Expense and Revenue Factors of Smart Factories: Analysis of the Economic Effects of Condition Monitoring

Numerous approaches for assisting Smart Factory implementations in production companies have been published over the last few years. However, guidelines for calculating the profitability of these efforts have barely been addressed by scientific approaches so far. This paper aims to close this research gap using the Smart Factory application Condition Monitoring as an example. Therefore, a framework of the expense structure, as well as a framework of accompanying effects on business processes and resources, are presented. Based on these frameworks a procedure to support the financial assessment prior to the actual implementation is proposed. This procedure enables decision-makers to follow a deductive approach when identifying the economic relevant factors of smart factory applications. The authors argue that the shift towards a descriptive character of effect assessment simplifies and precises the profitability calculation. The construct validity of the frameworks and the usability of the proposed approach are confirmed in two case studies in separate production plants of ZF Friedrichshafen AG.