BUSINESS
“Industry 4.0” in Moravian-Silesian
Region in the View of Ivo Vondrák
“Industry 4.0” is a very modern expression,
yet many people believe it is a new name
for a phenomenon which has been long
been in the works. So what is it, actually?
Industry 4.0 must be considered in a
wide context. We live in the age of expert
knowledge combined with available IT
capacities and a quality of software that
allows for great leaps forward which
can affect all walks of life. The changes
can be seen in households, businesses,
government and administrations, health
care, education -- basically, in every
sphere of human activities.
Industry 4.0 is a key part of new economics,
closely connected to production plants.
Its aim is to speed up, cheapen, and
streamline the primary operations that
fulfil increasing and ever-changing
customer demand. Digitalization and the
automation of such processes, vertical
and horizontal interconnections in
supplier-purchaser chains and production
systems, as well as the use of various smart
technologies and AI are mere tools to
achieve such goals. They are the first steps
to redesign a wide spectrum of present
company processes. In this light, they are
not slight rearrangements of something
that has already existed but quite radical
transformations.
Are companies ready for such a change?
According to firms involved in preparing
companies to implement Industry 4.0,
only approximately 5 % of small and
mediumsized companies are ready to
implement full digitalization and over 50 %
are deeply mistaken in believing they will
be in no way be affecteded by Industry 4.0.
As for the Czech Republic, they are mostly
daughter companies of international
businesses who invest in this sphere
while Czech entrepreneurs seldom do so
even if they have enough money for such
investment.
Besides an insufficient understanding
of how important such investments are
Why should Czech businesses get
involved in Industry 4.0?
A great number of Czech companies
draw their competitive advantage from
technical know-how combined with
high flexibility and a relatively cheap
labour force. Yet some West European
businesses deliver the same product
faster, in better quality and cheaper than
Czech producers thanks to automation in
the preproduction phase and automated
production. Their new investments can
therefore easily eliminate the current
advantage of Czech businesses.
Numerous Czech companies often serve
as subsuppliers to foreign businesses who
assemble final products and are the true
leaders in implementing the principles
of Industry 4.0. It is most probable that
these businesses will soon demand the
full digitalization of the supplier-purchaser
chain, and those subsuppliers who do not
comply with their requirements may be
replaced in the chain.
POSITIV ǀ 3/2018 21