Industry 4.0 - Just do it

For top managers from industry as well as for politicians, Industry 4.0 is nothing less than decisive for the future viability of German industry in an international comparison.

Due to revolutionary technologies, the Industrie 4.0 concept is considered the fourth stage of the industrial revolution. At its core, it is about the intelligent linking of all technologies, processes, corporate ecosystems and "things" into an overall digital concept.

However, in my view, the employees' willingness and ability to change and adapt is THE central factor in the changeover to digital processes. Strategies and technologies alone will not lead to a transformation in production.

Instead, the "way of working" needs to change by creating virtual work environments, allowing innovations and, above all, allowing them to be tried out quickly without having to go through the bureaucratic processes of large companies.

The decisive factor is that the purpose must be in the foreground and not efficiency and the business case. In digital transformation, whoever dares wins, whoever doesn't will be left behind.

In any case, there is no alternative to taking a risk. CIOs can use their technology expertise to position themselves as enablers in the company and use agile methods and data analysis to identify digitization potential and develop proof of concepts.

While CIOs should pay attention to data protection, process compliance and efficiency KPIs, they should prioritize speed over "old" structures.

A willingness to take risks in the search for innovations is all the more important because Industry 4.0 is about developing new, innovative business models on the basis of data and cross-company value creation partnerships on the one hand and achieving competitive advantages on the other. American companies have long had a head start here.

On the other hand, it is about massive efficiency advantages through the mapping of manufacturing processes in digital structures and thus the use of automation and data analytics.

Smart Factory is the core of Industry 4.0

Great importance is attached here to the "Smart Factory" area, a centerpiece of Industry 4.0. It offers opportunities, but also requires investment and the commitment of all managers in shaping the transition to a new world of industry.

German companies are currently focusing on digitizing their production processes and networking their production sites with those of their suppliers, customers and logistics partners.

A smart factory, as an essential part of the Industry 4.0 concept, will therefore above all dramatically improve the speed of product development, product creation and delivery (time to market).

Everything is networked

The smart factory is primarily about using software to network machines and systems in such a way that they communicate intelligently with each other and coordinate their work steps in an automated manner.

This networking takes place both within a factory, but in the future primarily within production networks. These networks usually consist of several plants of an industrial company as well as the production sites of its suppliers and - depending on the business model - also of its customers.

To this end, technologies such as cloud computing, mobile, sensor technology, data analytics or robotics and 3D are intelligently combined to create process, product and service innovations.

Ecosystem alignment

The digitization of manufacturing towards the smart factory will gradually lead to Industry 4.0 as the next stage of industrialization. However, studies show that the manufacturing industry has some catching up to do in terms of the maturity of digitization compared to other industries.

One important reason for this is the concern about external and unauthorized intrusions into running and complex production systems. For example, the number of hacker attacks on IT systems and databases has increased many times over in recent years, especially in connection with industrial espionage.

The realization of the Smart Factory is uncharted territory for everyone involved. Drawing up an overall roadmap for their own transformation is part of every company's specifications.

The demands on management are high here. After all, a smart factory is not just the digital fusion of IT and production facilities, but above all a change in the entire corporate culture and structure. Therefore, the alignment of the entire ecosystem of technology, people and organization is one of the future tasks of management in the conception and implementation of a smart factory.

For the reasons mentioned, fundamental IT competence should therefore be present in the company management and the employees involved - after all, IT in combination with telecommunications is a key factor in the transformation, which may well take years.

CIOs have to leave tried-and-tested paths and break new ground. They must embrace agile methods such as Scrum and DevOps and realign the skills of their IT staff.

While the big technology groups like Amazon, Google and Co. manage to generate innovative ideas and develop a digital prototype within a few weeks, even days, this process takes German companies up to a year or even longer. In the meantime, the backlog has continued to grow and the pressure on IT is increasing.

To get out of this trap, CIOs need to compete harder for more innovation budget, modernize and integrate their legacy software landscape faster and, most importantly, get out of the reactive role. O

he digital transformation will not work without IT. CIOs or IT managers (which they often still are, especially in SMEs) should use this self-confidence and seek solidarity with the business departments. Not against each other, but with each other.