In-Company Project - IESE Executive MBA 2021. The goal of this project was to analyze the status quo and mid-term outlook of the German manufacturing industry in terms of its digital transformation and in particular Industry 4.0 adoption, within the framework of the VDMA Industry 4.0 production toolbox. Given the amount of literature already in circulation on this topic, it was a top priority for the project team to speak directly with digitalization experts from the manufacturing industry to gain first-hand insights into the strategic drivers, challenges, and enablers of moving forward Industry 4.0. initiatives – thus allowing for both a qualitive and quantitative review.
SaaSification in Action. Attracting Software Vendors with Easy TransformationJelastic Multi-Cloud PaaS
Software vendors got to the point that as-a-service is not just hype but new opportunities for their businesses. That’s why currently we increasingly frequently hear about launching Anything-as-a-Service (XaaS). The transition is in active phase but many ISVs are struggling with technical blockers or lack of expertise on their way to the desired outcome. In this presentation, you'll find out how cloud hosting service providers can ease the transformation for software vendors, thus attracting ISVs as potential clients, building value in own services, and ultimately customer retention.
Faster responses to changing business needs and being more cost effective at the same time is a challenge for many organizations.
To help our customers focus more on innovation, Fujitsu will work to reduce the operation and maintenance costs of their existing ICT assets and build a platform for growth through the modernization of these assets. It enables customers to divert their investments from operations and maintenance to innovation and growth.
The Application Value Assessment (AVA) is a strategic consulting assignment, and it's the first step towards your Application/Legacy Modernization project.
Many of the world’s largest enterprises are replacing their traditional SAP server environments with SAP running in the AWS Cloud. As well as increasing business agility and scalability, our cloud platform significantly reduces SAP infrastructure and support costs, simplifies operations and contributes directly to the bottom line.
Industrie 4.0 Reference Architecture and Plant Service Bus Peter Schleinitz
Industrie 4.0
References:
- Kleanthis Thramboulidis, P. Bochalis, J. Bouloumpasis, 2017, A framework for MDE of IoT-based manufacturing cyber-physical systems, IoT '17 Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on the Internet of Things, Article No. 11
AWS Enterprise Professional Services offers a global consulting practice that can help your organization improve time-to-value and lower operational risks for your cloud projects.
Presented by Ken Sansom
SaaSification in Action. Attracting Software Vendors with Easy TransformationJelastic Multi-Cloud PaaS
Software vendors got to the point that as-a-service is not just hype but new opportunities for their businesses. That’s why currently we increasingly frequently hear about launching Anything-as-a-Service (XaaS). The transition is in active phase but many ISVs are struggling with technical blockers or lack of expertise on their way to the desired outcome. In this presentation, you'll find out how cloud hosting service providers can ease the transformation for software vendors, thus attracting ISVs as potential clients, building value in own services, and ultimately customer retention.
Faster responses to changing business needs and being more cost effective at the same time is a challenge for many organizations.
To help our customers focus more on innovation, Fujitsu will work to reduce the operation and maintenance costs of their existing ICT assets and build a platform for growth through the modernization of these assets. It enables customers to divert their investments from operations and maintenance to innovation and growth.
The Application Value Assessment (AVA) is a strategic consulting assignment, and it's the first step towards your Application/Legacy Modernization project.
Many of the world’s largest enterprises are replacing their traditional SAP server environments with SAP running in the AWS Cloud. As well as increasing business agility and scalability, our cloud platform significantly reduces SAP infrastructure and support costs, simplifies operations and contributes directly to the bottom line.
Industrie 4.0 Reference Architecture and Plant Service Bus Peter Schleinitz
Industrie 4.0
References:
- Kleanthis Thramboulidis, P. Bochalis, J. Bouloumpasis, 2017, A framework for MDE of IoT-based manufacturing cyber-physical systems, IoT '17 Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on the Internet of Things, Article No. 11
AWS Enterprise Professional Services offers a global consulting practice that can help your organization improve time-to-value and lower operational risks for your cloud projects.
Presented by Ken Sansom
How to Bring Suppliers to the Ariba NetworkSAP Ariba
Every great transformation starts with the end in mind. Enabling suppliers on the Ariba Network is no different. Join this session and learn from the experts as they share how they have successfully enabled suppliers and achieved great results in getting their spend and documents digitized on the Ariba Network. You'll hear the perspective of suppliers, buyers, and the SAP Ariba team – starting with the up-front business case and diving into the details of the actual enablement. You will also learn about exciting new Ariba Network developments that support SAP Ariba’s vision to help buyers and suppliers simplify commerce with a single platform, including a new, free supplier enablement option and improved supplier packaging and pricing.
AIOps is becoming imperative to the management of today’s complex IT systems and their ability to support changing business conditions. This slide explains the role that AIOps can and will play in the enterprise of the future, how the scope of AIOps platforms will expand, and what new functionality may be deployed.
Watch the webinar here. https://www.moogsoft.com/resources/aiops/webinar/aiops-the-next-five-years
Private Equity Value Creation Carve Outs, Divestitures and mergersTom Laszewski
Who to utilize AWS 'cloud in a box' offerings (AWS Quick Starts and solutions) to rapid deploy and configure an AWS foundational solution. The session covers landing zones, security, database, identity and access management, remote workers, and cloud operations.
Check out the differences between IoT, IIoT & Industry 4.0. Looking to increase your revenue by leveraging IoT or Industry 4.0, click here - https://smacar.com/
To know more about the differences between IoT, IIoT and Industry 4.0, click here - https://smacar.com/iot-iiot-industry-4-0/
AIOps: Anomalous Span Detection in Distributed Traces Using Deep LearningJorge Cardoso
The field of AIOps, also known as Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations, uses algorithms and machine learning to dramatically improve the monitoring, operation, and maintenance of distributed systems. Its main premise is that operations can be automated using monitoring data to reduce the workload of operators (e.g., SREs or production engineers). Our current research explores how AIOps – and many related fields such as deep learning, machine learning, distributed traces, graph analysis, time-series analysis, sequence analysis, and log analysis – can be explored to effectively detect, localize, and remediate failures in large-scale cloud infrastructures (>50 regions and AZs). In particular, this lecture will describe how a particular monitoring data structure, called distributed trace, can be analyzed using deep learning to identify anomalies in its spans. This capability empowers operators to quickly identify which components of a distributed system are faulty.
Achieving an Awesome Buying Experience: Lessons Learned in Catalog and Market...SAP Ariba
To deliver an awesome buying experience for your casual and functional buyers, a holistic content strategy is necessary. In this session we share the best practices for contracted and spot buy marketplace content management, which is at the heart of delivering great user experience. Attendees can expect to take back practical, actionable strategies to implement in their businesses.
Impact industry 4.0 on the (SAP) intelligent enterpriseFrank Luyckx
What is the impact of Industry 4.0, Digital twin and Servitization on the (SAP) intelligent enterprise ? What is the impact of industry 4.0 on the business models ?
