Deloitte has released a report claiming that many senior executives are less prepared for Industry 4.0 than they should be, despite successful implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies.
Business leaders continue to focus more on using advanced technologies to protect their positions than on making bold investments to drive disruption, according to the new report – based on Deloitte’s survey polling more than 2,000 C-suite executives across 19 countries.
Being too focused on the short-term results also means executives are struggling to develop strategies to adapt to rapidly changing markets.
Encompassing a wide range of processes and technologies, Industry 4.0 could be the way that the Australian manufacturing industry transforms to remain globally competitive for the rest of the 21st century.
The Deloitte report, however, says that few companies are even discussing how to manage the challenges inherent in new technology, let alone actively putting policies in place to do so.
Many leaders reported that their companies don’t follow clearly defined decision-making processes – and that organisational silos limit their ability to develop and share knowledge to implement effective strategies.
“Faced with an ever–increasing array of new technologies, leaders said they feel as though they have too many options from which to choose and, in some cases, they lack the strategic vision to help guide their efforts,” according to the report.
The report is ultimately positive, however, as leaders seem to be gaining a much deeper understanding of Industry 4.0, are increasingly aware of the challenges before them, and are viewing the actions needed to succeed more realistically.