May 201919MANUFACTURINGTECHNOLOGYINSIGHTSBy Francois Barbier, President, Global Operations and Components, FlexWelcome to Industry 4.0, a term coined in 2011 by Henning Kagermann, the head of the German Academy of Science and Engineering. This new fourth wave is powered by advancements that include smart manufacturing, robotics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things (IoT). It propels industry leaders to work more efficiently while giving product designers more control.At the same time, this shift will drive the need for smart automation further, says François Barbier, president of Global Operations and Components at Flex, a global design, engineering, and manufacturing leader. Flex knows firsthand how companies are adopting IoT solutions. All over the world, from automobiles to consumer goods to chemicals, integrating the IoT into manufacturing is not only under way but already proving to be cost-effective. While the current supply chain system consists of several steps--marketing, product development, manufacturing, and distribution--that occur independent of one another, smart manufacturing could streamline the time, effort, and communication between each step, creating faster and more reliable service.For many companies, operating in this new paradigm will require support. "The way we are designing products today and the way we are getting information from our customers have changed dramatically. The data that informs how we design our products can be much more or much less prescriptive depending on the customer," says Barbier. He explains that Flex still has traditional customers who are very prescriptive--Flex offers these Five Trends for Manufacturing's Fourth Wave: Industry 4.0 Essentials for Global Operations LeadersCXO INSIGHTSFrancois Barbier
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