A Study on the Success Cases of the German Automated Smart Factories, a key research subject to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and the Introduction of Smart Factories to Korea: Proposal of Policies and Strategies for the Construction of Smart Factories in Korea
Authors:   Asia-Europe Perspective Association, Kim Ik-Seung 
Published: December 2024

In the manufacturing industry, technologies of The Fourth Industrial Revolution have been integrated into Smart Factory and is evolving into an intelligent factory. In other words, smart factories create an optimal economic production environment by exchanging information through the Internet of Things and by providing real-time monitoring, analysis of all processes. The recent decline in birthrate, aging population and rising labor costs require automated production plants. At the same time, the more diversi- fied demands of consumers become, the shorter the life cycle of products becomes and the capability of customized mass production has emerged as the core of competitiveness. Therefore, smart factories are an essential product of innovation to adapt to these socioeconomic changes. In addition, smart factories provide breakthrough results such as high quality, reduced defect rate and improved productivity. In this study, we will first explore the cases of the operations of German automated factories, the place of origin of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the world’s strongest manufacturer, to derive elements that can be benchmarked to Korean small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s). Based on this, the ultimate purpose of this study is to suggest implications for the governmental projects supporting compa- nies that want to build, maintain and spread smart factories in Korea. In this study, prior literary studies on domestic and foreign papers and research reports and empirical case studies through corporate visits were used as research methodologies. While the existing research is an indirect study through domestic and international literature or information on the Internet, this study is differentiated in that it is an empirical case study of visiting demonstration. The implication is that in terms of corporate strategy, smart factories should first commence with manufacturing processes that require automation and then spread them sequentially in line with the corporate management environment (financial, market competition structure, and growth potential). Furthermore, various information and new technologies in the smart manufacturing process should be actually integrated to create optimal synergy, and various internal and external management resources such as human resources and environmental energy should be planned and implemented in an integrated manner. In terms of policy support, the focus should be on customized modular support that companies need. At the same time, it is also necessary to standardize the process of smart manufacturing through joint cooperative support for smart factories among the same companies and induce mutual utilization of generated data, minimization of use costs and maximum synergy efficiency. In particular, it is necessary to seek ways to utilize idle smart factories when ordering small or excessive amounts of orders. At the same time, expansion of smart factory supporting platforms and managemental aid are also required through a consortium between professional companies that supply new technologies to smart factories (e.g. Robots, Sense, AI, Total solution SW, VR etc.). Environment-friendly smart manu- facturing and optimal utilization of energy and materials should also be considered comprehensively. To this end, it is necessary to have a smart management organization, or a research advisory group, that studies human and environment-friendly smart manufacturing within the “Smart Manufacturing Innovation Promotion Group” to induce social innovation. It will be necessary to minimize the waste of policy support by thoroughly managing and supervising the implementation of the beneficiary entities. Finally, support for the introduction and application of smart factories for SME’s and Midsize Business should be strengthened to promote the smart manufacturing of SME’s to increase their competitiveness.