At Smart Manufacturing Week, Professor Henrik von Scheel - best known as the originator of Industry 4.0 - delivered a keynote that was as sweeping in scope as it was grounded in manufacturing realities.
Titled “The Future of Manufacturing: Megatrends Shaping the Next Decade”, his talk reframed the challenges ahead not just as technological shifts, but as strategic imperatives for resilience, sustainability, and - surprisingly - humanity.
Here are some of the key takeaways.
Von Scheel offered a striking definition of modern manufacturing: “You are not in the business of manufacturing. You are in the business of trust.”
The idea? That behind every piece of equipment, component, or system lies a promise of performance, safety, uptime, efficiency. And in an increasingly technological world, that promise is scrutinised more than ever.
“The more technological we become, the more human we need to be.”
It’s a reminder that, even in data-heavy environments, emotional intelligence and credibility remain critical, not just in the boardroom, but across the supply chain.
If Industry 4.0 was about connectivity and automation, Digitalisation 2.0 is about convergence and strategic orchestration.
Von Scheel described Digitalisation 2.0 as a phase where manufacturing becomes “liquid” - adaptive, intelligent, and deeply integrated with every aspect of operations. Key pillars include:
Autonomy by design: Systems that act independently with embedded intelligence
Cognitive manufacturing: Leveraging AI not just for automation, but for foresight and decision-making
New KPIs: Moving beyond cost and efficiency to include sustainability, agility, and resilience
Henrik also outlined macro trends set to dominate the decade:
Decentralisation and reshoring: Regionalisation is rising, and local capacity matters more than ever
Cyber-physical resilience: Not just security, but redundancy and reliability by design
Net-zero imperatives: Sustainability isn’t a tick-box; it’s the new baseline
Talent transformation: Skills development must match the pace of tech evolution
Von Scheel’s argument wasn’t that manufacturers need to adopt every new technology — it’s that they need to adopt the right ones, strategically.
That means understanding the full value chain, aligning teams, and above all, communicating clearly across technical and non-technical audiences.
That last point resonated with us at Fresh. Whether you’re marketing a new automation platform or reimagining your brand, it’s not just about what you make - it’s about how clearly and credibly you can communicate the value behind it.
P.S. One last insight from Henrik: “We can no longer afford to digitise processes that shouldn’t exist.” A useful litmus test for any new project, marketing or otherwise.