The Fourth Industrial Revolution and its Impact on Best Global Logistics

The Fourth Industrial Revolution 1
THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
By (Student Name)

The Fourth Industrial Revolution 2
Executive summary
This report explores the fourth industrial revolution, its origins, and the present trends in its
evolution. The paper identifies Best Global Logistics, a supply chain management business in
Singapore for the analysis. The opportunities and challenges that industry 4 presents to the
business have been discussed at length by replicating the company activities according to the
practices of the concept. The changes that the industry 4 concept brings to the company have
been examined and a conclusion has been drawn.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution 3
Table of contents
Executive summary.........................................................................................................................2
The Fourth Industrial Revolution....................................................................................................4
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Best Global Logistics.............................................................................................................5
1.2 Development of the concept the Fourth Industrial Revolution.............................................5
1.3 The First Industrial Revolution..............................................................................................6
1.4 The second Industrial Revolution..........................................................................................6
1.5 The Third industrial revolution..............................................................................................7
1.6 The fourth Industrial revolution.............................................................................................7
1.7 Latest advancements in industry 4.........................................................................................8
1.8 Challenges of industry 4........................................................................................................9
2.0 Replicating Szozdas Case Study on Best Global Logistics.......................................................9
2.1 Best Global Logistics under Industry 4...............................................................................10
2.2 How will the company change............................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................15
References......................................................................................................................................16

The Fourth Industrial Revolution 4
The Fourth Industrial Revolution
1.0 Introduction
This report focuses on industry 4 or the fourth industrial revolution, a historical
perspective, challenges and opportunities as well as its effect on a Logistics Company in
Singapore. The company chosen is Best Global Logistics PTE Ltd., hereafter referred to as Best
Global Logistics. It is one of the leading homegrown companies in logistics and freight here in
Singapore and has already started implementing industry 4 technology. A sneak peek into
industry 4 reveals a raging debate on its benefits versus its ethical and social implications not
only in Supply Chain management but across manufacturing and service organizations (Richard
& Felipe 2018).
Researchers, on one hand, agree that industry 4 can reduce manufacturing and overhead
cost by over 30%, decrease logistics expenses by between 20-39%, improve on the quality of
products and services, and finally improve on supply and distribution networks (Szozda 2017).
On the other hand, the disruptive effects of industry 4 will be unprecedented. The potential of
mass automation, cybernetic systems and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) will replace
human labor is very real (Klingenberg 2017). Moreover, the industry has caused fear in many
governments over security threats and unwarranted exposure of confidential information
belonging to citizens and customers (Rojko 2017).
In the supply chain arena, there is no doubt that the fourth industrial revolution will result
in shorter lead times, personalized service delivery, optimal use of transportation resources and
improved inventory control(Ghadimi et al. 2018). However, there may be challenges before the
benefits can accrue. To begin with, trade secrets may be compromised. What is more, the cost of