Last fall a major German newspaper led with the headline: Industry 4.0 – “Ten Lost Years.” The article argued that despite Industry 4.0 and digitization, productivity isn’t where it should be. I believe we could be further ahead, but without digitalization and industry 4.0 – given the ongoing disruption – we would be way behind. However, there are a few things not going well. We’re seeing huge implementations and lighthouse projects in large companies, but not across the board. There are five major challenges we need to overcome as an industry when it comes to industry 4.0:

1. Prioritizing technology over business scenarios. Companies talk about sensors, protocols and connectivity first, but the conversation should begin with business scenarios.
2. Taking a cost-driven approach. Initiatives are centered around making manufacturing more efficient. But the real opportunity is in the top line, not the bottom line. Companies should think about how to make more money instead of how to make money with less costs.
3. Thinking in silos. Many business initiatives are in manufacturing – the initiatives don't look at engineering, sales, or finance. That's a big problem, as many of these intitiatives have financial implications across the entire enterprise.
4. Reluctance to share data. Digitalization requires data sharing, and if people do not share data, that’s a problem. 
5. Limited scalability for small and medium-sized businesses. Many implementations work for big companies that have lots of resources. But they don’t scale for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the industry. When it comes to implementation projects, digital technology adoption and scalability is essential for faster SMB growth.

We’ve all heard about Manufacturing-X – an initiative to digitalize supply chains in the industry – as the next big thing in the German and European marketplace. Manufacturing-X is an open data ecosystem, which uses concepts from Catena-X – the collaborative, open data ecosystem for the automotive industry – and applies it to all industries, with a focus on industrial manufacturing. It addresses many of the challenges I have mentioned, especially the data sharing aspect. Because in a business network where data is shared in an open and trusted way and where every participant maintains sovereignty over their own data, suddenly the reluctance to share data reduces. I believe business networks are key to ensuring industry success, especially open data ecosystems like Manufacturing-X and Catena-X.