Adoption of Industry 4.0 in Remotely Located Industries

Abstract

The manufacturing industry is revolutionized by introducing information and communication technology for productivity, flexibility, and agility. This Industry 4.0 has revolutionized the way companies manufacture, update and distribute their products. Manufacturers are integrating new technologies, like the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, data analytics, and AI, into their production facilities and business operations. This digitization of manufacturing has increased the productivity of plants, reduced the dependency on human resources and improved logistics. This led to a better return on investment in the manufacturing sector and started blooming again. Many start-ups are coming up with new business ideas based on new technologies. These ideas are now easy to integrate with Industry 4.0-ready facilities. Now it is challenging to take advantage of this wave of new business opportunities for the traditional manufacturing industry. These industries strive to implement this technology for their plants, which are also located geographically remote. To sustain these older plants to new generation competition and expectations, it is necessary to shift and adopt the technology of Industry 4.0. Transition business models need to be developed for shifting to a “new business model” of the company, along with the “old business model” that is slowly “decommissioned”. In this chapter, we will discuss the need, challenges, and advantages of integrating new technology into old manufacturing processes for the sustainability of a business. Organizations that wish to shift to a new paradigm face many challenges. The most challenging aspects include the skills and qualifications of their human resource, the ability of their machines to connect and communicate with each other, and the adoption of various new technologies.