• Restructuring the Manufacturing Industry during the Industry 4.0 Transition

Abstract

The proliferation of Industry 4.0 technology has changed the structure of major industries and has become the core tenet of industrial revitalization and improvement. Based on the comprehensive deployment of physical information systems and the Internet of Things, the German government’s Industry 4.0 program employs a computerized, digitalized, and intelligence-optimized business operations model. Elsewhere, the Advanced Manufacturing Partner program of the United States, Made in China 2025, and Taiwan Productivity 4.0 are leading-edge manufacturing programs. Based on a policy analysis model, this study constructed a competitive strategy for the manufacturing industry to implement during the Industry 4.0 transition, and analyzed the revitalization policy objectives of the manufacturing industries of Germany, the United States, China, and Taiwan in light of the revitalization policy objectives of the manufacturing industry and locus of industrial leadership. Based on the survey of Industrial Innovation Resources under the Industry 4.0 transition and the views of manufacturing experts, this paper examines and summarizes the key success factors of the manufacturing industry and a country’s manufacturing innovation strategy during the Industry 4.0 transition. These key success factors could serve as a reference to aid governments in the development of revitalization policies for the manufacturing industry.

The preliminary results indicated that economic, technological, and social development are policy mainstays in Germany with the locus of industrial leadership at the national, industrial, and enterprise levels during the Industry 4.0 transition. Meanwhile, policy in the United States is centered on economic and technological development, and the locus of industrial leadership is at the industry and enterprise levels. China’s policy focuses on political, economic, technological, and social development, and the locus of industrial leadership is at the national level. Finally, Taiwan bases its policy on economic and technological development, and the locus of industrial leadership is at the national, industrial, and enterprise levels.

Keywords: Industry 4.0, Policy Analysis Model, Industry Revitalization, Industrial Innovation Resources