The concept of Industry 4.0 first appeared in Germany and was officially launched at the Hannover Industrial Fair in 2013. Its core purpose was to enhance the competitiveness of German industry and gain a lead in the new industrial revolution. It was later included in Germany’s “High-Tech Strategy 2020” as one of the ten future projects. This project was jointly funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, with an expected investment of 200 million euros. The goal is to improve the level of intelligence in manufacturing, establish adaptable, resource-efficient, and genetically engineered smart factories, and integrate customers and business partners into commercial and value chains. Its technical foundation is cyber-physical systems and the Internet of Things.
The “Industry 4.0” concept involves a fundamental shift from centralized control to decentralized enhanced control, to establish highly flexible, personalized, and digitalized production model for products and services. In this model, traditional industry boundaries will disappear, leading to new areas of activity and forms of collaboration. The process of creating new value is changing, and the division of labor in the industrial chain will be restructured.
Driven by the wave of Industry 4.0, technological innovation is reshaping traditional business models. Integrating emerging technologies such as smart manufacturing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data has not only improved production efficiency but also given rise to entirely new business ecosystems. This technology-driven business transformation is changing the competitive landscape of businesses and their methods of value creation.
The application of intelligent technologies has significantly enhanced product-added value. Using the crane manufacturing industry as an example, bridge cranes have achieved intelligent upgrades by integrating sensors and data analytics technologies, enabling real-time operational status monitoring and predictive maintenance services. This shift from single equipment sales to solution provision has increased the enterprise’s profit margin by over 15%.
Regarding the upcoming trend of automated data flow, major manufacturing countries around the world have different understandings. A typical example is the “Industrial Internet” promoted by General Electric (GE), which focuses more on the intelligence of the products themselves.
Data-driven business model innovation has become a new growth point. By collecting and analyzing equipment operation data, companies can offer value-added services to customers. Gantry crane manufacturers can analyze customer usage data to develop personalized equipment optimization solutions, which not only improve customer satisfaction but also create new revenue streams.
The digitization of the supply chain has restructured industrial collaboration models. Through industrial internet platforms, upstream and downstream enterprises can achieve real-time data sharing and collaborative decision-making. This digital collaboration model has improved supply chain efficiency by 30% and increased inventory turnover by 25%. In the crane industry, this transformation is particularly evident in the spare parts supply and after-sales service processes.
Technological innovation has also given rise to new business ecosystems. Traditional enterprises, by collaborating with technology companies and startups, have built open innovation platforms. This ecological development model accelerates technology transfer and shortens product iteration cycles. A crane manufacturer, for instance, collaborated with an AI startup and developed a next-generation intelligent control system in just six months.
Looking ahead, technology-driven business transformation will continue to deepen. Enterprises need to establish agile organizational structures and cultivate digital capabilities to seize opportunities in this transformation. Technological innovation is not only a means of product upgrading but also the core driving force behind business model innovation.
