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The fourth or already fifth industrial revolution – how to keep up?

Rethinking the digital strategy and adapting Industry 4.0 in your company – the benefits are significant, but the road to it seems quite long and difficult. Improving quality, reducing costs, achieving shorter cycle times and increasing revenue are all Industry 4.0 attributes. However, with many technology choices and a seemingly complex business transformation process, many companies often ask where to start.
Factors driving the development of Industry 4.0
It is noticeable that modern consumers tend to take advantage of free trade and take an interest in global news, have more knowledge of economic trends. With the current flow of information and taking an interest in world news and comparing it with what is offered nationally, there is a growing demand factor for better products and more efficient services. This is what is becoming the main engine for companies to take on the digital transformation.
Comparing previous industrial revolutions with Industry 4.0, it is distinguished by an increase in research and experimental development (R&D) activities, which in particular drives the availability of technology in all industrial sectors. Technology increases production productivity in the industry, while newer technologies maximize available production resources, labor, reduce downtime, and increases productivity. Industry 4.0 also involves the use of big data that help to digitize data and delve into customers, better understand them, and gain insights to maintain their loyalty.
Using data analysis, potential markets can be explored, and by choosing inorganic customer base cultivation, various marketing tools can be targeted. In addition, this type of digitization contributes to reducing risks. For example, with large amounts of supplier data, digital means can ensure the availability of raw materials at good prices.

Difficulties that are mostly common for all
The most common obstacles faced by companies planning to adopt Industry 4.0 are related to the company itself or the surrounding factors.
Enterprise-level barriers are related to their management, which is usually unfamiliar with next-generation technologies, avoids higher investment commitments because they are not convinced of the performance of the technology. Often, such companies are not flexible enough to innovate or do not want to wait for the investment to pay off. For example, the return on investment (ROI) for artificial intelligence innovation is usually 3 to 5 years from the initial cost.
It is often difficult for old plants to determine future benefits, as most of the companies still depend on Industry 2.0. They still have outdated database storage systems that can be challenging to redesign and integrate into cloud computing redevelopment.
It is worth noting that less than a decade after the first mention of Industry 4.0, which is associated with advanced technologies, there is already tmany discussions of Industry 5.0, where robots help people do things. Most common example would be the Internet of Things.

FETEK - a photovoltaic technology cluster applying to Industry 4.0
Founded more than a decade ago, the Photovoltaic Technology Cluster brings together industry and research and development institutions. FETEK's activities focus on one of the areas of photonics - photovoltaic technologies, where electricity is excited by light. According to the cluster coordinator dr. Juras Ulbikas, the concept of Industry 4.0 and photonics are linked by the fact that for most fields of photonics, Industry 4.0 is a useful tool for efficient work in a rapidly changing market.
In the photovoltaic industry technologies, two product groups can be distinguished - standard and non-standard. Standard products are designed for the construction of large photovoltaic plants where photovoltaic modules cover large areas of land. Non-standard products are designed for a specific environment, where photovoltaic modules are adapted and integrated specifically for the environment that requires an autonomous energy source, such as a building, a lighting pole, a charging station or any Internet of Things object.
According to the FETEK cluster coordinator, for this second group of products, the use of the potential of Industry 4.0 is very necessary and efficient, as it allows to change the design of the product and produce small series of specific products at the lowest cost.
“With the gradual transition of humanity to a new generation power supply system with distributed generation, the number of such specific photovoltaic applications is growing very fast. Thus, companies using the principles of Industry 4.0 will gain a strong competitive advantage in their production.”, notes dr. Juras Ulbikas.
Regarding companies applying to Industry 4.0, dr. J. Ulbikas shares that the most important thing is flexible production, which is able to quickly adapt to the changing needs of the market, because this is the future of all manufacturing businesses. When building your business and thinking about its long-term competitiveness, it is necessary to think about the implementation of the principles of Industry 4.0 from the very beginning. When asked about the goals of the cluster, dr. Juras Ulbikas is glad that FETEK has achieved its goal, which was formulated at the beginning of its establishment.
"In addition to the laser and biotechnology sector, we have created another – the photovoltaic sector. Today, our flagships such as Solitek are renowned for their innovative products across Europe. In Lithuania, the photovoltaic industry is growing, the number of companies in the sector is growing and this is happening despite the fact that the photovoltaic industry is going through very difficult times all over Europe due to Chinese pressure and many companies have gone bankrupt. I can attribute our exceptional success only to the right initial FETEK strategy – close cooperation between science and business and a constant flow of innovative technologies to industry. So I would say we are a good example of the EU's goals of building a base for green energy and strengthening an innovation-intensive industry.

The Norway Grants program, administered by the Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology (MITA), promotes innovation in the green industry by providing financing opportunities to Lithuanian companies operating in this field and by introducing Norwegian companies developing green technologies. More about the program.
 
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