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Global group aims to accelerate uptake of Industry 4.0
Published:  29 January, 2019

Five organisations – Siemens, SAP, the management consultancy McKinsey, the testing body TÜV SÜD, and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) – have joined forces to help manufacturers around the world adopt Industry 4.0 technologies. The group aims to develop tools that will accelerate the digital transformation of manufacturers in Singapore and elsewhere.

“While interest in Industry 4.0 has caught on, many companies are now experiencing a ‘pilot trap’, where transformation activities may be underway but have yet to scale beyond proofs-of-concept to yield meaningful bottom-line benefits,” explains EDB managing director, Chng Kai Fong. “The collaboration will enable us to establish a neutral, open and qualified Industry 4.0 ecosystem which will facilitate the transformation of companies’ processes, technologies and organisation globally and at scale.”

The initiative will build on work that started in 2017 when EDB and TÜV SÜD launched a diagnostic tool to help companies assess their readiness for transformation. Since then, the Smart Industry Readiness Index has been applied in Asia, the US, Europe and Japan.

As a next step, the partners will enhance the Index with a tool that will help companies identify and recommend focus areas and digital initiatives to prioritise. This “Prioritisation Matrix” will be launched at the Hannover Fair in April, along with a White Paper detailing its concept and development.

The Industry 4.0 initiative will be based on the Smart Industry Readiness Index

A global survey by McKinsey has revealed that most manufacturing companies consider digital manufacturing a priority and see themselves ahead of the game. “We are encouraged that a clear majority have also embarked on their Industry 4.0 journey by piloting digital solutions,” says McKinsey’s global leader for Manufacturing & Supply Chain, Christoph Schmitz. “However, for most companies, advancing beyond the pilot stage to broader rollout within the organisation is still a big challenge, and this platform has been designed with this challenge in mind.”