Industry 4.0: Where do Swiss companies stand?
The results of a cross-national study by the management consultancy Staufen AG show that intelligent factory models are also changing Swiss companies. Nevertheless, there is a need to catch up in both Germany and Switzerland.
A total of 329 industrial companies were surveyed for the Industrie 4.0 Index in summer 2015. The majority of companies are convinced that the business model and product range will change noticeably as a result of Industry 4.0. For around 90 percent, efficient and effective processes are the prerequisite for the successful transition to the smart factory. They are convinced that technology-oriented Industrie 4.0 thinking complements the value stream-oriented lean philosophy perfectly.
room for improvement
However, there is currently still a lot of "room for improvement" in the implementation of lean methods, as the companies in all the countries surveyed self-critically admit. Only around one in four Swiss companies state that they are well positioned in terms of value stream-oriented organisation and the use of standard processes. In the case of consumption management, the figure is as low as 17 percent. No company describes itself as very well positioned in these fields, so the need for action is still high in the view of the respondents.
Remarkable: In contrast, one in ten companies gives itself excellent marks for the reduction of throughput and set-up times - here some companies have obviously made great efforts in recent years. With regard to the individual methods, the German companies consider themselves to be somewhat better positioned than the Swiss.
The study can be requested at the following address: contact.ch@staufen.ag.
