Industry 4.0 – The Future of Indo-German Industrial Collaboration

Summary:

Industry 4.0 can be described as the fourth industrial revolution, a mega‑Trend that affects every company around the world. A recent Input-Paper published by the Bertelsmann Stiftung and carried out by the Fraunhofer Institute analyses the potentials and challenges for collaboration between India and Germany in this field.

In a first step, we look at the technical perspective – the vertical and horizontal integration of Industry 4.0 principles in enterprises. Vertical integration refers to operations within Smart Factories and horizontal integration to Smart Supply Chains across businesses. In the second step, we look at manufacturing, chemical industry and the IT sector as potential targets for collaboration between the two countries. We use case studies to illustrate the benefits of the deployment of Industry 4.0. Potential collaboration patterns are discussed along different forms of value chains and along companies’ ability to achieve Industry 4.0 status. We analyse the social impact of Industry 4.0 on India and Germany and find that it works very well in the coming years. Germany with its dwindling labor force might be compensated through the automation. This will ensure continued high productivity levels and rise in GDP.

• Alternative Source 1