The decision and process behind rewriting or re-architecting a system is often plagued with a series of problems: people always underestimate the complexity, people never fully understand the customers, system requirements constantly change out from under them, and, in almost all cases, it takes much longer than anybody can predict. As part of this workshop, we’ll look at a couple of case studies of re-architecture to gleam strategies of success from them as well as common pitfalls to avoid. This workshop should arm you with a framework by which to approach your own decisions around how to manage, maintain, and evolve your own systems:
* understanding the underlying motivations;
* developing a method for deciding whether to evolve or to rewrite;
* managing the engineering effort of re-architecture in the midst of a changing business;
* setting up metrics to understand whether you’re on course; and
* organizing the engineering team and the culture to ensure success
How_to_build_your_cloud_enablement_engine_with_the_people_you_already_haveAmazon Web Services
One of the biggest misconceptions we hear from IT leaders is the belief that not having the right people on staff stops you from moving faster, saving money, and expanding your business on the cloud. You already have the people you need to succeed in the cloud, and these highly skilled, experience and dedicated employees have the ability to learn AWS cloud skills and become certified experts. Transforming your talent has a profound impact on workforce productivity and satisfaction, and in this session we will walk through best practices and AWS capabilities to help you along the way.
Hidden cost of Cloud Agnosticism and reasons to avoid this approach revealed. Discussion about alternative ways to avoid vendor lock-in and success stories
For more details or questions please refer to this blog post: https://jelizaveta-malinina.medium.com/cloud-agnosticism-and-its-hidden-cost-4d3ed6d963f
Driving your BA Career - From Business Analyst to Business ArchitectEnterprise Architects
IIBA endorsed Webinar presented by Craig Martin, Chief Architect at Enterprise Architects. Participants of this Webinar are eligible for 1 Continuing Development Unit (CDU) to go towards re-certification.
These slides will touch on areas such as; shifts occurring in the market, where the Business Architect and the Business Analyst provide value, how are the disciplines are merging and what the future could look like.
How to Bring Suppliers to the Ariba NetworkSAP Ariba
Every great transformation starts with the end in mind. Enabling suppliers on the Ariba Network is no different. Join this session and learn from the experts as they share how they have successfully enabled suppliers and achieved great results in getting their spend and documents digitized on the Ariba Network. You'll hear the perspective of suppliers, buyers, and the SAP Ariba team – starting with the up-front business case and diving into the details of the actual enablement. You will also learn about exciting new Ariba Network developments that support SAP Ariba’s vision to help buyers and suppliers simplify commerce with a single platform, including a new, free supplier enablement option and improved supplier packaging and pricing.
AIOps is becoming imperative to the management of today’s complex IT systems and their ability to support changing business conditions. This slide explains the role that AIOps can and will play in the enterprise of the future, how the scope of AIOps platforms will expand, and what new functionality may be deployed.
Watch the webinar here. https://www.moogsoft.com/resources/aiops/webinar/aiops-the-next-five-years
Private Equity Value Creation Carve Outs, Divestitures and mergersTom Laszewski
Who to utilize AWS 'cloud in a box' offerings (AWS Quick Starts and solutions) to rapid deploy and configure an AWS foundational solution. The session covers landing zones, security, database, identity and access management, remote workers, and cloud operations.
Check out the differences between IoT, IIoT & Industry 4.0. Looking to increase your revenue by leveraging IoT or Industry 4.0, click here - https://smacar.com/
To know more about the differences between IoT, IIoT and Industry 4.0, click here - https://smacar.com/iot-iiot-industry-4-0/
AIOps: Anomalous Span Detection in Distributed Traces Using Deep LearningJorge Cardoso
The field of AIOps, also known as Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations, uses algorithms and machine learning to dramatically improve the monitoring, operation, and maintenance of distributed systems. Its main premise is that operations can be automated using monitoring data to reduce the workload of operators (e.g., SREs or production engineers). Our current research explores how AIOps – and many related fields such as deep learning, machine learning, distributed traces, graph analysis, time-series analysis, sequence analysis, and log analysis – can be explored to effectively detect, localize, and remediate failures in large-scale cloud infrastructures (>50 regions and AZs). In particular, this lecture will describe how a particular monitoring data structure, called distributed trace, can be analyzed using deep learning to identify anomalies in its spans. This capability empowers operators to quickly identify which components of a distributed system are faulty.
Achieving an Awesome Buying Experience: Lessons Learned in Catalog and Market...SAP Ariba
To deliver an awesome buying experience for your casual and functional buyers, a holistic content strategy is necessary. In this session we share the best practices for contracted and spot buy marketplace content management, which is at the heart of delivering great user experience. Attendees can expect to take back practical, actionable strategies to implement in their businesses.
Impact industry 4.0 on the (SAP) intelligent enterpriseFrank Luyckx
What is the impact of Industry 4.0, Digital twin and Servitization on the (SAP) intelligent enterprise ? What is the impact of industry 4.0 on the business models ?
The decision and process behind rewriting or re-architecting a system is often plagued with a series of problems: people always underestimate the complexity, people never fully understand the customers, system requirements constantly change out from under them, and, in almost all cases, it takes much longer than anybody can predict. As part of this workshop, we’ll look at a couple of case studies of re-architecture to gleam strategies of success from them as well as common pitfalls to avoid. This workshop should arm you with a framework by which to approach your own decisions around how to manage, maintain, and evolve your own systems:
* understanding the underlying motivations;
* developing a method for deciding whether to evolve or to rewrite;
* managing the engineering effort of re-architecture in the midst of a changing business;
* setting up metrics to understand whether you’re on course; and
* organizing the engineering team and the culture to ensure success
How_to_build_your_cloud_enablement_engine_with_the_people_you_already_haveAmazon Web Services
One of the biggest misconceptions we hear from IT leaders is the belief that not having the right people on staff stops you from moving faster, saving money, and expanding your business on the cloud. You already have the people you need to succeed in the cloud, and these highly skilled, experience and dedicated employees have the ability to learn AWS cloud skills and become certified experts. Transforming your talent has a profound impact on workforce productivity and satisfaction, and in this session we will walk through best practices and AWS capabilities to help you along the way.
Hidden cost of Cloud Agnosticism and reasons to avoid this approach revealed. Discussion about alternative ways to avoid vendor lock-in and success stories
For more details or questions please refer to this blog post: https://jelizaveta-malinina.medium.com/cloud-agnosticism-and-its-hidden-cost-4d3ed6d963f
Driving your BA Career - From Business Analyst to Business ArchitectEnterprise Architects
IIBA endorsed Webinar presented by Craig Martin, Chief Architect at Enterprise Architects. Participants of this Webinar are eligible for 1 Continuing Development Unit (CDU) to go towards re-certification.
These slides will touch on areas such as; shifts occurring in the market, where the Business Architect and the Business Analyst provide value, how are the disciplines are merging and what the future could look like.
Etude PwC et Strategy& sur l'Industrie 4.0 (mars 2015)PwC France
http://bit.ly/PwC-Industrie40
Selon l’étude « Industry 4.0 » réalisée par PwC et Strategy&, quatre entreprises interrogées sur cinq auront numérisé leur chaîne de valeur d'ici 2020. L’Industrie 4.0, communément appelée l’« Internet des objets », devrait en effet être la cible des investissements des entreprises européennes au cours des cinq prochaines années. L’industrie européenne prévoit d’investir 140 milliards d’euros par an d’ici 2020, pour un gain total de chiffre d’affaires estimé à 110 milliards d’euros annuels.
Méthodologie
PwC et Stratégy& ont conduit conjointement cette étude avec le soutien de Siemens, l’association d’ingénieurs VDMA et le média Produktion. Ont été interrogées 235 entreprises allemandes, issues de 5 secteurs industriels : technologies de l’information et de la communication, télécommunications, mécanique, automobile, électronique et industries manufacturières (chimie, pétrochimie, pharmacie, alimentaire, sucre, papier, verre, acier et ciment).
