KNOWLEDGE BASE The manufacturing industry has pioneered global shifts in commerce and trade since the first industrial revolution brought affordable, mass-produced consumer products to the market. The advent of automation, a commonplace feature in factories and production plants for generations, increased efficiency, delivered better value to customers, and placed safety at the forefront of the workplace. But today, assailed on all sides by the global disruption of a prevailing pandemic, regionalised geopolitical 14 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS June 2023 www.hpmag.co.uk complexity including the Ukraine conflict, supply chain disruptions and everchanging customer demands, manufacturers face a considerable number of new challenges. Overcoming them isn’t about a complete revolution - as was the solution to mounting globalisation in the 19th century, but it will call for a similar leap of faith in new processes and technologies. In an era of business uncertainty, industry 4.0 has a leading part to play in the next seismic technology shift that addresses today’s global challenges. For manufacturers, there’s no doubt about technology’s role in delivering continuity and resilience against what may come, but also in helping them to thrive. If manufacturers want to emerge ahead of their competitors from today’s challenges, here’s the top three industry 4.0 technologies they should be paying attention to. The influence of the cloud on modern manufacturing First and foremost, manufacturers must pay attention to the evolution of cloud The Industry 4.0 technologies that can help manufacturers remain resilient to global uncertainty Greg Moyle, Head of Energy & Discrete Industries, SAP UKI, discusses the Industry 4.0 technologies that manufacturers must embrace to remain resilient to global uncertainty.
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