The Open Industry 4.0 Alliance claims to stand out from similar initiatives for its cooperation, its focus on customer benefits, and its openness – a concept that many companies evidently like: While the number of members increased from 7 to 43 in the first six months after its foundation, more companies have since joined the alliance. Companies such as HubHead Corp ., the alliance’s first North America partner. HubHead helps organizations prepare their asset and maintenance master data for Industry 4.0. Also new on board since January 2020 is Würzburg-based Salt Solutions , a specialist in end-to-end processes in the digital supply chain. Among other things, the company brings its business and IoT platform D4S to the cooperation, which enables data exchange across operational technology, IT, and business systems.

The aim of the alliance is to draw on existing rules and regulations as the basis for a framework, reported German business newspaper Handelsblatt at the launch . The members, which include KUKA, SAP, and Voith, want to ensure that up to 80% of all machines in a Smart Factory are compatible with each other.