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Industry 4.0 is one of the most used terms in the current industrial discussion. There are several perspectives and approaches related to Industry 4.0 so far, but no universal definition. Often-mentioned basic requirements to “implement” Industry 4.0 are lean and well-organized processes. In the past and still until today, a lot of companies try to implement lean production systems (LPS) according to the example of Toyota to realize a systematic approach to ensure well-organized processes. The process model aims to support organizations to integrate Industry 4.0 elements into LPS, regardless of the size of the organization. The purpose of this paper to describe a model as a first basis for further elaborations that could focus on the detailed design of each model-phases. Furthermore, the identified digital elements of Industry 4.0 build a first foundation to choose pilot projects related to existing challenges of the organizations LPS. In this context, especially the suitability of LPS and Industry 4.0 elements should be further investigated.

To investigate the current status regarding the realization of Industry 4.0 approaches and related challenges in the German industry, the two authors realized a survey with over 300 participants from different sectors and company sizes, using an online questionnaire. The results of the survey will be a part of this paper and a technology analysis, which was the outcome of an extensive literature analysis. The results were summarized in a model to integrate digital elements into existing LPS. Practitioners can use the process model as a first orientation to integrate industry 4.0 technologies into their existing LPS, based on specific challenges with their LPS processes.

Even if most of the participating German companies recognize Industry 4.0 as an important or very important topic, many of them do not consider themselves well prepared. The participants see huge challenges with regard to the needed qualifications and investments Industry 4.0 requires. In general, the companies hope to improve productivity and customer satisfaction to name two main objectives of the implementation of digital elements of Industry 4.0. In addition to the survey, a profound literature analysis was made and identified eight core digital elements. On this basis a milestone-based model to integrate these digital elements into existing LPS was developed.

This paper considers results from a study and analysis regarding the potentials of digital elements of Industry 4.0 for production system from different angles and introduces a model for integrating these elements.

To achieve long-term customer retention a comprehensive and individual performance is increasingly important for companies from the manufacturing industry. A possibility to meet this challenge is given by Industrial Product-Service Systems (IPS2). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of a current study on quality management for IPS².

After a short introduction to the topic of IPS² the paper takes the study design as its structure. It gives an overview of the demography and results of the study and ends with a conclusion.

Concerning the choice of products and services the results show that customer individual performances prevail. Closely related to that is the tender of services, which are meanwhile a part of the performance offer in all industries. All in all there are already first types of IPS². The quality perception exceeds the conformance of specific requirements. Reliability and perceived quality are becoming increasingly important. An integration of customers into the quality management is the exception. Regarding the quality management in value creation chains it can be outlined that quality goals are mostly company-wide but not for the entire value creation chain. Cross-company standardized processes exist in least cases. This also applies to cross-linked CAQ-systems. Communication of quality problems is handled mainly via e-mail. Quality management in value creation chains needs a common buildup of competencies by joint trainings. In practice it is barely there. Even if the potential is seen, partners and suppliers mostly will not be considered.

The paper considers the study results from different angles and shows the potentials of the IPS² approach. Thereby it investigates different approaches to offer a combined product-service system.