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Information technology, in the form of IDC’s third platform, is on its way to disrupt all industries with new business models. These technologies are cloud, big data analytics, social business and mobility and technology accelerators. Mobility and technology accelerators consist of robotics, natural interfaces, 3D printing, Internet of Things, cognitive systems, next generation security. The Internet of Things and the Internet of Services are about to disrupt manufacturing industries. Industrie 4.0 is a proposal to address this issue. Industrie 4.0 is a business model in a vertically integrated and end-to-end engineered lifecycle and horizontally integrated supply chain. Cyber-physical products and cyber-physical systems negotiate production scheduling across the Internet of Things and form smart factories. The Internet of services is used to offer participants to the value chain internal and cross-organizational. Industrie 4.0 was made as a proposal in 2013, referring to possible future technology and business models designed to make manufacturing in high-cost countries competitive and profitable. A similar project in USA is the Industrial Internet.
Capgemeni (2014, p. 74) finds that General Electric is one of the major players in the Industrial Internet, whereas Siemens is recognized by Wall Street Journal (2017), The Economist (2016) as General Electric’s challenger. This article is a case study for Siemens’strategy for Industrie 4.0. The ground for this research is that Siemens, as a leading solution provider to manufacturing industries and an Industrie 4.0 adept, will create their technologies and thereby capabilities and will support their business models. The goal of this research is to expound Siemens’ customer value proposition and the product, service and solution offerings that underpin it and compare it to mainstream literature about the Industrie 4.0 technologies, capabilities and business models. It involves the literature review about Industrie 4.0 according to the main consultantancy bodies that provide the vision and to technology journals that provide the details of the current technology progress to the vision and research and development needs.
This article will provide the highlights of the vision and research in technology journals, not an exhaustive view. Data about Siemens is gathered via Siemens’ communications in annual reports, the Siemens Website, Siemens The Magazine, Siemens Pictures of the Future, Siemens press releases, searches via key word about Siemens. This body of data is explored, and patterns are induced; the findings are expounded, analyzed and critiqued in a strategic management approach.