Most manufacturers still operate under Ford’s philosophy: “Any customer can have a car painted any color he wants so long as it is black.”
It doesn’t work, though.
In the past, it wasn’t a big deal for industry leaders to avoid personalization. Today, however, consumers are getting more vocal with their demands for custom goods and ultra-personalized services. And when a company fails to deliver that, it automatically loses in the battle with a competitor that offers a more tailored customer experience.
Modern smart factories are data-driven, populated with sensors and industrial IoT systems, have augmented teams of humans and robots on the floor, or even function autonomously with the lights out.
As Industry 4.0 failed to accept the increasing demand for personalization, Industry 5.0 aims to amend this.