Most companies perceive Industry 4.0 as highly important for their future competitiveness but have problems finding an aspect that is relevant to them. The term Industry 4.0 has a focus on manufacturing processes but does not confine the topic to merely manufacturing. Industry 4.0 includes changes that have an impact on products and services that companies offer. Digital innovation on the product level can lead to game changing transformations of business models. It might only take one innovative company, embracing digital transformation, to change the customer behavior of a whole industry. This book guides you through the basic idea and terms of Industry 4.0, comparing it with similar initiatives in other countries. It is shown in which ways companies are affected by digitalization on the product level. The empirical research leads to three categories of business model transformation that will help you finding the right approach of reflecting your own business model towards digitalization, by giving real industry examples.

Ing. Wolfgang Frick, M.Sc., born 1986, technical school for Industrial Engineering HTL Innsbruck, Bachelors in Management and Economics, Masters in Strategic Management at University of Innsbruck. Worked in Application Engineering, Product Management, Post Merger Integration Management with a focus on US companies with an international company.