In the last two centuries, the manufacturing industry has imagined, developed and made the useful products that societies and economies have needed, as well as products that we have all dreamed of for ourselves. Manufacturers have also made constant efforts to make products accessible to the largest number of people, as quickly as possible. As the world’s population grows, we have become aware that the manufacturing sector plays a vital role in serving the global community and, at the same time, that the Earth’s resources are scarce and precious.
The manufacturing sector has always been about balance, but it has not historically paid due attention to human beings or nature. At Dassault Systèmes, we are convinced that the fundamental purpose of the 21st century’s Industry Renaissance is to achieve harmony between products, nature and life. The zero-carbon ambition is a key aspect of that revolution.
In the 21st century, industry involves a new way of seeing the world, of inventing, learning, producing and selling, one that combines the virtual and real worlds. It is a horizontally integrated network of creation, production and sharing of experiences.
Many companies such as Tesla offer new solutions in new markets and show us that the new economy, which is fundamentally use-based, is creating much more value – use value – than the industries of the last century. The “factory” of tomorrow will not make products but experiences, new uses requiring ecosystems that are very different from the supply chains of the past in terms of their structure and associated business models.
Today’s economy is organized around marketplaces that reconcile supply and demand, global and local. Virtual experience platforms are the infrastructure of the 21st century and are already transforming commerce (just look at Amazon!), distribution, transport and tourism. Industry is next. Today’s digital realm – with its virtual experiences, augmented reality and realistic simulation capabilities – is what the printing press was to the renaissance in the 15th century.
Virtual models – digital twins – will revolutionize our relationship with knowledge and know-how which, when combined with data, distinguishes true innovators from those content to automate existing processes. Manufacturers, including startups and SMEs, will get to grips with usage data from virtual experiences, even before data from real experiences, will be able to develop new offerings that add large amounts of value.
To sum up, the manufacturing industry’s virtuous revolution is the key to a sustainable future. It involves what we call harmonizing product, nature and life. The ambition of our 3DEXPERIENCE platform is to provide a digital collaborative environment – an innovation platform, an operations platform and a marketplace at the same time – that is needed for the networks of the future, based on sustainable values, to emerge and develop.
Dominique FLORACK, President, Chairman of the Manufacturing Industries Board
At Dassault Systèmes, we are convinced that the fundamental purpose of the 21st century’s Industry Renaissance is to achieve harmony between products, nature and life. The zero-carbon ambition is a key aspect of that revolution.
