According to some reputable voices that analyze the evolution of industry 4.0, there are many businesses and companies that are not prepared to face the digitalization of the industrial processes. Companies must follow a series of fundamental steps to adapt to new technologies.

A study published by McKinsey & Company indicates that only 10% of companies are applying strategies focused toward industry 4.0. The lack of interdepartmental coordination, the mentality of staff or the infrastructures and especially the fear of what’s new and change, are some of the handicaps that companies are facing and that do not favor this implementation.
Antonio García, General Manager of Bossard Spain, coincides in that the majority of businesses are not prepared to face the new industrial revolution. According to him, there is a series of steps to make towards digitalization.
He also coincides with the authors of the book, “Industry 4.0 in the Digital Society" by Antoni Garrell and Llorenç Guilera who propose a series of steps they consider to be the most important so that digitalization is correctly implemented in companies.
The most important steps they agree on are:

  • Familiarize oneself with industry 4.0 and see it as an opportunity and not as a threat, which they consider to be the most important step.
  • Define the strategic objectives and be flexible in order to try new ideas.
  • The personnel should be retrained and/or be renewed with flexible and adaptable backgrounds.
  • Contract experts to satisfy specific needs.
  • Concentrate on the creation of value and think about the clients.
  • Maximize the productivity-quality ratio.
  • Support the product and apply collaborative management.


The principal changes have a common denominator of adaptation, flexibility and loss of fear of the new and unknown.
The consequence of all these actions will be that, in the very near future, companies will have extremely fast, agile and flexible supply chains that will, at all times, allow them to decide based on productivity. Interconnection is the key factor that will make this speed and efficiency possible. Companies should have an IT system capable of taking on this new computing collaboration.
Another of the questions raised by industry 4.0 is the sustainability of companies. In the future, these questions that are now more ethical than legal will be of absolute necessity, and companies should anticipate these new changes to innovation, globalization and productivity.