Industry 4.0 and benefits for businesses

In the past few years, newspapers, forums and communities have often mentioned the phrase "Technology 4.0", "Revolution 4.0", "Industry 4.0", "Age 4.0"… Anyone can In a nutshell, these names are closely related to the development of technology. But what it really means and how businesses need to adapt in this era, perhaps not everyone can fully understand. This article will give you more information and knowledge about an era that affects every minute of the human life. 

What is Industry 4.0 and how does it happen?

According to Gartner, Industry 4.0 or the Fourth Industrial Revolution is the continuous automation of traditional industrial and manufacturing activities, using smart and modern technology. The Industrial Revolution 4.0 is forecasted to change the entire production, management and administration system around the world, having a strong impact on all aspects of life, economy, politics, society, state, etc. governments, businesses, organizations, individuals, etc. to create a digital economy.

The feature of previous industrial revolutions was the application of different techniques to production. Follow World Economic Forum (2016):

• The First Industrial Revolution (Revolution 1.0) used water and steam to mechanize production. 
• The second revolution (Revolution 2.0) uses electricity for mass production. 
• The third revolution (Revolution 3.0) uses electronics and information technology to automate production. 
• The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) is based on the Third Revolution and is accompanied by the digital revolution that originated in the middle of the last century. The characteristic of this revolution is the accelerating development of technology that blurs the boundaries between physical, digital and biological elements. 

Humanity is entering the 4th industrial revolution

Industry 4.0 will take place in 3 main areas, namely: Biotechnology, Digital and Physics.

Digital 

There are 3 core elements:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI): An intelligence created by humans with the goal of helping computers to automate intelligent behaviors like humans.
• Internet of Things (IoT): Simply understood, this term refers to a scenario where billions of physical devices around the world are connected to the internet, collecting and sharing data with each other. Devices can be smartphones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, light bulbs, and many more.
• Big Data: A collection of data that is so large (structured and unstructured), so diverse, changing, and complex that traditional technologies or software are not capable of handling it in a short span of time. certain time. If exploited in the right direction, Big Data will bring great competitive potential to businesses.

Biotechnology

Focus on research to make leaps in Agriculture, Fisheries, Medicine, food processing, environmental protection, renewable energy, chemistry and materials.

Physics

Manufacturing next-generation robots, 3D printers, self-driving cars, new materials (graphene, skyrmions…) and nanotechnology.

Benefits of Industry 4.0

While the actual application of Industry 4.0 technology may be different for different companies, in general the benefits are quite similar, applicable to every company in every industry. 

Greater productivity and efficiency

Not only can companies produce products more efficiently, but they can also keep systems running thanks to sensors on machines with predictive capabilities (e.g. sending alerts about the risk of equipment failure to people can intervene in time before the factory line stops working). By collecting and processing big data, machines can identify capabilities to improve operations, optimize systems, and fix problems faster than humans. 

Reduce operating costs

Industry 4.0 technology creates the opportunity to customize and adjust processes quickly without much cost. Real-time quality control reduces rework and waste. More automation in your business will save you time and money.

Growth

If you can create products that consumers need and get them to market faster, your revenue will increase. Industry 4.0 technology helps companies do just that. Consumers are expecting to get what they want “anytime, anywhere” and if you have the ability to deliver with the support of machines and smart technology, growth is certain. In addition, better information flow through analyzing and sharing large volumes of data improves communication, service, and support across the organization.

Changing business model

Industry 4.0 changes the operating model of companies and thus changes the way your company creates value for customers. The vast amounts of data tracked and collected can generate insights into ways to create new and smarter products and services. Today, businesses have added services to their products (product-service systems), making the life cycle of the product more holistic and comprehensive. 

Customer satisfaction

The insights gained from the 4th Industrial Revolution can help you improve every aspect of your business, including the customer experience. Customer experience and customer engagement can be enhanced by implementing virtual reality solutions and other Industry 4.0 technologies.

If the cost and complexity of bringing 4.0 technology to your business is holding you back, it's time to reconsider. Artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, big data, and other technologies resonate to transform the industry, driving productivity, customer satisfaction, revenue growth, and more .

Applying 4.0 technology to increase competitiveness for businesses

The competitiveness of an enterprise is associated with the level of technology application in production and management of that enterprise. Industry 4.0 builds digital businesses based on connecting value chains inside and outside enterprises, digitizing production and service delivery processes, and creating new business models.

Many complex management information systems today such as ERP, CRM, Call Center software, BI ... are innovative initiatives in the 4.0 era. These modern management application platforms run on wide-area computer networks, the Internet, and the cloud, enabling integrated connectivity and information across an entire organization, no matter how large or small, helping businesses replace many discrete information systems with a single system. Data is integrated across all processes from planning, product development, production, to sales, service delivery and customer care. 

The application of technology solutions to the company helps to shorten the time to deploy administrative processes, save costs, avoid errors caused by manual data entry, thereby focusing resources on improving products and services offered to customers.