Industry 4.0 transforms entire business models in factories
Companies that sell product and production data and offer their services via Industrie 4.0 based on this data are more agile. This is the conclusion of a recent Bitkom study.
Nearly one in ten companies is focusing on Industry 4.0 and data-driven business models (see end of text). Relayr explains what is behind the current development and why the service model already plays a central role.
Industrial networking transforms industrial companies
The local economy is based on machines and hardware. In the meantime, however, customer wishes and requirements have changed worldwide and require those responsible to upgrade accordingly in order to be able to react flexibly to changes in production and peaks in demand. 20 percent of those surveyed by Bitkom have recognized this and say they are withdrawing obsolete products and services from the market and 39 percent say they are developing new ones.
Opportunities for companies to successfully connect to Industry 4.0
The figures illustrate that business models are already changing: The trend is moving away from actual purchase (owning a machine) to service (using a machine as a service). In this regard, Bitkom writes that orders for companies no longer end as soon as their product is sold, but are much more a basis for new business models. The idea: A company offers machine X, for example, "as-a-service". The company that claims this service pays according to the pay-per-use model. In other words, it only pays for the machine if it actually uses it.
The advantages of this subscription-based model are obvious: The buyer of the machine does not have to make high investments (capex), but receives it at manageable operating costs (opex). If production has to be stopped - be it because certain required products are not available or demand is initially saturated - this is not as serious because no further additional costs are incurred. However, if a machine purchased according to the traditional acquisition model is idle, it still has to be paid off.
As-a-Service business models open new doors
This approach is conceivable in a wide variety of industries: A manufacturer charges for an elevator according to operating hours, a crane is purchased as a service and charged according to the weight moved, customers do not pay for the machine but for the processed aluminum parts based on the actual number of pieces produced. These models are made possible by industrial equipment, e.g. sensors that are networked with the machines on the production floor and thus provide insights into product and production data.
In this way, companies not only work more productively and efficiently, but can also identify failures and other errors before they even occur. The customer signs a contract and gets exactly the equipment or services he needs. In addition, they receive risk-reducing availability guarantees and no longer have to worry about details; they pay per tonne moved, per piece or per hour - the capital saved can be invested elsewhere.
And the provider of this business model also benefits: he generates revenue throughout the entire product lifecycle, for example through maintenance contracts or financing services. Instead of the one-off sales revenue, he benefits from a cash flow that can be planned over the long term and even strengthens customer loyalty through service and maintenance contracts. The examples show that both manufacturers and customers benefit from the new business models:
They are more cost-efficient and make companies more agile and independent. Many companies have already recognized the advantages of industrial networking: According to Bitkom, 37 percent of the companies surveyed are already developing products and services according to the pay-per-use model.
In its representative survey, the digital association Bitkom asked Study 553 industrial companies with more than 100 employees.
