One of the most significant advances in the development of computer science, information and communication technologies is represented by the cyber-physical systems (CPS). They are systems of collaborating computational entities which are in intensive connection with the surrounding physical world and its on-going processes, providing and using, at the same time, data-accessing and data-processing services available on the Internet. Cyber-physical production systems (CPPS), relying on the latest, and the foreseeable further developments of computer science, information and communication technologies on one hand, and of manufacturing science and technology, on the other, may lead to the 4th industrial revolution, frequently noted as Industrie 4.0. The paper underlines that there are significant roots in general – and in particular to the CIRP community – which point towards CPPS. Expectations towards research in and implementation of CPS and CPPS are outlined and some case studies are introduced. Related new R&D challenges are highlighted.

Cyber-physical systems in manufacturing

Industry 4.0 (the fourth industrial revolution) encapsulates future industry development trends to achieve more intelligent manufacturing processes, including reliance on Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), construction of Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS), and implementation and operation of smart factories. This paper introduces relevant aspects of Industry 4.0 in relation to strategic planning, key technologies, opportunities, and challenges. Strategic planning includes construction of a CPS network, discussion of two major themes which are based on the smart factory and intelligent production, achieving three integrations (horizontal integration, vertical integration and end-to-end integration) and achieving eight plans which consist of the formulation of system standardization, efficient management etc. Finally, it referred to the enlightenment for China's manufacturing industries, to build China's Industry 4.0.

Industry 4.0: Towards future industrial opportunities and challenges

The implementation of Industry 40 has a far-reaching impact on industrial value creation Studies on its opportunities and challenges for companies are still scarce However, the high practical and theoretical relevance of digital and connected manufacturing technologies implies that it is essential to understand the underlying dynamics of their implementation Thus, this study examines the relevance of Industry 40-related opportunities and challenges as drivers for Industry 40 implementation in the context of sustainability, taking a differentiated perspective on varying company sizes, industry sectors, and the company’s role as an Industry 40 provider or user A research model comprising relevant Industry 40-related opportunities and challenges as antecedents for its implementation is hypothesized In order to test the model, partial least square structural equation modeling is applied for a sample of 746 German manufacturing companies from five industry sectors The results show that strategic, operational, as well as environmental and social opportunities are positive drivers of Industry 40 implementation, whereas challenges with regard to competitiveness and future viability as well as organizational and production fit impede its progress Moreover, it is shown that the perception of Industry 40-related opportunities and challenges as antecedents to Industry 40 implementation depends on different company characteristics

What Drives the Implementation of Industry 4.0? The Role of Opportunities and Challenges in the Context of Sustainability

The smart factory as a key construct of industry 4.0: A systematic literature review

The increasing intelligence of products and systems, their intra-company cross-linking and their cross-company integration into value creation networks is referred to as Industry 4.0. Academics and practitioners, largely agreeing on the global importance of this proclaimed industrial revolution, have published many contributions on the topic. Research, however, is rather focused on investigating single technologies in quite specific application domains and largely neglects the profound managerial challenges underlying Industry 4.0. Given the recent plea for a more active contribution from the management science community, we strive to establish Industry 4.0 as a challenging but promising field for management research, and aim to assist scholars in engaging with the topic. Therefore, we first gather and analyze extant contributions by means of a systematic literature review and synthesize the information gained into 18 managerial challenges of Industry 4.0 falling into six interrelated clusters: (1) strategy and analysis, (2) planning and implementation, (3) cooperation and networks, (4) business models, (5) human resources and (6) change and leadership. Considering that Industry 4.0 is still an emerging topic and publications may therefore not always be found in highly ranked journals, we aimed to increase the confidence in our findings and triangulated our data by conducting an online survey of industry experts and academics that allows us to qualify the identified challenges in terms of importance and future research need. On this basis, we present an empirically backed research agenda and suggest fruitful avenues for future research in three basic categories: practice-enhancing research, knowledge-enhancing research, and high-impact research.

Stefan Peter

Papers

Pattern-based Business Model Development for Cyber-Physical Production Systems