The School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg chooses TOPP TI to bring Lean innovation to it’s canton-wide Industry 4.0 digital transformation program.
In this case study we recall 2-years of workshops, brainstorming and multinational/multicultural collaboration to leverage complementary skill sets and synergies among our dynamic group of collaborators to bring solutions to many of the challenges small and mid-size manufacturers face as topics such as digital transformation and industry 4.0 become more and more relavant to business survival.
Industry 4.0: from Factory to Smactory
It is August the 18th of 2014 when a German government official press ‘post’ on an update called: "Zukunftsprojekt Industrie 4.0”, not knowing that this Industry number will complete transform the way we traditionally did business. Where business transformation in prior times mostly affected individual entities of businesses, this transformation affects the whole business eco-system. The announcement, posted on the “Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung ” or, in English, the:”Federal ministry of education and Research” quoted the following key message:
“The future project Industry 4.0 aims to enable the German industry in a position to be ready for the future of production. Industrial production will be characterized by strong personalization of products under the conditions of high flexibilised (high-volume) production, the extensive integration of customers and business partners in business and value creation processes and the coupling of production and quality services.”
Industry 4.0, where disruption meets the manufacturing industry
According the Cambridge Online Dictionary is revolution something that is: ‘a very important change in the way that people do things’ or ‘one complete circular movement of something’. That Industry 4.0 is a industrial revolution is an understatement. Industry 4.0 is a big disruption in the economy & the way we (will) do business in the future. Before deep dive directly into Industry 4.0 let us have a closer look to the road towards it...
Industry 4.0 Quality 4.0 and New Product DevelopmentSergio Salimbeni
Industry 4.0 is the integration and interaction of technologies regarding physical and digital domains. Many manufacturing companies are in search of the best adaptation of their facilities, so that they can position themselves better in face of these new challenges. Industry 4.0 has already got its framework, “Reference Architectural Model for Industrie 4.0” or RAMI 4.0. Product lifecycle management enables companies to provide additional values to customers to gain competitive advantage. Smart products can gather information about production cycles, quality requirements, waste production from their sensors and actuators.
Industry 4.0 – lessons from large and small firmsShaun West
Key note presented at the Konferenz Perspektiven mit Industrie 4.0 ZHAW, Winterthur, 6 September 2017.
The paper described real examples of digital solutions from large and small firms. It closes with the Data-to-Action model that has been developed by Shaun West, Petra Müeller-Csernetzky and Mario Rapaccini.
A chamada Indústria 4.0 é uma das fronteiras da mudança tecnológica no mundo. A Alemanha é um dos países mais dinâmicos nesse processo. A própria expressão "Indústria 4.0" foi cunhada naquele país, onde ela representa, mais do que palavras, uma estratégia nacional. Para abordar os desafios que a Indústria 4.0 coloca para a Alemanha e também para o Brasil, a Fundação FHC recebe o chefe global de tecnologia e inovação da Siemens, Norbert Luetke-Entrup.
NORBERT LÜTKE-ENTRUP
Mestre e PhD em Física pela Universidade de Bonn (Alemanha) e pela Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris), é chefe do Departamento de Tecnologia Corporativa e Gestão da Inovação do Grupo Siemens. Atuou como consultor, líder de projeto e vice-presidente na sede da Siemens Management Consulting (SMC) em Munique, entre 2000 a 2008, e como vice-presidente administrativo do escritório da empresa em Pequim (China).
ACTUALIDAD DE LA INDUSTRIA 4.0 - START-UP NATION CENTRAL: FINDER INSIGHTS SERIES
ISRAEL’S INDUSTRY 4.0 SECTOR IN 2018
Si estás interesado en la Industria 4.0 y especialmente en la Robótica, compartimos con vos información de primer nivel publicada por Start-Up Nation Central :
Start-Up Nation Central is pleased to present its annual industry 4.0 sector report, Start-Up Nation Central Finder Insights Series: Israel’s Industry 4.0 Sector in 2018, which offers a comprehensive overview and analysis of the state of the Israeli high-tech innovation ecosystem in 2018.
The Finder Insights Series provides an overview of the Industry 4.0 ecosystem in Israel, its history, and global context, highlighting financial trends (investments, M&As, IPOs) and details of the various players that constitute the sector (companies, MNCs and hubs).
Learn more about:
How the global market for Industry 4.0 solutions are expected to grow annually by 20% for the next five years.
The crucial role that technology plays in the adoption of Industry 4.0 solutions.
How the Israel Industry 4.0 sector is third in the world in attracting VC funding.
Click here to download your copy of the Start-Up Nation Central Finder Insights Series: Israel’s Industry 4.0 Sector in 2018.
Industry 4.0 - with private equity into a new eraBVK
The fourth industrial revolution is in full swing, innovative business models are
emerging.Private equity firms make excellent partners for turning these opportunities into business ideas
with viable future prospects. In this brochure you will find some examples of successful private equity funded comapnies.
GraphRAG is All You need? LLM & Knowledge GraphGuy Korland
Guy Korland, CEO and Co-founder of FalkorDB, will review two articles on the integration of language models with knowledge graphs.
1. Unifying Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs: A Roadmap.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302
2. Microsoft Research's GraphRAG paper and a review paper on various uses of knowledge graphs:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/graphrag-unlocking-llm-discovery-on-narrative-private-data/
Software Delivery At the Speed of AI: Inflectra Invests In AI-Powered QualityInflectra
In this insightful webinar, Inflectra explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming software development and testing. Discover how AI-powered tools are revolutionizing every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), from design and prototyping to testing, deployment, and monitoring.
Learn about:
• The Future of Testing: How AI is shifting testing towards verification, analysis, and higher-level skills, while reducing repetitive tasks.
• Test Automation: How AI-powered test case generation, optimization, and self-healing tests are making testing more efficient and effective.
• Visual Testing: Explore the emerging capabilities of AI in visual testing and how it's set to revolutionize UI verification.
• Inflectra's AI Solutions: See demonstrations of Inflectra's cutting-edge AI tools like the ChatGPT plugin and Azure Open AI platform, designed to streamline your testing process.
Whether you're a developer, tester, or QA professional, this webinar will give you valuable insights into how AI is shaping the future of software delivery.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using Deplo...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
Essentials of Automations: Optimizing FME Workflows with ParametersSafe Software
Are you looking to streamline your workflows and boost your projects’ efficiency? Do you find yourself searching for ways to add flexibility and control over your FME workflows? If so, you’re in the right place.
Join us for an insightful dive into the world of FME parameters, a critical element in optimizing workflow efficiency. This webinar marks the beginning of our three-part “Essentials of Automation” series. This first webinar is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to utilize parameters effectively: enhancing the flexibility, maintainability, and user control of your FME projects.
Here’s what you’ll gain:
- Essentials of FME Parameters: Understand the pivotal role of parameters, including Reader/Writer, Transformer, User, and FME Flow categories. Discover how they are the key to unlocking automation and optimization within your workflows.
- Practical Applications in FME Form: Delve into key user parameter types including choice, connections, and file URLs. Allow users to control how a workflow runs, making your workflows more reusable. Learn to import values and deliver the best user experience for your workflows while enhancing accuracy.
- Optimization Strategies in FME Flow: Explore the creation and strategic deployment of parameters in FME Flow, including the use of deployment and geometry parameters, to maximize workflow efficiency.
- Pro Tips for Success: Gain insights on parameterizing connections and leveraging new features like Conditional Visibility for clarity and simplicity.
