Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 refers to the fourth industrial revolution, which is characterized by the comprehensive digitalization and networking of production processes. The aim is to create intelligent, self-optimizing manufacturing systems that work flexibly, efficiently and in a resource-saving manner.
The central technologies of Industry 4.0 are the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), big data analysis, cloud computing and cyber-physical systems (CPS), which link physical processes with digital models.
Industry 4.0 not only enables greater automation, but also flexible production down to batch size 1. Companies benefit from increased transparency, predictive maintenance, reduced production costs and faster response times to market requirements.
A modern MES (Manufacturing Execution System) plays a key role as a link between machines, people and higher-level IT systems such as ERP in order to record, evaluate and utilize data in real time.

Example:
A machine manufacturer equips its production lines with IoT sensors that send machine data to the MES in real time. AI-supported analysis is used to predict maintenance requirements, avoid unplanned downtime and continuously optimize production efficiency. The company increases its production capacity and reduces operating costs at the same time.