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IoT-Platforms are a key element for interconnecting physical objects and providing data for digital twins which represent such objects. The market for IoT platforms has grown massively in recent years. With now more than 600 providers, selecting the “right” platform for a company is no longer an easy task. This article supports companies in the selection process by providing an overview on common functionalities of IoT platforms and criteria for evaluating IoT platforms.

Due to the high requirements of customers, logistics service providers are getting under pressure to improve their processes more efficiently and economically. In this context, the advancing automation and digitalization in all industrial sectors are producing a multitude of innovative solutions which will help solving the problems mentioned before [1]. The resulting sociotechnical systems created this way are often not in the focus due to the new technology. In this study, a project procedure will be presented as a recommendation which will help to introduce an innovation − in this case especially for an automatic guided vehicle− in consideration of the aspects of socio-technical systems.

This article presents a concept for the visualization of maintenance processes in Industry 4.0 using the reference architecture model Industry 4.0, in short RAMI 4.0. The mirroring of maintenance processes is done by transferring relevant maintenance terms from various standards into maintenance assets and the corresponding management shells. Here, the role of the human being has to be considered and the dynamic behaviour of maintenance processes has to be mapped. In this respect, this concept presents different methods of visualizing these issues.

Collaborative robots (so-called cobots) enable human-robot collaboration without security fences and are regarded as a promising future technology for manufacturing companies. However, actual market penetration has fallen behind estimations in recent years. A lack of market transparency makes it difficult to identify current barriers, development trends and the potential of cobots in practice. Will this technology become a game-changer or turn out to be a mere hype topic without significant impact on production practice? In this article, we present findings from an empirical market analysis based on secondary data and qualitative interviews with German market experts from business and academia.

The employee remains a key productivity element in industrial assembly. Assembly assistance systems have therefore become an integral part of employee support. This paper presents a novel assistance system that complements process-related assistance with human-centered functionalities. In addition, an approach for the systematic evaluation of assembly assistance systems is presented in this paper. The research is based on an evaluation of the current state of the art through systematic market analysis of available assembly assistance systems.

The data generated in the design and manufacture of tools and dies is rarely used in a targeted manner. However, it contains a significant wealth of knowledge that can be used to predict important parameters. For example, the metadata generated during the CAM programming of die-sinking electrodes can be used to extract parameters suitable to predict the subsequent erosion duration. A major hurdle in making data usable is their heterogeneity in number, format and employed terminology. This article presents a structured method for integrating heterogeneous data and making them queryable via a uniform interface. Its added value is demonstrated by means of a use case from die-sinking EDM.

Industry 4.0 and an increasing digitalisation make it possible to implement decentralised decisions in production and on the shop floor to an ever greater extent. Shopfloor Management is an important enabler for the assumption of decentralised responsibility on the shop floor. This article takes up the approach of autonomous assembly teams and explains how they can be realised step-by-step with the help of goal-oriented shop floor management.

In the apparel industry, with demanding customers and an oversupply of products and shopping options, interactivity and individualization offer important opportunities for differentiation. However, digital business-to-consumer interactions have so far been limited to product configuration and viewing. This paper presents new, digitally supported approaches to integrate the customer into the collection development process of the apparel industry.

Against the backdrop of industrial transformation, medium-sized supplier firms can use digital technologies to optimize their work processes. New digital production systems offer one opportunity for organizing factory processes more efficiently. However, their introduction requires a “corporate culture 4.0” that is characterized by trust in decisions concerning the future design of such systems, despite the involved high uncertainties. Using the example of a digital tool management system, this article presents measures for strengthening such a corporate culture.

Customer orientation and individualization will be two of the biggest challenges for companies. They need to expect their business model to become more complex as the range and diversity of their products and services will increase. Those who find a smart approach of managing the complexity will have a decisive competitive advantage. Those who use modularization across products, services, production and the organisation, will be prepared to deliver individual value propositions more quickly and their profitability will not be jeopardised by their own complexity.