The disruptive impact of Industry 4.0 on business models: the Irinox case

Abstract

In today's global economic and industrial scene, Industry 4.0 is the subject that is generating the most interest. The term refers to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a radical transformation that promises to play a crucial role in developing smart businesses with new technological paradigms. This wave of technology is revolutionizing how companies manufacture, improve, and distribute their products, significantly reducing the effects of economies of scale. They are incorporating new technologies into their operations and production facilities, including the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, data analytics, AI, and machine learning. The small size of a company from a disadvantage can become a source of benefit, providing greater flexibility. Indeed, it is no longer the size of the organization that matters but rather its ability to position itself at the point strategically best suited to its value system.

The main contribution of this work is that Industry 4.0 is no longer a prospect but an actuality that promises significant returns in terms of increased efficiency and reduced industrial expenditures. Throughout this project, there is an exposition of the latest digital technologies, explaining why they should be viewed as the means upon which to do business, not the final result. The development is the creation of new business models, generally falling in the four macro categories of the data-driven, platform, smart factory, and servitization, bringing countless benefits, significantly transforming production, and improving the entire value system. As an outcome, businesses nowadays face unique challenges not only in the fields of technology and science but furthermore in the political, social, and economic ones. In addition, throughout this dissertation, the Irinox case, an example of strategic consulting aimed at innovating products and processes, is exposed.