Purpose

This paper aims to study the extent of the transformation of European manufacturing companies towards the factory of the future (FoF) and related concepts, e.g. Industry 4.0 and digitalisation.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative survey design was used to investigate the areas, patterns and elements for implementing FoF. A total of 92 responses from manufacturing firms of Alpine regions were collected and analysed, followed by in-depth interviews with a subset of respondents to identify common challenges, drivers and opportunities for the transformation.

Findings

Manufacturing companies are gaining awareness on their needs and gaps in the FoF path, the implications on business strategy and the rates of innovation and technology adoption. Nevertheless, they still need to shape their organisational structures (e.g. from highly centralised to more collaborative ones) and nurture their managerial capabilities in operations and supply chain management, and customer relationships, only partially based on FoF technologies.

Research limitations/implications

This study aims to contribute to recent literature and practice of FoF (and related concepts) by depicting a picture of the possible areas of intervention, main issues and gaps (especially in terms of skills, supply chain and customer relationships) of manufacturing companies in their digital transformation. The qualitative research design and its scope represent the main limitations.

Originality/value

This paper provides a systemic overview for FoF by encompassing the technological, strategic, managerial and organisational perspectives of digitalisation in manufacturing and integrating the insights from a multi-sectorial and multi-dimensional analysis.

中文翻译：

---

实施未来工厂的关键：欧洲制造业地区的调查得出的见解

目的

本文旨在研究欧洲制造公司向未来工厂（FoF）转型的程度以及相关概念，例如工业4.0和数字化。

设计/方法/方法

定性调查设计用于调查实施FoF的领域，模式和要素。收集并分析了来自阿尔卑斯地区制造企业的92份答复，然后与部分受访者进行了深入访谈，以确定转型的共同挑战，驱动力和机会。

发现

制造业公司逐渐意识到他们在FoF路径中的需求和差距，对业务战略的影响以及创新和技术采用的速度。尽管如此，他们仍然需要部分地基于FoF技术来调整其组织结构（例如，从高度集中的组织结构到更具协作性的组织结构），并在运营和供应链管理以及客户关系中培养管理能力。

研究局限/意义

这项研究旨在通过描绘制造公司可能的干预领域，主要问题和差距（尤其是在技能，供应链和客户关系方面）的可能情况，为FoF（及相关概念）的最新文献和实践做出贡献。数字化转型。定性研究设计及其范围是主要的局限性。

创意/价值

本文通过涵盖制造业数字化的技术，战略，管理和组织观点，并整合多部门和多维分析的见解，为FoF提供系统的概述。