Accelerating Industry 4.0 uptake: five messages for SMEs
Despite the challenges of 2020 and the undeniable negative impact of COVID-19, the world has seen rapid adoption of digital technologies over the past six months.
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, noted in April that due to the pandemic the business saw two years’ worth of digital transformation in just two months. More recently, McKinsey reported the findings of a poll which stated C-suite executives believe COVID-19 has triggered a decade of digitalisation.
This shift was a key topic of discussion at the 2020 virtual Industry 4.0 Advanced Manufacturing Forum (I4AMF) conference at the end of October.
In his role leading the combined Technology Applications and Digital Business Models workstream of the I4AMF, David Chuter had the privilege to lead a webinar panel with five manufacturing experts who provided insights and advice for those looking to accelerate the uptake of Industry 4.0 technology applications and digital business models in Australia.
Together with his colleague and webinar co-host Simon Dawson, IMCRC’s Director of Industrial Transformation, he addressed a question that they both often get asked, particularly by SMEs, is “How do I start? How, where and when should I begin to integrate the technologies of Industry 4.0?”.