We’ll wrap up with a glimpse into future webinars, followed by a Q&A session to address your specific questions surrounding this topic.
Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your FME expertise and drive your projects to new heights of efficiency.
Neuro-symbolic is not enough, we need neuro-*semantic*Frank van Harmelen
Neuro-symbolic (NeSy) AI is on the rise. However, simply machine learning on just any symbolic structure is not sufficient to really harvest the gains of NeSy. These will only be gained when the symbolic structures have an actual semantics. I give an operational definition of semantics as “predictable inference”.
All of this illustrated with link prediction over knowledge graphs, but the argument is general.
Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey 2024 by 91mobiles.pdf91mobiles
91mobiles recently conducted a Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey in which we asked over 3,000 respondents about the TV they own, aspects they look at on a new TV, and their TV buying preferences.
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
Dev Dives: Train smarter, not harder – active learning and UiPath LLMs for do...UiPathCommunity
💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
Get an exclusive demo of the new family of UiPath LLMs – GenAI models specialized for processing different types of documents and messages
This is a hands-on session specifically designed for automation developers and AI enthusiasts seeking to enhance their knowledge in leveraging the latest intelligent document processing capabilities offered by UiPath.
Speakers:
👨🏫 Andras Palfi, Senior Product Manager, UiPath
👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
To Graph or Not to Graph Knowledge Graph Architectures and LLMs
Digitalization in the Manufacturing Industry - Germany
1. This report was written by the IESE Industry 4.0 ICP Team for the IESE In-Company-Project program.
April 2021.
DIGITALIZATION IN THE
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
A snapshot of the digitalization of the German Manufacturing Industry, seen through the
lens of 2021.
28 April 2021
Prepared by:
Manuel Achúcarro
Adrian Betz
Alberto Carro Melero
Natasha Müller
Alexander Nothhelfer
Gabriel Paredes
2. IESE ICP – Industry 4.0 and Digitalization Research
2 IESE Business School-University of Navarra
Acknowledgements
This project would not have been possible without the time and insights shared by Industry 4.0
leaders from the following companies: BSH Hausgeräte GmbH, GKN Powder Metallurgy, Grohe
AG, Henkel, Henke-Sass Wolf GmbH, Merck Healthcare KGaA, MTU Aeroengines AG, Porsche AG,
Schaeffler Automotive Buehl GmbH & Co. KG, Schenck Process GmbH, SEAT, TQ-Group GmbH,
Wittenstein SE. We would like to thank these companies not only for their time but also for their
willingness to share their knowledge to further our learning experience as EMBA students.
We would also like to thank Storm Reply for their partnership in this project, and in particular the
contributions of Michael Göbel and Stefano Longo. Last but not least, we thank our mentor, Javier
Ortiz-Olave, for his support and honesty throughout this journey.
3. IESE ICP – Industry 4.0 and Digitalization Research
3
IESE Business School-University of Navarra
Contents
Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................................2
Contents ..........................................................................................................................................3
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................4
Introduction.....................................................................................................................................5
Company selection..........................................................................................................................6
Interview methodology...................................................................................................................7
Results ...........................................................................................................................................10
Strategic Drivers........................................................................................................................10
Application Levels......................................................................................................................11
Data processing in production ..............................................................................................11
M2M communication............................................................................................................12
Company-wide networking with the production..................................................................14
ICT infrastructure in production............................................................................................15
Man-machine interfaces .......................................................................................................17
Efficiency with small batches ................................................................................................19
Strategic Drivers and Effects Consistency Index .......................................................................20
Discussion and Recommendations ...............................................................................................22
Strategic Consistency ................................................................................................................22
Cost Efficiency .......................................................................................................................22
New Business Models and Value Added for Society.............................................................22
Organizational Challenges.........................................................................................................23
Technology and Standardization...............................................................................................24
Conclusions....................................................................................................................................25
References.....................................................................................................................................26
4. IESE ICP – Industry 4.0 and Digitalization Research
4 IESE Business School-University of Navarra
Executive Summary
Industry 4.0 has transformed and continues to shape the manufacturing industry. Existing players
are seeing end-to-end processes change, new opportunities arise, as well as new challenges.
The goal of this project was to analyze the status quo and mid-term outlook of the German
manufacturing industry in terms of its digital transformation and in particular Industry 4.0
adoption, within the framework of the VDMA Industry 4.0 production toolbox. Given the amount
of literature already in circulation on this topic, it was a top priority for the project team to speak
directly with digitalization experts from the manufacturing industry to gain first-hand insights
into the strategic drivers, challenges, and enablers of moving forward Industry 4.0. initiatives –
thus allowing for both a qualitive and quantitative review.
Importantly, this project identifies the main strategic drivers behind adoption of Industry 4.0
initiatives. On a strategic level, fixed and variable cost efficiency was by far the most mentioned
strategic driver behind digitalization projects (92% of interviewees mentioned this in their top
three drivers), followed by customer service and lead time improvements.
While each organization has its own unique path on the adoption of Industry 4.0. initiatives, this
report recognises several recurring themes. These include the value of new technology, the
complexity of the IT landscape, the importance of standardization, and the challenges presented
by legacy systems. An additional recurring theme centred around people and organizational
strategy, such as cross-company collaboration, lack of skills both within the company and in the
wider market, and resistance to change projects.
It should be noted that the sample size of 13 companies is relatively small and so this project
would not claim to be a comprehensive study of Industry 4.0. However, great consideration was
given to the types of companies that were approached for an interview, and therefore, the
authors hope that this project can give an insightful snapshot into the topic for digitalization
enthusiasts, as well as provide a valuable basis for interviewed companies to benchmark
themselves and to gain new ideas for how to tackle digitalization within their own organizations
and ecosystems.
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Introduction
The fourth industrial revolution or “Industry 4.0” is changing the paradigm of the manufacturing
industry. From demand to the factories and the delivery of manufactured items, concepts such
as internet of things (IoT), mass customization, Cloud Computing, Machine Learning or
Cybersecurity, among many others, are not just transforming the idea of a traditional factory but
also allowing new players to disrupt the competitive advantages that traditional manufacturing
companies had built over decades.
Within the framework of the IESE Executive MBA In-Company Project (ICP), a team of six students
interviewed 13 manufacturers with the objective of providing a benchmark of the status of the
German manufacturing industry. The assessment is inspired by the VDMA Industry 4.0
production toolbox1. Interviewees were selected based on a target profile criteria list.
As well as identifying the status quo, this project also identifies the main strategic drivers behind
adoption the Industry 4.0 initiatives, and more specifically, behind each of the six different
applications levels provided by the VDMA toolbox. The methodology developed for the
interviews allows an assessment of the consistency between the strategic drivers for the
implementation of Industry 4.0 measures, and the impact of the measures taken in the different
application levels from each of the companies.
1 The VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau) production toolbox provides a framework to analyze different
application levels of the Industry 4.0.
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Company selection
As an early step in the project, the team devised a target profile of the kind of companies that it
wanted to interview within the ICP context. These would be innovative companies in the German
manufacturing landscape, already adopting Industry 4.0, or with a huge potential to do so in
terms of value creation or market disruption.
The target companies come from different industries and vary in both employee and revenue
dimensions to reflect a representative cross-section of the German manufacturing landscape.
