Advanced Complexity Management Strategic Recommendations of Handling the “Industrie 4.0” Complexity for Small and Medium Enterprises

The new chances and perspectives of “Industrie 4.0”, with cloud computing, cyber-physical systems and smart factory, lead to an increasing complexity and hence opacity, especially for small and medium enterprises. The current Fraunhofer IPA empirical study “Industrie 4.0 - opportunities and prospects in the Metropolitan Region Rhine-Neckar”, on behalf of the Chambers of Commerce “IHK Rhein-Neckar”, “IHK Darmstadt Rhein Main Neckar” and “IHK Pfalz”, shows that enterprises expect an increase in future complexity in “Industrie 4.0”, but have not yet the knowhow for operational implementation. The preparation of this study involved more than 200 companies in the Metropolitan Region Rhine-Neckar and neighbouring areas Westpfalz and Greater Darmstadt. 195 companies participated in the study survey, which was conducted in the form of 34 personal interviews and 161 online surveys. Furthermore, a workshop was organised with 25 enterprise participants. The participants of the survey and the workshop were mostly managing directors or production directors. This paper presents the results of the study and sets out a developed approach, based on the aforementioned results, to the advanced management strategy for handling complexity with “Industrie 4.0”. This contains an enterprise-specific and stepwise approach, four principles for Industry 4.0 introduction, and specific recommendations for small and medium enterprises.