Executive Summary
Over the past few years, manufacturers have made significant improvements to productivity through methodologies like lean operations and Six Sigma. In the U.S., for instance, productivity of industrial workers has increased by 47% over the past 20 years. However, according to a McKinsey report, traditional methodologies that were once driving these gains are now seeing diminishing marginal returns. As a result, leading manufacturers are turning towards new disruptive digital technologies to reach their next horizon of performance improvement.
Industry and academic leaders agree that these new disruptive digital-manufacturing technologies will transform every link in the manufacturing value chain, from sales and supply chain, to factory operations and service. Digital connectivity among designers, managers, workers, consumers, and physical industrial assets will unlock enormous value and change the manufacturing landscape forever. This shift is expected to be so radical, that it is known as the fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0.