A few decades ago the power of the workforce determined the volume of production and the structural strength of factories. It was common for workers and machines to work together to produce the products that we all consumed from all the large industrialized companies. Life in the industry at the beginning of the 20th century was quite simple: technological evolution accelerated the daily routine and standardized lifestyles; the employees of the factories worked between twelve and sixteen hours a day being exploited by the industries for which they worked, the housewives saw their work simplified when they no longer had to manufacture the products they used, the cities increased, the world economy grew, as well as the birth rate, the demand and later, environmental pollution.
Fifty years later a radical change emerged: information and communication technologies. Suddenly, the world became smaller, the way we communicated changed the way we did business; the number of companies multiplied, the competition acquired an international direction with the commercial opening and globalization conquered us with its great advantages.
It is impressive what humanity has progressed in little more than a century. The human mind has been changing to a higher complexity, on each occasion, the human is willing to do bigger and better things. As the years go by, needs have become deeper, and week after week companies must reimagined themselves to be up to the consumers. Today, we all want immediacy in actions, companies more than all. Everyday life has been revived more than ever and we want results in a matter of nanoseconds, this directly affects the industry, which must seek better and faster ways to cover its market share. For this, new technology has been born, intelligently trained to carry out what is impossible for us; all this knowledge is part of industry 4.0
The four factors to analyze in Industry 4.0 are: design, manufacturing, logistics and distribution and sale.
The design is radically different from previous years. At this point marketing and industrial design are key; the first serves to examine how the market and its segments operate. Thanks to Big Data and the Internet of Things, market penetration is much simpler, empowering companies with a focus on the customer, creating a link with it and making it a participant in decisions. On the other hand, industrial design is playing a better role for the environment and consumers, creating socially responsible products.
Contemporary manufacturing introduces new value-added factors that improve the quality of products and seeks flexible and efficient processes that can be integrated into the production process through technology. The goal of manufacturing is to adapt to the demands of customers in real time. All this, in addition, without increasing costs.
Another significant objective is, of course, the intervention of advanced technology for production and management. Integral technology is required to improve efficiency and reduce the environmental impact in all channels.
In logistics all the processes are interconnected and human labor is replaced by the automated, in addition, the volume of made products decreases due to the manufacture on demand, reducing the stock and improving the personalization of the product.
The distribution and sale begins to abandon the traditional sale channels to focus on those that are available 24/7 digitally, feeding the Big Data with important information on consumer habits to deliver products quickly and personalized to this one. It is precisely this type of communication between the company and the customer, one another of the areas of opportunity that a company in the industry 4.0 has, that is, to link with the client in real time to help him throughout his purchasing process, from the specifications of the product and the method of payment, the form of distribution and delivery date as well as post-sale services.
Finally, it should be noted that the 4.0 industry brings with it new business models, new ways of creating a product and new ways to market it. Any company that wants to be at the height of an inconsistent market must opt for change … or not survive.
Soñador y constructor de mundos.