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Collaborative robots (so-called cobots) that enable secure hand-in-hand collaboration with construction workers without physical separation are regarded as a promising future technology for manufacturing companies. In practice, there are some cases in which people interact with cobots, but very few in which collaboration in a narrower sense takes place. What are the reasons for this lack of collaborative applications? What role does the cobots’ ability to enable collaboration play in practice? The study is based on qualitative evidence gathered in four German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Blockchain holds high potential for various applications. In the business context, one of its key features - the availability of data to various parties - is a liability as business secrets shouldn’t be exposed and GDPR compliance has to be ensured. In this paper, we discuss solutions for these privacy problems. Also, we present the HANSEBLOC project, a blockchain-powered platform for data exchange in logistics, and the chosen privacy solutions.

This article presents an IOTA Industry Marketplace. The industry marketplace is a manufacturer- and industry-neutral open-source platform, based on the specifications and guidelines of the platform Industry 4.0 and enables an uncomplicated integration of company information systems into the overall network. The industry marketplace combines distributed ledger technology, unchangeable audit trails, standardized, machine-readable language, an integrated distributed identity system and provides a trusted and secure infrastructure for data and value transfer.

The impact of digitization on the economy cannot be seen detached from the debate on sustainable development. Corporate Sustainability Management (CSM) offers particular potential for approaching sustainable development and Industry 4.0 from a company perspective. However, supporting digitized sustainability management in companies with information requires a consistent and seamless flow of information, which can be achieved with the help of methods of knowledge representation. Current challenges and approaches for the development of an open and conceptional CSM model are presented in this article.

Alongside to the enormous rise in Bitcoin value in 2017/2018, there was also a tremendous rise in required Hashpower and electricity to verify blocks of the Bitcoin-Chain. Deriving from this problem, this article investigates different consensus algorithms and their impact on sustainability. Furthermore this article proposes an extensive comparison of the most used Blockchain algorithms with a focus on their contribution to sustainability.

Blockchain technology is expected to have great potential for success, especially in logistics and supply chain management. In the following, the Blockchain project “Release Order based on Blockchain (ROboB)” in the Port of Hamburg will be discussed in particular. The analysis showed that in addition to positive aspects, the core characteristics of the Blockchain could also represent obstacles for logistics business. Therefore, this paper examines whether transparency is an important design consideration when using blockchain in logistics and the supply chain.

As a result of the progressively climate change, the environmental impact of corporate activities is becoming the focus of internal and external shareholders. At the same time more complex supply chain networks are being developed in the industry. The majority of the processes involved in a supply chain network are executed by globally spread partners. This trend makes it difficult to quantify the impact of individual corporate-level activities on the overall ecological performance of the supply chain. The following document evaluates the scope of application on the SCOR model for a structured range of data emissions from global supply chains, based on a detailed literature research.

Current State of Disturbance Management Disturbances in production systems can lead to massive costs for enterprises. It is a highly relevant ability for manufacturing companies to cope with the effects of occurring disturbances and their prevention. A survey on manufacturing companies draws a current picture of disturbance management and identifies challenges for coping with disturbances.

Public discussions on the future of labour in the era of digitalization are dominated by notions of self-driving cars, factories without workers or fully automatic logistics. This creates fears of mass destruction of jobs and shrinking employment rates in the future. At the same time, it has led to intense debates on an unconditional basic income: While productivity would rise, a substantial drop in the number of jobs would question the income distribution mechanism our working societies are currently built on. This article argues that while replacement of existing jobs - or at least tasks - by technology will happen and has always happened, this is only one side of the coin. The future of labour markets will be more complex. This is discussed in a macroeconomic, firm and international dimension.

The aim of circular economy is to return a used product to the product and production life cycle several times in a value-adding way. This article presents the current industrial practice for a successful circular economy and the associated potentials, based on a definition of circular economy and its principles. Afterwards, existing challenges of the circular economy are analyzed. The article intends to support decision-makers in recognizing the advantages of circular economy and to tackle challenges for a successful introduction at an early stage.