German industrial managers are clear about one thing: in 2020, China will be the most innovative country in the world. With regard to Industry 4.0, the Asian tiger is also catching up. Even now, it has already forged ahead of the first European countries. These are the central results of current studies carried out by the Staufen AG business consultancy. In their own view, German industrial companies still enjoy an outstanding position within the global competitive market, and are far ahead of China and the US in terms of innovation. But managers take a less optimistic view of the future. Their prognosis: China will have advanced to the top rank by 2020, leaving both Germany and the US far behind. “There is no doubt that China is in the fast lane, and that will not change even if the economy weakens further”, explains Martin Haas, Executive Board member of the Staufen AG consultancy. “The country is developing into an innovation factory. Because they have government backing, companies do everything in their power to skip a step in economic development with regard to digitalisation and networking.” This is also evident in the results of the latest Industry 4.0 index, which shows China steadily moving upwards, having already left France behind. While Germany still occupies the top rank on the way towards the Smart Factory, China has caught up considerably compared to the previous year. “German companies are under pressure to get ever more new developments market-ready in ever shorter periods of time. They have to work extremely hard in order to maintain their position and to make advances with their innovations into the smart factory world, in particular,” industry expert Haas points out. “But they must not get bogged down in details. From the great number of ideas, the right ones have to be identified and driven forward with consistency.” The starting situation is a good one. With far greater consistency than their Chinese counterparts, German companies have optimised their processes company-wide towards excellence and have therewith established the foundation for the transition towards a Smart Factory. “This is no time for scaremongering, but companies have to watch the market more closely than ever and start thinking in different dimensions. For example, disruptive innovations associated with entirely new business models are no longer taboo even for German industrial companies with a rich history and tradition,” the Staufen Executive Board member concludes. Die Studien „Industrie-Monitor: Innovation 2015“ und „Deutscher Industrie 4.0 Index 2015“ finden Sie hier zum Download. Pressegrafiken zum Thema Innovationen
