67% of UK manufacturers recognise Industry 4.0 opportunity

Over the past six years, Industry 4.0 has become a widely understood term among Britain’s manufacturing community – however, only 25% of the UK manufacturers feel that they have an adequate understanding of the threats and opportunities of Industry 4.0. These are the findings from the Annual Manufacturing Report 2017.

The statistics show that manufacturers in the UK are less confident compared to, for example, companies in Germany where almost half (46%) of companies implemented Industry 4.0 technologies in 2016, according to Bitkom – the Federal Association of Information Technology.

It’s surprising that only a quarter of UK manufacturers said they possessed a sufficient knowledge of new technologies, since the opportunities of Industry 4.0 have been widely promoted by academics, policymakers, and industrial experts.

Among those manufacturers indicating an adequate understanding of Industry 4.0, a significant majority were either already undertaking a move to Industry 4.0 (12%), or were planning to do so (62%). Just 15% had evaluated Industry 4.0 and decided that it was not applicable to their business.

Nevertheless, Industry 4.0 technologies – such as automation, robotics, software, sensors, virtual reality, 3D printing, big data, human-machine interface to name but a few – are already shaping the agenda of UK manufacturing across every sector.

The Manufacturer will continue to monitor and assess the progress of that agenda.

You can download the full Annual Manufacturing Report 2017 here.