The term “Industry 4.0” refers to what is called the fourth industrial revolution, that has followed the first, with the creation of the first installations in mechanical production between the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the second, with the serial production based on the division of labor, and the third, with the introduction of numerical control machines, which have characterized respectively the first and the second half of Twentieth Century.
The new revolution that the industrial world is experiencing leads to the so-called “connected enterprise” (business/company connected or interconnected) characterized by the total automation of the safety data management and supply chain. The convergence of new technologies such as the Internet of Things, the mobile devices, the Cloud and the Big Data, allows today to relate safely machines and production systems with the enterprise information systems. This integration of operations with all other business systems, leading to increase productivity, optimize the use of resources and improve overall decision-making inside the company.
To be successful and able to compete in the global market, more and more dynamic, variable and competitive, companies today need to be more productive, sustainable, flexible and able to properly take into account the peculiarities of different markets. This leads to an increase in consumption, an increase in demand that will inevitably impact on the company’s resources and infrastructure, which must be able to adopt the most appropriate measures to comply with the new realities, such as reducing the complexity of its supply chain and try to lower the import and transport costs, by outsourcing some production to places closer to the demand.
This difficult and complex market needs companies able to make cost-effective products, increase the productivity and, at the same time, reduce costs; have a flexible production system for providing custom made solutions; and constantly innovative products and processes. It’s also important bearing in mind the concepts of Today Quality Management and the international standards and regulations; developing new business areas, predicting and anticipating market trends; providing an efficent customers and technical assistance services, with maintenance work in real time, in the presence or remotely.