A good question!!!  So far, one thing we know: As we are talking about Virtual Enterprises (VEs), it should be a cooperation between industries (PARTNERS). However, there must be a "coordinator" responsible for the "general decision" and many partners responsible for "local decisions".    

A full implementation of 4.0 will decentralise a lot of business activities.

I would imagine one partner would take the order, have it produced at the location with the best cost/benefit profile including delivery to end customer. There could be multiple businesses involved in a simple order.

Another pressing question is to what extent economies of scale will be diminished and SMEs able to pick up business from MNCs.

Kind Regards

Roland

I expected (or predicted) more and more factories of I4.0 will be set up in US, Germany, Japan and China.  If based on Porter Diamond Theory of National Advantage model, US/Germany/Japan have more competitive advantage. The productivity in 2030 will be US>China>Japan>Germany.

Dear Hamid,

Sustainable development strategies adopted by some authorities may be a decisive criterion in the delocalisation of new additive-based technologies. Putting in place a process of environmental protection would ensure the perpetuation of such industrial activities.

Bests regards.

Industry 4.0, IOTS,  Big data analytic,  cloud computing, argmented reality, horizontal and vertical integration. The common denominator is programming and networking.  That's why u see android phone, chrome box, google car, apple car. 

I would prefer to diagnose accurately the picture  nowadays that exclusively trying to anticipate what will happen in future . Where are now the main technologies linked to Industry 4.0 and why?  In which countries? In which regions?

Manufacturing locations must first have feasibility studies on the application of technological infrastructure to accommodate Industry 4.0. in facility location.

I think it is important to classify the technologies related to Industry 4.0 and their purposes. For instance technologies such as IOT, Cloud manufacturing and big data can enable even further decentralisation of manufacturing activities, however on the other hand we have got intelligent robotics and Additive Manufacturing (3D printing) which can use online platform and network, that might be helpful to localise the production closer to the end customers. 

It should be also noted that when companies started to offshore their production to low cost countries such as China and India, initially there was a cost benefit in terms of labour and resource. Therefore inconsistent quality and lack of responsiveness were not well thought initially. One question is that if Industry 4.0 start to decentralise the production again what other production problems we will face in the future? e.g security and IP issues!!!!  Any suggestions

Dear Hamid Moradlou, I see from your last comment that you expected some confirmations of aspects in which you believe. I feel there is much truth in what you say, but you can not rule out any of the above responses (Mauricio F. Blos, Roland Berberich, Lau Km, Lotfi Nabli, Edward Law, Alfredo Hualde, and Karibo Benaiah Bagshaw), all offer interesting contributions.

In my humble opinion, I would focus the discussion on three aspects: the ability to develop and adapt new technologies (in particular robotics), The ability to offer high computer security (confronting cyber attacks) and which I consider the most important, how to absorb and integrate small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which may tend to disappear with the arrival of Industry 4.0.

I hope I have contributed to the discussion and have been helpful in your research. Best regards,

José Hernández.

Dear Jose, 

Thank you for your contributions.

So do you think this will promote offshoring, outsourcing, reshoring or insourcing?

Regards

Dear Hamid Moradlou, I do not have any elements of judgment, which will allow me to affirm that one of these four business managements is promoted by Industry 4.0.

I would almost venture to say that they are neither cause nor consequences of Industry 4.0.

However, I do not rule out that it is a topic that can be formally investigated.

Best regards,

José Hernández.

Many thanks Jose

I agree that different technologies within the realm of Industry 4.0 can affect factory-location decisions differently, either towards centralization or decentralization. However, it is important to stress out that technologies that realize Industry 4.0 can affect factory-location decisions but might not be the main drivers for them, as other factors might have an higher weight in the criteria for decision making. Think for instance at cheap labor costs in developing countries, the availability or depletion of critical materials in certain geographical areas, new market niches which require short lead times, etc. 

I think its nit only about industrial revolution... Company analyze their manufacturing locations... Thier are focus on economic point of biew. I think the main aspect to make decision for companies will be customers location. To be as close as possible will be very importent

Dear Hamid,

have a look to this paper about Collaborative Cloud Manufacturing. Could be interesting for your research.

Industry 4.0 implies less dependence on offshore production centres and diminishes the importance of bulk transportation from the remoted areas in the future. As I see it the concept could flourish being implemented for collaborative networks of suppliers located closer to their customers and facilitate customised production on demand. Global business architectures may be decentralised and localised in multiple smaller points of production. Could the links below raise your interest?

https://www.economist.com/business/2017/01/14/adidass-high-tech-factory-brings-production-back-to-germany

https://rctom.hbs.org/submission/how-adidas-is-utilizing-industry-4-0-to-reduce-time-to-market/

https://www.researchgate.net/project/DIGICOR-Decentralised-Agile-Coordination-Across-Supply-Chains

Good luck with your research!

Nikolai

Again, greetings to all the esteemed colleagues who are followers of this question. Last week I submit to the Research Gate platform, the Spanish version and the English version of the work: Multicriteria models to evaluate social development projects [New version], what we assume may be in the interest of all of you.

I apologize to those who receive this information multiple times, since I am sending it to several questions related to the subject.

Thank you for your attention and I hope you find the information useful.

Best regards,

José Hernández.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330205251_Modelos_multicriterio_para_evaluar_proyectos_de_desarrollo_social_Nueva_version?_sg=-kvK9X0bzxMahqSlW07QkmzFnhDBAoWH5RgS2uwZvCOL_CMOE2P-9-0hA85EG7X4l-4GTMNWR2uMTJ5B8Ks5hxVMxEy9iULap7QfAfUz.SDl1CjD-_Gc_FAvKYD1YlNXOXTMLbA4_iR5GwJ4xApIdL-NR_6HdVD_kinFOZ7hC4_bsbjKiYmbltNswb_XAvg

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330354600_Multicriteria_models_to_evaluate_social_development_projects_New_version_Modelos_multicriterio_para_evaluar_proyectos_de_desarrollo_social?_sg=-kvK9X0bzxMahqSlW07QkmzFnhDBAoWH5RgS2uwZvCOL_CMOE2P-9-0hA85EG7X4l-4GTMNWR2uMTJ5B8Ks5hxVMxEy9iULap7QfAfUz.SDl1CjD-_Gc_FAvKYD1YlNXOXTMLbA4_iR5GwJ4xApIdL-NR_6HdVD_kinFOZ7hC4_bsbjKiYmbltNswb_XAvg

I would say, it will impact the entire supply chain where we dont need to have manufacturing, warehousing, delivery and etc. Definitely, we dont need to think or discuss about locations anymore, as the customers will be able to go online, download the CAD design and print the product.

Industry 4.0 is an Industry itself as well. On this sense, I think that one of the criteria considered to chose a new location will be the availability of technology suppliers in a possible location.

We know that there are several benefits in Industria 4.0 and Decentralization is one of them, because it allows the location of the factory in a different location from its suppliers and thus allows cost savings (Ilaria), but at the same time generates another problem, which is one of the biggest Ind. 4.0 defects - the lack of standardization precisely because of the distance and little oversight of its manufacturing suppliers (Kazantsev). My suggestion is to use the Multi-Criteria system (Ramirez), associating with it decision levels such as: Lower cost; higher productivity; greater availability of inputs and larger market niches. I believe that if you answer these questions you will get the best place to install your factory. Good luck at project.

Good day

Refer the following:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/BIJ-09-2018-0281/full/html