Selection Criteria:
Each candidate had to meet at least two of the following criteria:
1. World Class Player: Has presence with large customers and productions plants in more
than two continents
2. Innovation-driven culture and vision: Has a strong corporate culture for innovation and is
considered a lighthouse in its field
3. Already adopting I4.0: Already has factories in production phase which make use of I4.0
applications
4. Close-to-consumer production: Has a strategic position to place its production sites near
their demand sources
5. High budget: More than 1 Billion Euros available to be invested in development
6. Huge potential for economic growth through digitalization: Its industry or the company
itself has been mentioned in recent years in reports from major consulting companies
(e.g., McKinsey, PWC, BCG, Accenture, EY) as having high potential for business growth
through digitalization in the coming years
7. Market disruption: Its core business is remarkably different from that of other well-
established companies in the same industry and represents a threat to them
8. Marker of future industry trends: It is a clear lighthouse of digitalization inside its own
industry, or its products and services are used to foster transformation in other industries
9. Strong position in value chain: Its suppliers and customers are much smaller in size and
have little power to shape their business relationship
10. Region representative: Through its culture, values, and economic trends, it is considered
a national or regional flagship whose evolution is closely tied to that of its region of origin
or operation.
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Interview methodology
Each interview was structured in two distinct parts. First the interviewee was asked to identify
the main strategic drivers for the implementation of Industry 4.0-related initiatives. In the second
part, the interviewee was asked to position itself in its current stage in each of the six application
levels and in its targeted stage in the medium term (i.e., in the next two to four years).
The second part of the interview facilitates a discussion around what the main technological
enablers and barriers are that will allow (or hinder) the company to reach the medium-term
targeted stages. The interviewees were then asked to map the anticipated stages to strategic
drivers or impacts they want to achieve.
First part
The team identified a set of seven strategic drivers that define a spectrum in which any industrial
production company can position itself to acquire a competitive advantage. The first question of
the interview seeks a general view of which main drivers are behind the implementation of
Industry 4.0 measures for the company. The detail of the impact of each of the specific measures
is addressed in the second part of the interview for each of the application levels.
Strategic Drivers
1. Time to market
2. Output quality
3. Fixed costs efficiency
4. Variable costs efficiency
5. Customer service
6. Added value for society
7. New business models
Performing well in all these dimensions is almost impossible. For example, a fast time to market
may be achieved with factories closer to the demand, where there are higher salaries, so the
fixed costs efficiency is reduced. Therefore, companies decide whether to prioritize certain
drivers and so create a competitive advantage. But technological breakthroughs allow for
improvements in some or all areas without having to imply a detriment in the performance of
the others. This could be the case of fully automated factories which may have the same fixed
costs to operate regardless of where they are located.
In order to achieve a sustainable and meaningful technological development of the industry, any
technological advance or project must ultimately support improvements in one or more of these
strategic drivers. The answers provided in this first part allowed the IESE team to analyze the
consistency between the overall Industry 4.0 strategic drivers and the impact of the initiatives
taken in each of the application levels.
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Second part
The second part of the interview focused on each of the six application levels defined by the
VDMA in the “Toolbox Industry 4.0” for production. The objective was to gather quantitative
information regarding the current position (or stage) for each of the application levels and where
they would like to evolve in the short term (two to four years).
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From a more qualitative perspective, in each of the application levels all the companies were
asked about the main technological enablers that would allow them to reach their milestones
and the blockers and barriers that they anticipate they will have to overcome.
Questions included for each of the application levels
The questions in each application level followed the same structure:
In which stage are you currently in?
Where do you see yourself in this toolbox in the coming two to four years?
o What reasons are there for this? What are the strategic drivers?
o Are there any blockers?
o What would you say are going to be the key technological enablers?
Additionally, based on the answers provided, the interviewee was questioned about the
expected impact of the Industry 4.0 measures implemented on their strategic drivers.
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Results
Strategic Drivers
Note: Percentages throughout this report are given with respect to total number of companies
participating in the interview.
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Application Levels
Data processing in production
Application Level description: The processing of data for various applications is a key issue for
Industry 4.0 applications in production. Data processing in production can be used for simple
documentation as well as for objectives aiming at process monitoring, autonomous process
planning and control.
Results:
In their current stage, most of the participants already gather data related to their production
processes and use it to evaluate performance and KPIs. This is generally possible due to ERP
systems like SAP which have been implemented already. But it seems that, for the majority, this
data is not being used to its full potential to drive decisions and planning. Out of the 13
participants, 11 will make efforts to improve their data utilisation, while the other two believe
that they have reached their optimum. It is also interesting that only one participant in the study
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aims to implement a fully automated production planning while nine decided that their goal is to
fully automate only certain processes.
The biggest blocker according to more than half of the participants is to have people in all
positions who understand the value and potential of the data gathered. Having data available is
not enough. You need people with practical know-how in the production processes, but who
also are familiar with some data and IT concepts to identify its potential use cases. It is a
challenge to find these people, as this requires extensive experience in the industry and a set of
skills that were not typical for their positions in the past.
Most of the interviewed managers consider that this data-driven optimization of the planning
process will reduce costs and increase quality as the main strategic impact. This is achieved
through a more efficient use of energy and maximizing the throughput by reducing scrap and
defects.
M2M communication
Application Level description: Interfaces for automated data exchange between machines form
the basis for numerous Industry 4.0 applications. Field bus interfaces as well as industrial
ethernet and web interfaces are applied in the industrial environment. Web interfaces and
applications with autonomous information exchange (web services) offer the advantage of a
possible separation of information and location.
Results:
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In the current stage for this application level, significant differences among the participants were
found. Those with higher production volumes see great potential in organizing their production
in a service architecture to enable interoperability and remote operations. While those with
lower levels of produced units do not see much advantage in going further than connecting those
machines strictly necessary through an internal network.
Two participants already have their production services available on the internet but properly
secured, so they are accessible by their tools and people anywhere. In these production lines,
clusters of machines communicate with the ones before and after them in the process to allow
them to prepare for the operations they are about to start or to ask for more materials in order
not to stop. This allows more flexibility in the execution of their production schedules.
One interviewee is even aiming to implement a theoretical stage 6, which is coordinating their
lines with human-friendly autonomous robots (cobots) for, among other things, coordinating
moving parts and finished goods around the factory and the warehouse without the need to
follow a fixed plan.
Some differences were also found among participants when identifying their blockers. For
participants with smaller production volumes, the high cost of replacing their legacy machines
and their long active life isn’t that attractive. They can afford production gaps but replacing their
machines while still in perfect working order doesn’t make sense in economic terms.
Three of the participants don’t plan to make any changes in this respect and they are satisfied
using industrial ethernet connectivity allowing data transfer among machines and with a central
planning system.
For the other participants with higher production volumes for whom small efficiency
improvements represent large returns, the main blockers come from the lack of widespread
standards and as well the high cost and difficulty of replacement or upgrade of their legacy
machines.
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For all participants cost reduction is the main strategic impact for making improvements as
interconnectivity still improves proper process coordination and a more efficient use of resources
and energy.
Company-wide networking with the production
Application Level description: An improvement of the networking between the production and
other company levels opens up synergies and avoids duplication of work. The networking
between production and other departments facilitates unified IT solutions, standardized
workflows or consistently used file formats from which the entire company benefits.
Results:
In the current stage of this level, 10 of the 13 participants plan to implement improvements. It
seems that achieving efficient communication through digital means is a relevant goal. Most of
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the participants see the value of having a fully networked digital backbone to integrate
production with the rest of the company’s business units.
