The transformation of the economy being brought about by Industrie 4.0 is leading to the emergence of highly flexible value networks. Businesses now need to network their production activities both in-house and with the systems of external partners. This in turn requires new forms of cooperation, both nationally and globally. Common norms and standards enabling interoperability between different systems are equally essential. This acatech STUDY analyses the opportunities and challenges for businesses of international cooperation and the current competition to establish norms and standards. It is based on interviews and discussions with more than 150 experts from Germany, China, Japan, South Korea, the US and the UK. Detailed country profiles describe the background situation and Industrie 4.0 status quo in the focus countries. Finally, the study makes a number of recommendations for German actors regarding cooperation with international partners.

Industry 4.0 is a challenge for today’s businesses. It’s a concept that encompasses the technological innovations of automation, control, and information technology, as it’s applied to manufacturing processes. It’s a new topic that recently emerged in academia and industry, with few books that target both management and engineering. This book will cover the new advances and the way to manage competitive organizations. The chapters will include terms of theory, evidence, and/or methodology, and significantly advance social scientific research. This book: Focuses on the latest and most recent research findings occurring on the topic of Industry 4.0 Presents the ways companies around the world are facing today's technological challenges Assists researchers and practitioners in selecting the correct options and strategies to manage competitive organizations Provides recent advances in international studies Encompasses the main technological innovations in the fields of automation, control, and information technology applied to the manufacturing processes Industry 4.0: Challenges, Trends, and Solutions in Manangment and Engineering is designed to increase the knowledge and effectiveness of all managers and engineers in all organizations and activity sectors Carolina Machado has been teaching in the Human Resources Management subjects since 1989 at University of Minho, Portugal. She has been an associate professor since 2004, with experience and research interest areas in the field of Human Resource Management, International Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management in SMEs, Training and Development, Emotional Intelligence, Management Change, Knowledge Management, and Management/HRM in the Digital Age. She is head of the Department of Management and head of the Human Resources Management Work Group at University of Minho, as well as chief editor of the International Journal of Applied Management Sciences and Engineering (IJAMSE). J. Paulo Davim is a professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Aveiro, Portugal. He has more than 30 years of teaching and research experience in Manufacturing, Materials, Mechanical, and Industrial Engineering, with special emphasis in Machining & Tribology. He has also interest in Management, Engineering Education, and Higher Education for Sustainability. He has worked as evaluator of projects for ERC (European Research Council) and other international research agencies.

The City of Manchester, once the birthplace of the 1st Industrial Revolution, is today a pioneering hub of the 4th Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), offering Industry 4.0 solutions in advanced materials, engineering, healthcare and social sciences. Indeed, the creation of some of the city’s greatest academic institutions was a direct outcome of the industrial revolution, so it was something of a homecoming that the Sustainable Smart Manufacturing (S2M) Conference was hosted by The University of Manchester in 2019. The conference was jointly organised by The University of Manchester, The University of Lisbon and The Polytechnic of Leiria – the latter two bringing in a wealth of expertise in how Industry 4.0 manifests itself in the context of sustainably evolving, deeply-rooted cities. S2M-2019 instigated the development of 61 papers selected for publication in this book on areas of Smart Manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing and Virtual Prototyping, Materials for Healthcare Applications and Circular Economy, Design Education, and Urban Spaces.

This book addresses a wide range of issues relating to the theoretical substantiation of the necessity of Industry 4.0, the development of the methodological tools for its analysis and evaluation, and practical solutions for effectively managing this process. It particularly focuses on solving the problem of optimizing the development of Industry 4.0 in the context of knowledge economy formation. The book presents the authors’ approach to studying the process of Industry 4.0 formation in connection with knowledge economy, and approach that allows the process to be studied in connection with the existing socio-economic and technological conditions. As a result, the conclusions and recommendations could be applied to modern economic systems and do not require any further elaboration. The presented research is based on modern economic theory scientific and methodological tools, including the tools of the theory of economic cycles, the theory of games, and the institutional economic theory. Raising awareness of the problem of Industry 4.0 formation, the book is of interest to a wide audience, including not only specialists and experts with a detailed knowledge of the topic, but also scholars, lecturers, and undergraduates of various fields of economics.

This book provides practical knowledge on different aspects of information and knowledge management in businesses. In contemporary unstable time, enterprises/businesses deal with various challenges—such as large-scale competitions, high levels of uncertainty and risk, rush technological advancements, while increasing customer requirements. Thus, businesses work continually on improving efficiency of their operations and resources towards enabling sustainable solutions based on the knowledge and information accumulated previously. Consequently, this third volume of our subline persists to highlight different approaches of handling enterprise knowledge/information management directing to the importance of unceasing progress of structural management for the steady growth. We look forward that the works of this volume can encourage and initiate further research on this topic.

This book presents the conference proceedings of the 25th edition of the International Joint Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management. The conference is organized by 6 institutions (from different countries and continents) that gather a large number of members in the field of operational management, industrial engineering and engineering management. This edition of the conference had the title: THE NEXT GENERATION OF PRODUCTION AND SERVICE SYSTEMS in order to emphasis unpredictable and very changeable future. This conference is aimed to enhance connection between academia and industry and to gather researchers and practitioners specializing in operation management, industrial engineering, engineering management and other related disciplines from around the world.

The digital transformation is in full swing and fundamentally changes how we live, work, and communicate with each other. From retail to finance, many industries see an inflow of new technologies, disruption through innovative platform business models, and employees struggling to cope with the significant shifts occurring. This Fourth Industrial Revolution is predicted to also transform Logistics and Supply Chain Management, with delivery systems becoming automated, smart networks created everywhere, and data being collected and analyzed universally. The Digital Transformation of Logistics: Demystifying Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution provides a holistic overview of this vital subject clouded by buzz, hype, and misinformation. The book is divided into three themed-sections: Technologies such as self-driving cars or virtual reality are not only electrifying science fiction lovers anymore, but are also increasingly presented as cure-all remedies to supply chain challenges. In The Digital Transformation of Logistics: Demystifying Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the authors peel back the layers of excitement that have grown around new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Blockchain or Cloud computing, and show use cases that give a glimpse about the fascinating future we can expect. Platforms that allow businesses to centrally acquire and manage their logistics services disrupt an industry that has been relationship-based for centuries. The authors discuss smart contracts, which are one of the most exciting applications of Blockchain, Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings for freight procurement, where numerous data sources can be integrated and decision-making processes automated, and marine terminal operating systems as an integral node for shipments. In The Digital Transformation of Logistics: Demystifying Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, insights are shared into the cold chain industry where companies respond to increasing quality demands, and how European governments are innovatively responding to challenges of cross-border eCommerce. People are a vital element of the digital transformation and must be on board to drive change. The Digital Transformation of Logistics: Demystifying Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution explains how executives can create sustainable impact and how competencies can be managed in the digital age - especially for sales executives who require urgent upskilling to remain relevant. Best practices are shared for organizational culture change, drawing on studies among senior leaders from the US, Singapore, Thailand, and Australia, and for managing strategic alliances with logistics service providers to offset risks and create cross-functional, cross-company transparency. The Digital Transformation of Logistics: Demystifying Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution provides realistic insights, a ready-to-use knowledge base, and a working vocabulary about current activities and emerging trends of the Logistics industry. Intended readers are supply chain professionals working for manufacturing, trading, and freight forwarding companies as well as students and all interested parties.