Article
Industry 4.0 and the chemicals industry
Catalyzing transformation through operations improvement and business growth
Industry 4.0, which combines digital and physical advanced technologies, can potentially transform the chemicals industry, itself the backbone of many end-market industries. Through the dual areas of business operations and growth, these technologies enable “smart” supply chains and factories, as well as create new business models.
Industry 4.0 journey
Industry 4.0 will likely impact the way chemicals companies operate and grow their businesses, as they shift away from the pay-by-the-ton revenue model to provide value-added products and services to their customers. How fast and well companies perform will depend on the decisions they take today and the initiatives they commit to for the coming years.
A clear understanding of their strategic imperatives can enable chemicals companies to plan their Industry 4.0 journey and help them identify how to integrate their digital and physical assets across different stages of the value chain.
As companies face various challenges in their journey to Industry 4.0, it is critical that they prepare their technology and data landscape to support the evolving changes in their products, services, and, at times, new business models to create a competitive advantage for themselves in the long run. The solutions layer architecture provides a simple way to approach the competencies required to deploy Industry 4.0 technologies. Beyond technology, however, the agility of people and organizations in adapting to change determines how effectively they adopt Industry 4.0.
As changes in chemicals affect related industries, time is of the essence: Industry 4.0 is no longer a topic of the future.