As enablers, a good ERP system is not enough. It must be well integrated not only with the
databases and digital information sources, and in addition a system must be put in place to
capture physical data and non-digitalized documents. The presence of physical data sources like
production orders or defect reports on paper is an issue because this data is costly to digitalize
and often does not make it into the system in a usable way. Thus, it is only kept for audit purposes
even when it contains highly valuable information for applications like predictive quality and
predictive maintenance. This seems to be caused by the inconvenience of the usage of digital
devices on the shopfloor or poor user experience designs for the operators. New data
digitalization devices and technologies will help here. In general, the appearance of widespread
standards will improve ERP integrations across all possible data sources and make it cheaper to
implement data consistency.
The objective to unify and simplify IT systems which have grown using different document
formats and technologies, poses a big challenge. The most mentioned blocker by far is to achieve
the necessary organizational alignment to agree on unifying standards, formats, formal
processes, IT systems and roles. It seems that data has grown supporting silos of know-how and
internal power that when touching them unleash internal political discussions.
Again, here the main strategic impact achieved through integration of the data of the production
with other parts of the organization such as controlling, marketing or R&D is to reduce costs. But
this is because it enables faster communication and processes. This saves time on carrying
production projects forward which results in lower costs, reduces the lead time of orders or new
products, and improves the customer service levels, as well.
ICT infrastructure in production
Application Level description: The infrastructure of information and telecommunication
technologies in production determines the possibilities of implementing innovative applications
and potential improvements for technical and organizational processes. In addition to the use of
central data servers, web-based communication portals may be used.
Automated processes for exchanging data with external partners within the value chain or rather
value network represent further steps towards an Industry 4.0 vision.
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Results:
In the current stage, most participants see themselves moving clearly towards a more advanced
position than today, reflecting the fact that improving their ICT infrastructure is high on many
companies’ agenda. Today’s picture offers a broad spectrum of different implementation states,
but most companies are already working on pilot solutions.
Larger companies with a big number of different suppliers see the biggest blockers in the missing
standardization resulting in a plurality of IT landscapes, including incompatible cloud solutions
and data inconsistency. Moving to cloud solutions is for some of their suppliers considered to be
too expensive compared to the value that is created for them (ROI).
Overall, and in particular for smaller and medium sized companies, the number one blocker is
trust and security concerns of their management, employees and other stakeholders, asking for
awareness campaigns and a change of mindset (69%). Sharing data is associated with losing
reputation or strategic advantage rather than creating value. Limited resources within the IT
department, mostly due to other higher priorities in the companies, was another recurring
blocker mentioned throughout the interviews.
The number one enabler, mainly for large companies, is to tackle the standardization issue by
providing information, consultancy, and technology to their supplier network (54%).
Smaller companies see the main potential for improvement in the skillset of their workforce with
the clear goal of understanding and overcoming technical complexities as well as trust barriers.
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Some of the companies are looking for external parties to solve the internal problems through
cooperation with research facilities or other service providers.
Multiple strategic impacts were mentioned, with cost efficiencies being highlighted the most by
69% of the companies, throughout all segments. Cost efficiencies are mainly seen by better stock
management, but also more accurate and faster demand forecasts. Forecasting the customer
demand better was also seen as the main reason behind improvements in time to market, which
54% of the companies mentioned. Customer service was named by 54% of companies enabled
by improved flexibility with order modifications late in the production as the main driver.
Man-machine interfaces
Application Level description: Considering the increasing complexity of production systems,
human-machine interfaces move into focus. In industrial reality, the starting point is often
represented by local display units that do not have user-friendly operating concepts. New
operating concepts such as mobile tablets or data glasses that conveniently provide the right
information at the right place are potentially promising for simplifying the work of employees
and for increasing production efficiency.
Results:
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The current level of implementation of man-machine interfaces is very much concentrated on
centralized / decentralized production monitoring and control. Mobile devices for relevant
workers (stage 4 from the application level) or production enhanced by augmented reality
technology (stage 5 from the application level) is rarely seen. But many companies are
experimenting with pilot projects to move in that direction that most companies have identified
as goal for the near future.
What is blocking the companies today? Many companies (46%) have identified the mindset of
their workforce with a reluctance to change and / or fear of being monitored as number one
criteria. In other cases, it was mentioned that devices are not used properly, as the workforce
was not skilled enough to deal with the technology at hand. Another blocker (31%) is the process
landscape that has not been developed yet and lags behind the fast improvements in
technological equipment. For augmented and assisted reality, the main reason was cost of
equipment, but also ergonomic problems due to bulky size and weight when wearing over an
extended period. Augmented and assisted reality was also considered a niche application, with
relevance for some specific steps in the production, e. g. assembly of complex components only.
People are the main factor preventing a higher current level. This is also reflected in the fact that
no interviewee named any technology that they would miss to move forward today. Enablers are
therefore primarily found on the human side, mainly with breaking barriers due to convenience
and ergonomic improvements. Both could contribute to an increased adoption by the workforce.
Lowering the cost of the equipment to improve the ROI was named by 15% of the companies.
By far the biggest strategic impact is seen on cost reduction (85%) by an increase in productivity
and reduction of scrap, followed by improved output qualities and added value for society,
mainly coming from improved ergonomics and working conditions.
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Efficiency with small batches
Application Level description: The trend towards individually produced goods and continuously
smaller batches leads to a rising complexity of production processes. Reaching higher efficiency
with small lot sizes is thus becoming a decisive competitive factor. In this regard, a modular
structure of the respective products or the use of flexible production facilities with the
appropriate coordination in the respective value chain can open up new opportunities.
Results:
The current and target levels are both scattered when it comes to efficiency with small batches.
This variability is strongly motivated by the industry, product, or position in the value chain.
Producers of more complex components with direct end-customers are amongst the most
advanced, today, and in the future.
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High cost for a more flexible production process and facility, outnumbers the advantages in many
cases. The required automated tool chain is sometimes blocked by different states of the IT
system within one or more production sites. Legacy machinery and systems that are not meeting
the needed flexibility has been named by 15% of participants. The benefits (ROI) of replacing the
machinery are not seen by many companies.
Enablers are widely spread, and no single one has been mentioned by more than one company.
On the technology side additive manufacturing, and more flexible machinery and production
lines was mentioned. Adding AI-enabled forecasting with automatic configuration of the
machinery is adding value for another participant.
With respect to strategic impacts, most participants are targeting an improvement in time to
market (62%), cost efficiencies (46%) and customer service (31%). Cost reductions are mainly
driven by synergies through common platforms.
Strategic Drivers and Effects Consistency Index
This section evaluates the consistency between the overall Industry 4.0 strategic drivers and the
expected impact of reaching the targeted stage in each of the application levels in the short term
(two to four years). The graphs present the information provided during the interviews
aggregated and normalized so that they can be compared in the same order of magnitude.
The results show that cost efficiencies are among the main strategic drivers of the Industry 4.0.
However, the expected impact of reaching the targeted stage in each of the application levels
will generate mostly cost efficiencies while strategic goals such as developing new business
models or adding value to society might not be achieved based on the current expectations.
A detailed analysis at the application-level shows that the impact expected from the measures
implemented in M2M communication and Man-Machine interfaces are mostly oriented towards
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
Time to market
Output quality
Fixed costs efficiency
Variable costs efficiency
Customer service
Added value for society
New business models
Strategic Driver Expected Impact
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cost efficiencies. While in the case of the measures implemented in ICT Infrastructure and
efficiency in small batches, the expected strategic impact is related to customer service and time
to market improvements.
