Industry4.0 Technology Battles in Manufacturing Operations Management
Non-technical dominance factors for IIoT & MES
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Abstract
With the Fourth Industrial Revolution, new industrial automation technologies (Industrial IoT) may replace the existing standard (MES). Most literature analyses software vendor techno-functional design, or manufacturer’s digital transformation. This paper takes a novel approach, by analysing the Business Eco-System with a lens of 11 nontechnical dominance factors. Evolutionary Economics and Economics Networks models are employed, such as Platform Wars, Technology Battles and Hughes’ Large Technical System. Can existing vendors adopt the new technologies, or will market entrants gain market dominance? How can manufacturers respond to the market uncertainty? A lot is at stake; will Europe be able to re-industrialise, and re-shore millions of jobs lost to Asia?