Open Access Articles

Global supply and value chains have become increasingly complex and interconnected, exposing companies to a range of risks caused by natural disasters, political instability, or global pandemics. The paper outlines some strategic options for companies to improve the resilience of their value chains, namely expansion of local or global supply chains, regional concentration or global diversification of production capacities, and insourcing or outsourcing activities. Data of 314 German manufacturing firms is used to investigate the influence of different digital technologies and adaptable production systems.

DisruptionsThe COVID-19 pandemic highlighted significant deficiencies in the value networks of the healthcare industry, as demands were not identified fast enough and production systems and processes could not be adapted quickly. The revealed need for resilience of companies in the healthcare industry must be addressed in order to prepare them for further disruptions and mitigate their consequences. Therefore, this paper presents a concept aimed at increasing the resilience of these companies.

The world economy is under tension. For years now, globalization has been faltering, moving sideways at best. Recent developments have caused additional distortions. There is now a strong desire for independence. In many places, subsidies are supposed to pave the way for this. In some areas, a veritable competition has broken out in this regard. Even if this is understandable from a political point of view, from an economic perspective the disadvantages of such a competition outweigh the benefits.

Artificial Intelligence methods can be structured according to different aspects. Applications within Industrie 4.0 can also be classified into levels and process groups using the RAMI framework or the ISA95 standard. However, a taxonomy is lacking that relates the classification of the application areas to the processes improved by machine learning methods while at the same time locating and evaluating them. Such a framework helps to classify new processes and solutions and supports finding suitable machine learning methods for concrete problems in the Industry 4.0 context.

The industrial internet-of-things is built on heterogeneous hardware/software platforms, which vary in their architecture and performance. Virtualization is an important technology for building secure and portable applications on scalable IoT deployments. Bytecode based virtual machines are coming back into focus with WebAssembly, a technology that started in the web browser and now raises interest in other use cases. In this paper we discuss a vision of scalable WebAssembly deployments in the industrial internet-of-things.

Due to the sharp rise in energy prices, compressed air, or compressor performance and its power consumption, are once again in the foreground as part of energy management. Due to the fact, that compressed air often escapes via leaks and these are difficult to localize or measure, a niche topic is becoming very noteworthy again. Automated leak detection can determine the need for repairs and help increase energy efficiency. It is important that not only leaks are detected, but that the extent of the leaks can also be quantified. A cost-effective method of detecting leaks is energy monitoring of the air compressor. Continuous monitoring and evaluation of the energy data means that you can react quickly.

The political and social request for environmentally compatible products is putting companies under increasing pressure. Small and medium-sized companies (SME) in particular have to quickly find or develop solutions to these demands. This paper presents a methodological approach that combines the proven strategies of agile development with the specific activities of so-called ecodesign. The methodology is first discussed theoretically and then experimentally evaluated and discussed by means of a case study in a real company context.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing companies. To be able to define strategies for decarbonizing their business activities, companies need to start accounting for their emissions. Calculating Scope 3 emissions is a complex, resource- intensive, and often imprecise process for companies. By using digital technologies, Scope 3 carbon accounting can become more transparent, efficient, and secure. This article highlights the potential of digital technologies in Scope 3 carbon accounting.

The COVID-19 crisis had an unmistakable impact on the procurement situation in global supply chains, to which companies had to adapt quickly. The effects make it clear that to reduce risks, companies must address the structure and transparency of supply chains. The following article examines what knowledge the actors have and how digitalization can lead to further improvement. The results show that companies currently have little supply chain knowledge beyond their direct suppliers, but are increasingly able to obtain the supply chain data they require. At the same time, the results indicate that there is still potential to increase transparency and the use of data.

Within the concepts of Industry 4.0, the term “Smart Factory” stands for the creation of effective production environments through digitalization and cyber-physical systems. Most manufacturers plan to make their manufacturing systems more automated, flexible and adaptive. In the course of these efforts, intelligent materials are increasingly brought into focus. Combined actuator and sensory properties enable the construction of lightweight and compact multifunctional actuator-sensor systems that are operated in an energy-efficient, noise-free and emission-free manner. This makes them appropriate for building networked systems. Shape memory alloys (SMAs) and dielectric elastomers (DEs) are particularly suitable for building intelligent actuators, and are presented in this article alongside several use cases.