However, the pace of change is not uniform.
What is clear is that different countries are on
different points on the journey to digitalise
and progress is fastest in industries such
as financial services, electronics, telecoms,
automotive and machinery, it has been
slower in areas such as logistics, consumer
goods, real estate and construction.
There is a disparity between the rates
of adoption of new technologies and
awareness about what the Fourth Industrial
Revolution offers as well as a lack of a
cohesive leadership intended to drive
change initiatives. This has resulted in a
fragmented system, with the concept of
industrial digitalisation, or Industry 4.0,
referred to by various names including
Society 5.0, Smart Industry, Industrie
du Futur, Industria Conectada 4.0,
Manufacturing USA and Made in China 2025.
GERMANY
As we’ve already mentioned Germany, let’s
look at how the birthplace of Industry 4.0 is
faring. It boasts the largest national economy
in Europe and the fourth largest by nominal
GDP in the world. In 2016, it recorded the
highest global trade surplus and it is the
world’s third largest exporter.
While the term Industry 4.0 was coined in
2011, this was a culmination of the progress
made by the German Government’s own
high-tech industrial strategy that was
introduced in 2006.
The strategy looked at how the country
could become a world leader in research
and innovation. It involved the creation of
a working advisory group, whose work on
cyber-physical systems, mobility, health,
energy and production prompted the
Government to adopt “Industrie 4.0”. This
resulted in the creation of the Plattform
Industrie 4.0, a collaboration set up in
April 2013 by three private associations for
digitalising industry.
THE UK
Over in the UK, the home of the First
Industrial Revolution, things are only just
recovering following the financial crash of
2009. Lagging productivity has forced the
UK Government to introduce its Industrial
Strategy.
The strategy outlines four ‘Grand
Challenges’ where Britain can lead the
global technological revolution: artificial
intelligence and big data; clean growth; the
future of mobility and meeting the needs of
an ageing society.
Despite an overall fall in economic
productivity, the UK manufacturing sector is
thriving, but it will be the potential growth of
the sector and its use of digital technologies
that will ensure the success of wider
digitalisation.
The UK has a particularly strong competency
in advanced manufacturing sectors such
as aerospace, pharmaceuticals, food and
beverage, fintech and construction. So,
despite some roadblocks, the UK is in a
very good position to take advantage of
the growth in digital. By maintaining this
progress and overcoming the barriers —
and simply being less reluctant to adopt
new technologies — the UK can once again
prosper.
A GLOBAL VIEW
These two countries only scratch the surface
of the digital journey made by countries
around the world. We’ve compiled analysis
and insight on these and many other places,
such as Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy,
Scandinavia and Spain in our new book, 4.0
Sight – Digital industry around the world.
Since the publication of our first book, The
Book of Obsolescence Management, we’ve
been on a journey as a business. Specialising
in the supply of obsolete industrial parts,
EU Automation has been growing rapidly in
the last decade. Having started with a small
team tasked with helping reduce downtime
for manufacturers, we’ve grown to become
a multi-national company with offices in
Chicago and Singapore and customers in
dozens of countries further afield.
On our travels, we’ve spoken to a wide
variety of people and one of the recurring
issues that we came across was that different
countries are on different points in their
journey to digitalisation.
However, far from being an issue that divides
us, what we realised was that governments
and businesses around the world have
given different names to technologies and
programmes that we have in common.
These things are largely contained under
the umbrella term Industry 4.0, the unifying
phrase that describes the Fourth Industrial
Revolution.
So, we decided to write this book to serve
as a roadmap for the pioneering initiatives
and the cutting-edge technologies that are
changing the world. From the book, you will
gain insights from experts that hail from a
mix of industries, the big nine technologies
changing industry, as well as find our
predictions on how the technological
landscape will change in the coming years.
To download a free copy of the full
book, visit www.4sightbook.com
Issue 36 PECM
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