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
Time to market
Output quality
Fixed costs efficiency
Variable costs efficiency
Customer service
Added value for society
New business models
Data processing in production M2M Communication
Company-wide networking with the production ICT infrastructure in production
Man-machine interfaces Efficiency with small batches
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Discussion and Recommendations
Following the results of the research, the team has identified three pillars for discussion. First,
the strategies adopted by the interviewed companies when assessing or moving towards Industry
4.0 reflect, in some cases, an inconsistency between the company-level drivers and the impact
foreseen when progressing through the stages of the given application levels. Second, the main
blocker now faced by companies involves people and internal organizational capabilities and
alignment. Finally, from a technological perspective, the current limitations for the adoption of
I4.0 lie in the lack of standardization and need of an aggregated ICT ecosystem.
Strategic Consistency
Cost Efficiency
The strategic driver that most of the companies named was Cost Efficiency. One reason for this
could be that companies are trying to better design their production cost structure in order to
compete in a market in which time-to-market and customer service are also important trends.
As shown in the results, Cost Efficiency is not limited to the overall company-wide strategy when
thinking about Industry 4.0, but it is also the starting point from which companies seek an impact
when moving ahead on most of the application levels of the VDMA toolbox.
An example of this is that of the Machine-to-Machine Communication application level in which
fixed costs efficiency was identified to be the main driver when moving towards Industry 4.0.
Considering depreciation schemas, years of operation and the investment necessary to fully
deploy modern machinery, it is expected that improving machine communication will not only
allow modernization of existing, still functioning legacy systems, but will also allow, in the
process, the definition of standards which are not present now and that represent also the main
blocker for the manufacturing industry to move towards Industry 4.0. To overcome the
widespread blocker of legacy machines new Industrial IoT out of the box solutions for upgrading
legacy machines were mentioned as a game changer.
Production monitoring and control with the aim of increasing cost efficiencies and scrap
reduction are among the main drivers or strategic impacts companies look for when moving
along the Man-Machine Interfaces application level. While some are certainly already adopting
technology at its maximum levels, the majority find it not to be ready yet. Use cases are very
limited and, as for the ICT Infrastructure in Production application level, there is no business case
to back investments.
New Business Models and Value Added for Society
On the other hand, only a few companies have found themselves pursuing implementation
strategies in which the development of new business models or adding value for society is the
main driver when considering, adopting, or consolidating their Industry 4.0 implementation.
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This is expected considering the changes to be applied within and outside the organization
(including important stakeholders as suppliers) in order to get most of the value from data
generation and density across the entire manufacturing value chain, including the necessary
people capabilities and know-how, their mindset, and the availability of an IT infrastructure able
to collect, consolidate, process, and share data in a timely, secure and efficient manner such as
cloud computing, cybersecurity and machine learning / AI.
Additionally, the Strategic Drivers and Effects Consistency Index shows that the new business
models and value added for society strategic goals are less likely to be reached, while in the case
of cost efficiencies, results might be over-emphasized. This result reflects the struggle finance
departments have during the evaluation and final approval of new Industry 4.0 business cases.
Considering the changes in mindset and organizational alignment necessary to adopt new
business models and implement innovation, this result is no surprise.
Organizational Challenges
For the Data Processing application level, the main blocker was related to education of the
workforce in the organization. More than a lack of capacity, building the necessary know-how
and mindset in order to unlock the full potential provided by data seems to be the main issue.
This comes as no surprise considering the pace of technological developments and the fact that
companies and individuals have a hard time keeping up with new trends. People with practical
know-how in the production processes who are at the same time familiar with some data and IT
concepts are hard to find. Therefore, upskilling the workforce on digital topics is required through
dedicated training programs. At the same time, it was recommended to pay attention to the topic
of attraction and retention of digital talent. This was especially a challenge for smaller companies.
While the establishment of a fully digitalized production department in which all functions and
business units communicate with each other, with the aim of making better company-wide
decisions, looks promising on paper, the identification of business cases with attractive ROIs
makes the budget allocation on the Company-wide Networking with Production application level
quite challenging. As most of our interviewees commented, people are used to work with legacy
processes and systems. Training or enabling employees to adopt new processes represents both
an organizational and a financial hurdle considering the value it can provide to the organization.
People seem to be the main barrier when moving forward in the different stages of the Man-
Machine Interfaces application level. The mindset, combined with a reluctance to change are
among the main reasons why companies cannot move forward. This result is perhaps
exacerbated by a certain lack of motivation or incentives. One can imagine what people on the
shop floor think when seeing and experiencing a partial or complete replacement of their jobs,
by technology. Layoffs and the well-known full automation strategies adopted by big
corporations across the globe are also of no help. It is then clear that the main enablers in this
application level are to be applied more on an organizational level rather than leveraging any
particular technology. Awareness of and willingness to embrace innovation should be key in
companies aiming to thrive in this direction. Here the implementation of continuous change
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management programs was recommended by some participants to foster a shift in mindset
across all levels of the organization. Another proposed topic to build trust and commitment
towards the changes inherent in Industry 4.0 was employee empowerment and a more
decentralized decision-making process.
Finally, participating along the value chain and considering a more “inclusive” approach could
also be source of competitive advantage. As for the technological aspects of Industry 4.0, building
an ecosystem of partners and key stakeholders in which the exchange of data and information
takes place smoothly, as well as enabling a harmonized collaboration between the parties, could
unlock the full potential of I4.0. This strategy is seen as positive for some interviewees and as a
way to learn from peers. For others, however, trust and security when sharing information or
internal agendas has been seen a negative aspect.
Technology and Standardization
By adopting a more holistic view of the manufacturing industry value chain, one can immediately
understand that it represents an ecosystem in which all the main stakeholders involved need to
collaborate together towards a common goal: capturing additional value.
It is then interesting to see how large enterprises tend to embrace digitalization and change by
providing training and support to suppliers or other stakeholders which either do not have
internal capabilities, or do not see any value in adopting new technologies or standardizing
mainstream or usual approaches. This goes together with the concept of lean manufacturing in
which establishing closer collaboration with key stakeholders can represent an important source
of competitive advantage, regardless of the sizing of the enterprise.
The main technological enablers of the Efficiency with Small Batches application level were
named as additive manufacturing, robotics, as well as flexible machinery. There is also a
component of data modelling with the use of AI for better production forecasts. While it is easy
to accept this as the pure outcome for this level, one can argue about the priority to attribute to
it. Issues coming from standardization of legacy and still functioning machinery, the alignment of
these new technologies and processes with people’s willingness to change, would be the number
one priority in the organization before allocating budget and efforts in other enablers.
Connecting the dots and aligning with other application levels of the VDMA toolbox, having an
end-to-end IT strategy supporting better demand forecasts and the possibility of applying
changes later in the value chain, is what most enterprises seek as an impact from the ICT
Infrastructure in Production application level. Rather than considering this outcome as a single
result, one could think of it as a more holistic strategy when it comes to Industry 4.0 adoption. It
could be seen as the fundamentals from which the rest of the levels can rely upon when it comes
to the adoption and integration of new technologies through standardization. Having a well-
functioning ICT infrastructure will allow the collection of data, connecting different or remote
machines, allow man-to-machine communication, and, with the help of new technological
advancements (e. g. ML/AI), allow enterprises to achieve their goals in terms of forecasting and
efficiency.
