Industry 4.0 is a new production concept that emerged from the transformation of production processes under the influence of information, communication, internet, data collection, automation, artificial intelligence and robotic technologies. Within this process, which is also known as the fourth industrial revolution, the main idea is to actualize smart factories with self-managed production processes. With the process, by utilizing digital technologies at every stage of the production and value chain from the first supplier to the end user, the integration will be achieved. The concept was first pronounced in 2011 in Germany and became the area of interest of many other countries eventually. First owned by Germany and then the industrialized countries such as USA, Japan, South Korea, Industry 4.0 is seen as an important opportunity to regain their competitive advantages in production that they have lost over time. Technologies such as Cyber Physical Systems, Internet of Things, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Smart Factories, 3D Printers, Smart Robots, Simulation, Vertical and Horizontal System Integration, Augmented and Virtual Reality will shape the Industry 4.0 process and the future. While it is foreseen that Industry 4.0 will make a significant contribution to the GDP of countries and in accordance with the process a transformation in the labour market will occur; a divergence in the production systems between countries is also expected.
Currently, Germany, USA, South Korea, China and Japan are among the leading countries in the field of Industry 4.0 which set examples in terms of various applications. Germany is important in terms of the systematics of the applications, the advanced historical industrial power and being the country of origin for the concept. In the USA, which is the country with the largest GDP in the world, the concept of Industry 4.0 is generally associated with the Internet of Things, Smart Manufacturing and the Industrial Internet. In order to maintain its leadership in the manufacturing industry despite the large amount of its workforce, China has focused on Industry 4.0, especially in the area of industrial robots use, and is by far the country with the largest industrial robot stock in the world. The R&D incentives offered by the South Korean Government for the development in this field are noteworthy. Japan, with the leading position for robot exports in the World, is considered as the most prepared country for the Industry 4.0 process in regard to its production structure and is also where the concept of Society 5.0 was born.
In Turkey, Industry 4.0 concept has brought to the agenda of public and private sector actors starting from 2016 and several initiatives have been launched in this area. "Digital Transformation Platform in the Industry" draws attention as an important initiative which was established with the cooperation of public and private actors. In the long run, with the prepared Digital Transformation Roadmap, it is aimed to become a regional or global leader in certain sectors and technologies in the digitalization process. In our country, with the Industry 4.0 transformation, it is considered that significant progresses could be made in the areas such as industrial production, GDP and employment.