Abstract
Industry 4.0 comes with complexities that require new business strategies to be developed and deployed, not only at a technological level but also across the entire value chain. The main focus of Industry 4.0 is to connect every aspect of the value chain holistically with the goal of promoting flexibility and agility for better response to internal and external matters of the business as well as to changing customer demands. Contemporary business strategies and their rigid business hierarchies will be defied by Industry 4.0. For manufacturing entities to remain abreast of the dynamics of the latter, they will be forced to perform introspection on their current business operations, especially if they still desire to remain relevant to current and future customer requirements. The implementation of Industry 4.0 and its scope is highly dependent on the entity’s capabilities, thus assessing the current state of the company is critical for its survival. Prior to transforming and transitioning contemporary manufacturing companies towards Industry 4.0, each company should first assess its present state before leapfrogging to its desired future state capabilities. The application of maturity models can assist companies in this regard. Maturity models as tools of assessment play a vital role in helping companies in assessing their status quo and determining their own competitive path in the market rather than assuming that they are better prepared for anything. Thus as most companies are preparing and planning for transitioning towards Industry 4.0, the use of maturity models can enrich their decision-making process. This paper highlights the significance of utilizing maturity models as a tool of assessment in preparation for Industry 4.0.