Smart factories represent the future of production in what is considered the Fourth Industrial Revolution. But Industry 4.0 is far from being a widespread practice, with wide variations across regions of the globe and even industrial sectors.
Do you want to know more about the current context of industry 4.0 and how digital adoption Platforms are going in the USA and the rest of the world? Below, we bring some trivia about it. Check out!
What is Industry 4.0?
The definition of industry 4.0 is linked to the technologies used in the industry. Therefore, the concept does not strictly refer to a specific manufacturing process but to implementing the most modern solutions today for the production of goods.
It builds on the digital revolution that marked the Third Industrial Revolution and adopted innovative features to advance the industry, such as:
- internet of things
- smart sensors
- digital twins
- cloud computing
- 3D printing
- 5G connection
- robotics
- collaborative robots
- data intelligence
- artificial intelligence
- machine learning
- virtual or augmented reality
- between others
This is necessary because management capacity, strategy, and human labor can only reach a specific limit. However, with the competitiveness of business at stake, it is essential to develop continuously.
Most developed regions and sectors
The great challenge for the greater diffusion of Industry 4.0 is the need for more significant investments in technology and leading professionals to execute it. Yet, according to a Deloitte survey of executive leaders from 19 countries, only 17% of them make adequate investments in technology in this regard.
Then, the little that applies is mainly in the North American, European, and Chinese markets, as revealed by a report by IoT Analytics. Companies such as Siemens, General Electric, and Boeing stand out as the best resolved within industry 4.0.
The automotive industry has the most used new technologies in terms of sectors at the forefront of this industrial revolution. Brands like Tesla, BMW, and Toyota are some examples of this. Then come to the computer, electronics, mining, machinery, and energy industries. Microsoft, IBM, and Huawei are also noteworthy.
Meanwhile, data from the Brazilian Association for Industrial Development (ABDI) show that less than 2% of companies in Brazil are actually inserted in industry 4.0. Therefore, there is a long way to go in the country, with enormous potential for gains in productivity and many other optimizations.
Industry 4.0 Benefits
Even faced with the challenge of developing this smart industry, there are many advantages to moving in this direction.
The perspective is that industry 4.0 will bring lower costs to factories that adopt it, despite the initial investment in new technologies. This is offset by automating tasks that generate greater productivity and require less labor in the long run.
The entire operation can be monitored in real-time, in minor details, and integrated via the internet. In addition to giving managers more control and convenience, this allows, for example, to connect sales demands directly to the amount of production, without human intervention and with agility.
Other advantages, especially of 3D printers, are the customization and decentralization of production. For example, certain products would no longer need to appear on the shop floor — they could be printed at the point of sale itself, according to the customer’s needs.
And which services are leaders in digital adoption?
Now, what happens outside the production industry, in the various services? How is the level of digital adoption among them?
According to data from Cicero Research, at the rear of the transformation is the insurance segment, with the lowest rates of digital adoption. On the other end, we have big online retailers, like Amazon, making extensive use of available new technologies.
Innovations in virtual education are also noteworthy, now accelerated by the context of the pandemic, in finance and banking, in telemedicine, and in communication, media, and entertainment companies.
In these segments, artificial intelligence has played an important role in one way or another, providing increasingly customized and practical solutions.
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