Towards the Next Decade of Industrie 4.0 – Current State in Research and Adoption and Promising Development Paths from a German Perspective

Abstract

Considering the first ten years of Industrie 4.0 in Germany—the digital transformation of industry towards the goal of increased manufacturing productivity and mass customization—significant progress has been achieved. However, future efforts are required. This review first evaluates the status quo of implementation and research in Germany and finds that large-scale companies have proceeded faster than small- and middle-sized enterprises. Currently, regardless of their size, companies have in common a shortage of qualified specialists, coupled with a lack of adequate base technologies for Industrie 4.0 and an insufficient digital mindset. The creation of platform-based digital business models is particularly lagging behind, despite high research interest. This review subsequently identifies three research-driven fields of action that are particularly important for the future of Industrie 4.0: (1) resilience of value networks in the strategic area of sovereignty, (2) Open-Source as a driver for the strategic area of interoperability, and (3) the strategic combination of digitalization and sustainability as a basis for sustainable business models in the strategic area of sustainability.

Proposal of Industry 5.0-Enabled Sustainability of Product–Service Systems and Its Quantitative Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Method

“…The results led by climate change become more serious, and the theme of sustainability is becoming increasingly pressing. Strategically synthesizing sustainability and Industry 5.0 creates potential for companies to build new and resilient value creation networks or to even achieve sustainable platform-based business models [62]. Clearly, as a highly cross-cutting issue, the "truth" of design for sustainability is an evolving process rather than one thing, and will depend on the thinking and acting stakeholders carry out now [63].…”