The national Enterprise 4.0 Plan for SME

The national Enterprise 4.0 Plan (formerly Industry 4.0) is the chance for all companies to seize the opportunities connected to the fourth industrial revolution. The government plan provides for concrete measures based on three main guidelines: operating according to a logic of technological neutrality, acting with horizontal and non-vertical or sectorial actions and acting on enabling factors. The advent of Industry 4.0 has a positive impact on reducing the costs of various aspects, such as the rationalisation of energy consumption and maintenance thanks to smarter machinery capable of collecting, combining and sending data through a continuous connection with the aid of the Internet of Things and cloud computing. All of ATS production can be funded with the national Enterprise 4.0 Plan.

The use of 3D printers has brought about a true revolution, as they are able to reduce costs and production times thanks to the technologies they are equipped with. Technological support is also decisive with regards to logistics, with better management of warehouse costs (always under real-time control), efficiency and production performance, preventing errors and waste, streamlining production and purchases based on the situation, lowering storage costs and achieving a general improvement in the general situation and relations with customers and suppliers.

The positive effects of digitalisation are manifold and also concern the creation of new jobs, the reduction of harmful emissions and many more. However, in order to be able to accede to it, companies – especially those with few available resources – might need to work hard and that’s exactly where Industry 4.0 comes in, although approaching steps must still be undertaken by the owners and company personnel:

  1. The first step is getting to know Industry 4.0 and gaining adequate information on how it works, also by exchanging information with other companies, so as to assess effective methods of use and the benefits obtained from an investment. This is a necessary and essential step in order not to make any wrong purchases and investments.
  2. The next step concerns the analysis of the advantages and how one wishes to and is able to achieve them. To do so, it is necessary to analyse the target market and the situation, so as to be able to understand which are the best and most important sectors to be targeted by digitalisation in view of an investment that can offer the best possible result. Having done that, one will then need to implement an optimal strategy that turns this estimate into tangible results.
  3. Only after these preventive steps will it be possible to actually switch to action. This means selecting and contacting the suppliers of the identified technologies for cost estimates and liaising with them in order to have a clearer and more comprehensive vision, allowing them to provide advice on the project and any information that only an expert in the field is able to provide, to actually improve the human-machine interaction, the production process and all that concerns the company’s life in a general sense.