is the fusion of information technology (IT) and automation technology.

IT is moving more strongly than before into the center of manufacturing and Production, because traditional Supply chains turn into digital Supply chains to flexible value chains. There are huge opportunities for both manufacturing companies and IT companies, but there is also a need for action.

Opportunities arise, for example, from increasing transparency in the value creation process and greater flexibility in existing corporate networks. On the other hand, IT companies can use new software and services for these new Business models Realize sales potential.

SAP is a sought-after discussion partner for customers and partners to find individual solutions for the Production of the future together. In workshops, consulting projects and pilot applications, new approaches to solutions are created on the way to digital Factory.

Collaboration within the Group is indispensable in this context. SAP-ecosystem to cover the variety of possible scenarios and drive standardization. Scenarios range from anticipation of real-world events, for example through predictive maintenance, to customer-specific Production of consumer goods.

Unprecedented real-time transparency about what is happening in the real world will bring entirely new Business models such as a reorientation from product to service.

For example, a manufacturer of compressors will not so much sell individual units, but rather services around compressed air, which in addition to the machines also include maintenance and a guarantee of 24-hour availability. Networking across company boundaries reduces complexity, resulting in optimization and increased efficiency.

Several key technologies are needed to make this a reality. Among them, Big Data, cloud and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, as well as mobile Technologies the main role in order to achieve the vision of the Internet of Thingsthe Internet of Things (IoT).

The Factory of the future will adapt more quickly and in a more individualized way to the needs and consumer behavior of the individual. Just as personalized offers are taken for granted when ordering online, personalized products will be available to order in the future.

Production companies must be able to fulfill this flexibility - at the level of individual end products. This is where Industry 4.0 comes in. At the same time, products are becoming smarter and processes more efficient and sustainable.

Smart products, for example, also enable the tracing of their components or even raw materials: a recall action by an automobile manufacturer, if one is necessary at all, will then not go to the buyers of a particular batch, but will inform the affected vehicles and their owners directly.

One example whose widespread application will soon be a reality is 3-D printing. This technology will soon allow us to Production of spare parts to any location in the world, making conventional logistics processes almost obsolete.

To summarize: First helps SAP its customers and partners to overcome challenges for manufacturing companies and develop innovative solutions.

Due to the importance and complexity of IT in a globalized world with ever shorter product life cycles, complex production and logistics processes, and increasing market dynamics, companies are required to respond more flexibly and quickly to these requirements. Secondly, digitization is the only way to enable a truly networked Economy and radically new Business models. It increasingly enables service offerings around more individualized products.

The SAP has set itself the goal of developing innovative products, processes and services even more closely together with customers and partners. And thirdly, individualization puts people at the center. This lies at the SAP-strategy is firmly anchored on the basis.