Faced with accelerating industrial change and growing pressure from environmental, economic and social demands, industrial companies have no choice but to fundamentally rethink their organization and operating methods. The rise of digital technologies - IoT, artificial intelligence, digital twins, process mining - is opening up unprecedented prospects for optimizing operations, improving performance and strengthening the resilience of supply chains. But behind the technological promise lies a challenge of structuring, steering and appropriation.
In its new white paper "Trends and prospects for operational excellence in the age of Industry 4.0", Eurogroup Consulting presents an overview of the major trends transforming the industry, and demonstrates how operational excellence remains, more than ever, the essential foundation for orchestrating these transformations and guaranteeing their sustainability. Because technology is no substitute for method, but rather increases its potential tenfold when it is part of a structured, managed approach.
An industrial context under stress
Faced with intensifying requirements in terms of competitiveness, decarbonization and resilience, industrial companies today need to rethink their models and organizations. The rise of digital technologies - IoT, artificial intelligence, digital twins - is profoundly transforming processes, businesses and decision-making methods.
Yet technological innovations alone are not enough to guarantee sustainable organizational performance. The real key lies in the ability to structure these transformations, to place them within a coherent logic, and to manage change methodically.
Operational excellence, a strategic lever at the heart of transformation
Historically associated with continuous improvement and cost control, operational excellence is now an essential foundation for structuring and deploying industrial transformation projects. Not only does it help to streamline operations and optimize performance, it also mobilizes teams and ensures the sustainability of developments.
Our study highlights six major challenges facing the industry:
- Digitization ;
- Changing business models ;
- Ecological transition;
- Tensions in supply chains;
- Skills development
- Quest for profitability.
In the face of this growing complexity, operational excellence becomes the common thread that links strategic ambition and operational performance.
4.0 technologies for continuous improvement processes
The integration of Industry 4.0 technologies plays a major role in the expansion of operational excellence initiatives and offer companies new capabilities for real-time analysis, simulation and management.
However, these tools can only achieve their full potential if they are linked to a structured continuous improvement approach. It is precisely in this synergy that the most significant gains and levers for sustainable differentiation lie.
Beyond technology, the success of these transformations depends onhe mobilization of teams and the development of skills. The growing importance of professions linked to data analysis, cybersecurity and performance management means that we need to provide appropriate support and ensure that know-how is passed on from one generation to the next.
A culture of continuous improvement and employee involvement at all levels remain decisive factors in sustaining change and removing obstacles to change.
A structured diagnosis to steer your transformation
To help companies structure their roadmap, Eurogroup Consulting In this white paper, we propose a matrix for assessing an organization's current situation and mapping out the key stages in its transformation. It integrates all operational, organizational, human and technological dimensions to offer a global and objective vision.
We are convinced that operational excellence and 4.0 technologies are not opposites, but mutually reinforcing. Technologies offer new opportunities for optimization, while excellence approaches provide the methods and governance needed to sustain performance.
This transformation must be pragmatic, rooted in the realities on the ground, and structured around a clear vision, measurable objectives and a collective commitment. This is the spirit in which we support our industrial customers by combining strategic ambition, innovation and team mobilization. industry
Discover our experts' approach Olivier Pagès and Fabien Thillouwith contributions from Julie Saint Germain, Arthur Boiffin, Alexandre Keo and Samuel Grimaud by downloading the study!
