Requirements and Barriers for Introducing Smart Manufacturing in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Bigger companies have mainly applied Industry 4.0. However, small- and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) give a large economic and employment contribution of western countries (EU and USA). For a successful application of Industry 4.0, customized implementation strategies and approaches as well as adapted concepts and technological solutions are needed. As such, the paper presents requirements and barriers for introducing Smart Manufacturing in SMEs. They were identified throughout the research project “SME 4.0 – Industry 4.0 for SMEs” by using expert workshops with SMEs from the Northeast part of the United States of America, Central Europe and Northern Thailand. According to the presented results, the second part of the paper proposes some recommendations for action for managers to support an appropriate adaptation of Industry 4.0 technologies and concepts in SMEs