Riassunto analitico
In the last few years, the relevant role played by Industry 4.0 in the worldwide economic systems has progressively gained the institutional and academic interest. In turn, scholars and economists have long debated on how Industry 4.0 will impact manufacturing industry, and particularly the ceramic tile one.
Industry 4.0 is a phenomenon still at an early development stage and it promises to bring significant benefits to the manufacturing industry around the world when employing the “smart factory” concept in large organizations and their supply chains. Initiatives incorporating this concept can already be found in Italy: the “Industria 4.0” National Plan represents a great opportunity for all companies that are ready to take advantage of the unprecedented incentives offered by the fourth industrial revolution.
Ceramic industry is currently facing one of the most important changes in its recent history. The digital transformation of the companies offers a deeper knowledge of the customer to develop new ways of work that provide solutions in shorter time cycles. This new paradigm allows companies to take quicker decisions and connecting better all the elements of the production chain.
The Italian ceramic tile industry has evolved greatly in the recent years to the almost complete automation of the production line. After a decade of improvements in the manufacture, today’s plants are capable of mass produce tiles with little human intervention. The Italian tile industry is rushing headlong towards the “Ceramic Factory 4.0” model, driven in particular by the special tax incentives launched by the Italian government with the aim of promoting Industry 4.0 technologies.
Hopefully the meas¬ure will give a real idea of the advantages that can be ob¬tained from the digital conversion of factories. Industry 4.0 does not simply mean “more automation”. It is a way of optimizing the value chain and achieving growth and competitive¬ness through a general rethink of production planning.
A theoretical framework is here proposed to evaluate Industry 4.0 key technologies and core concepts with respect to their impact on the ceramics sector. Furthermore, this thesis is the first complete work with an empirical estimation of advantages, challenges and maturity level of Industry 4.0 in Italy, on ceramic tile industry.
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Abstract
In the last few years, the relevant role played by Industry 4.0 in the worldwide economic systems has progressively gained the institutional and academic interest. In turn, scholars and economists have long debated on how Industry 4.0 will impact manufacturing industry, and particularly the ceramic tile one.
Industry 4.0 is a phenomenon still at an early development stage and it promises to bring significant benefits to the manufacturing industry around the world when employing the “smart factory” concept in large organizations and their supply chains. Initiatives incorporating this concept can already be found in Italy: the “Industria 4.0” National Plan represents a great opportunity for all companies that are ready to take advantage of the unprecedented incentives offered by the fourth industrial revolution.
Ceramic industry is currently facing one of the most important changes in its recent history. The digital transformation of the companies offers a deeper knowledge of the customer to develop new ways of work that provide solutions in shorter time cycles. This new paradigm allows companies to take quicker decisions and connecting better all the elements of the production chain.
The Italian ceramic tile industry has evolved greatly in the recent years to the almost complete automation of the production line. After a decade of improvements in the manufacture, today’s plants are capable of mass produce tiles with little human intervention. The Italian tile industry is rushing headlong towards the “Ceramic Factory 4.0” model, driven in particular by the special tax incentives launched by the Italian government with the aim of promoting Industry 4.0 technologies.
Hopefully the meas¬ure will give a real idea of the advantages that can be ob¬tained from the digital conversion of factories. Industry 4.0 does not simply mean “more automation”. It is a way of optimizing the value chain and achieving growth and competitive¬ness through a general rethink of production planning.
A theoretical framework is here proposed to evaluate Industry 4.0 key technologies and core concepts with respect to their impact on the ceramics sector. Furthermore, this thesis is the first complete work with an empirical estimation of advantages, challenges and maturity level of Industry 4.0 in Italy, on ceramic tile industry.
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