INDUSTRY 4.0 AS A GERMANY'S TECHNOLOGICAL LEADERSHIP CONQUEST TOOL: EVOLUTION OF APPROACHES TO IMPLEMENTATION

Abstract

The article considers Industry 4.0 as a strategy for the development of German industry, which over the eight years of its existence has undergone significant changes both in theoretical aspects and in terms of practical implementation. The reasons for such changes lie not only in the development of new technologies (blockchain, artificial intelligence, 5G), but also in rethinking the experience of introducing Industry 4.0 into the real sector of the economy. A number of problems that have arisen related to the internal competition of large business representatives and the methodological error embodied in the development strategy of idealizing an object have indicated the limited possibility of further development of this strategy in its original form. Today, the German government is forced to seek new approaches to the development of Industry 4.0, the full-scale implementation of which will allow the country to maintain its leading position in the market for production technologies, thereby ensuring the competitiveness of the national economy at the international level.