25. IESE ICP – Industry 4.0 and Digitalization Research
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IESE Business School-University of Navarra
Conclusions
Based on the findings of the study the following key conclusions were identified:
Strategic perspective:
• Cost efficiency is clearly the main strategic driver for Industry 4.0 adoption. It is followed
by customer service and lead time. New business models to generate additional revenues
come with a lower priority. This shows that most companies naturally focus first on their
existing business and value chain before leveraging digital capabilities for new business
development.
• The consistency index shows that the expected impact of reaching the targeted stage in
each of the application levels will generate mostly cost efficiencies while strategic goals
such as developing new business models or adding value to society might not be
achieved. In order to achieve these two goals, the decision-making process for investing
in new Industry 4.0 related projects should consider these two goals on top of the
expected financial return of measures related to cost efficiencies.
Operational challenges and solutions:
• Availability of new technologies is not the bottleneck. Technologies are mostly available
and already proven in use cases, even the ones necessary to reach the highest level 5. If
new innovative technologies are not applied, it is quite often due to lack of attractive
business cases - e.g., augmented reality.
• Rather than technologies, people are the real bottleneck that is slowing down industry
4.0. Change management is required to mobilize the entire work force from top
management, middle management all the way to shop floor workers. To upskill the
existing workforce training programs are required together with hiring digital experts to
have role models driving the change. Employee empowerment and a more decentralized
decision-making process are additional enablers.
• Legacy machines are another major blocker for Industry 4.0 adoption. The step to the
next maturity level for many dimensions depends on the replacement of old machines
and systems with new ones that offer connectivity, digital sensors and remote-control
capabilities. Brown field solutions are mostly not seen as sufficient today. Thus, the
introduction of suitable and affordable retrofit solutions to make legacy machines
industry 4.0 ready would be a key enabler to speed up digitalization.
• Utilizing Industry 4.0 to collaborate across companies along the supply chain to exchange
data and integrate processes is another enabler that in some cases is still slowed down
by lack of trust and security concerns. Wider adoption of new technologies as digital
ledger (DLT) or Blockchain could potentially solve these challenges.
• Standardization of the IT landscape, processes and formats together with a strong ICT
infrastructure are additional key enablers for lifting Industry 4.0 to the next level. The
large IT, ERP and cloud companies are constantly increasing their offerings in this regard
still it stays a major challenge for the coming years.
26. IESE ICP – Industry 4.0 and Digitalization Research
26 IESE Business School-University of Navarra
References
For the full VDMA Publication “Guideline Industry 4.0”, which includes the toolbox the team used
as a basis for interview, see:
http://industrie40.vdma.org/en/viewer/-/v2article/render/15540546
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IESE Business School-University of Navarra
Adrian Betz started his professional career as intern in a small manufacturing plant at Bosch, producing parts for the
automotive industry. After working with BMW in product development he joined Siemens Management Consulting
where he worked on strategy, innovation and digitalization projects consulting the top management of Siemens
worldwide. After several line positions within Siemens where he was also driving digitalization initiatives and
incubating digital business models, he led the global product line for generators in the energy business of Siemens
over the last years. Besides being an Executive MBA candidate at IESE Business School, Adrian holds a Master in
Technology Management from Sydney University, a German Diplom in Business and Economics from Ludwig-
Maximilians University Munich and is currently a post-grad student at Technical University of Munich in Computer
and Information Sciences.
Alberto Carro Melero started his professional career on the energy sector, first as an intern in Endesa and afterwards
as consultant in the department of Economics & Regulation at KPMG. After four years, Alberto joined Telefónica as
Strategy and Market Manger. In this new position, he jumped to the technological sector. Initially, Alberto was
managing the impact of the European regulatory framework for the Telefónica Group and currently his main
responsibilities are identifying and managing strategic projects related to the implementation of 5G and IoT
technologies in the roaming arena. Alberto holds a master’s degree in industrial engineering by IQS, in Barcelona,
and a Master Degree in the Electric Power Sector by ICAI, in Madrid. Additionally, he is finalizing the IESE Executive
MBA in the Munich campus.
Manuel Achúcarro is a passionate problem solver and strategic thinker who started applying his passion through
software development. He has more than ten years of experience in digitalizing highly complex B2B processes and
developing e-commerce platforms. He is as well consultant in the field of digital industry and industrial IoT. He is in
parallel using his entrepreneurial spirit and working to open new offices in Spain for XITASO, the company where he
works since more than six years. He has the will to improve the productivity and working conditions in his home
country. In his free time, he is a born networker who enjoys helping those around him and creating value through
connecting people. As a hobby, he is into the world of blockchain technologies and crypto currency investments. He
holds and manages several private portfolios and is the representant of XITASO in Bitkom’s Blockchain chapter.
Manuel holds a master's degree in Telecommunications Engineering by the UPM in Madrid and is finishing his
Executive MBA at IESE Munich campus.
28. IESE ICP – Industry 4.0 and Digitalization Research
28 IESE Business School-University of Navarra
A passionate communicator and problem solver, Natasha Müller currently works at Microsoft Germany
conceptualizing and delivering events for business partners and customers. Natasha brings a deep-rooted belief in
the power of collaboration to work every day, and, after more than a decade at Microsoft, Natasha is more excited
about how technology empowers each and every one of us than ever before. Natasha holds an MA in Modern &
Medieval Languages from Cambridge University, and is looking forward to completing her Executive MBA from IESE
Business School.
Alexander Nothhelfer is a proven leader with a passion for robotics, technology in general, and medical devices. He
started his career in the German Aerospace Center, Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics, where he has developed
several different robotic systems mainly for terrestrial applications, such as surgical robotics and co-bots. Later,
Alexander joined Covidien as Lead Engineer for their Surgical Robotics incubator program. After acquisition of
Covidien by Medtronic, Alexander was having several roles in engineering and management, and is now the global
head of Electrical Engineering department for Surgical Robotics. Throughout his career he was mainly in new product
development but covered the entire life cycle with contributions to supply chain and manufacturing. Besides being
an Executive MBA candidate at IESE Business School, Alexander holds a master’s degree in Engineering, Electronic
Systems, from Ulster University, Belfast, and a German Diploma in Mechatronics from University of Applied Sciences
in Augsburg.
Gabriel Paredes Loza is a technology enthusiast. After getting his master degree in Telecommunications Engineering
at the university of Padova, in 2014 he started his career in the world of IT Consulting, working as a Cloud Architect
and focusing on the development of cutting-edge solutions in the AWS (Amazon Web Services) cloud, for major
Italian companies such as Telecom Italia, and Ferrero. In 2017 he moved to Germany to work in a big cloud migration
project for Vodafone Group, enhancing his Cybersecurity know-how, as he helped Vodafone with the design and
internal approval of their AWS Cloud Security blueprint. In 2019 he started working in Adidas as Data Engineer. In
this period, he cultivated his passion towards Bigdata & Analytics, and AI/ML. Following his vast technical expertise
and business acumen, Gabriel currently holds the role of Technical Lead and Account Manager in Storm Reply, one
of the top 10 AWS Premium Partners. He is in charge of one of the company’s key accounts and managing three
teams -two in Italy and one in Germany- for the development of solutions in the fields of (I)IoT, BigData, DevOps,
Cybersecurity, Mass Migration, and Cloud Managed Services. Gabriel, as the rest of the team, is about to finish his
Executive MBA and looking forward to helping companies matching technology with business goals.