The present day world is greatly dependent on the various forms of modern day technologies and it is generally that the majority of the people of the world irrespective of the age group or the gender to which they belong actively use the various forms of technologies for their day-to-day activities (Kane et al., 2015). Furthermore, it is generally seen that more than 93% of the people of the nation of Australia belonging to the age bracket of 18-44 actively take the help of the various platforms of technology not only for the process of interaction with the other people from the different parts of the world but at the same time for their completion of their daily jobs as well and at the same time more than 67% of the people belonging to the age bracket of 54-74 years of age actively take the help of these technologies (Bryson, 2017). Thus, it would be apt to say that the introduction of the various electronic mediums and other smart enabling technologies has transformed the entire world into a by-lane where people from the different parts of the world can easily interact with each other.
The concept of the smart enabling technologies have gained a significant amount of prominence in the first half of the 21st century and commonly refers to the various forms of technologies like the social media, smart phones, internet, computers, data retrieved from various sources and others (Hitt, Xu & Carnes, 2016). The present day growth of these smart enabling technologies can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution that the world experienced in the 19th century or more commonly called by the name of the “Age of Steam” (Hitt, Xu & Carnes, 2016). It is significant to note that since then the technological environment of the world has undergone a significant amount of transformation keeping in view the changing requirements of the present day society (Kwon, Lee & Shin, 2014). The present day world can be said to belong to the stage of the Fourth Industrial Revolution or more commonly called by the name of “The Age of Cyber Physical Systems” or CPS (Kwon, Lee & Shin, 2014). It is significant to note that CPS has made the kind of technology available to the people that were completely unheard of or even undreamt of in the earlier times. Kane et al., (2015) have stated that the use of these technologies has greatly simplified the lives of the present day human beings however at the same care should be taken that these technologies are being used not only in an effective manner but at the same time in an ethical manner.
The number of business enterprises that are operational in the business world at the current moment is much larger in comparison to the ones of the earlier generations. In addition to this, it is generally seen that almost every year numerous new start-up business enterprises emerge in the business world which offers new kinds of innovative products to the customers (Carpenter & Agrawal, 2018). Furthermore, the various business enterprises of the present times are taking use diverse kinds of strategies to acquire a much larger customer base, to make their products as well as services popular with the customers and others in order to gain a competitive edge over their competitors operational in the same field of business (Chang, 2016). Moreover, one of the major challenges that the business enterprises are facing currently in the business world is to gain a certain amount of sustainable amount of competitive advantage over their competitors (Chang, 2016). Thus, the various business enterprises are increasingly turning towards the use of the various kinds of smart enabling technologies belonging to the genre of Industry 4.0 for the sake of gaining sustainable competitive advantage over their competitors.
Recent researches have shown that the use of smart enabling technologies in business is likely to help the various business enterprises in a significant manner (Mahadevan, 2015). For example, the use of these smart enabling technologies belonging to the genre of Industry 4.0 in business helps the business enterprises in a significant manner in the process of marketing as well as the promotion of the products or the services offered by them (Mahadevan, 2015). The majority of the business organizations are taking the help of the various platforms of the electronic media and more precisely the platform of the social media for the process of reaching out to a much larger proportion of the population (Escobar-Rodríguez & Carvajal-Trujillo, 2014). It is commonly seen that the use of social media and other kinds of electronic provides various kinds of advantages to the concerned companies. One of the most important benefits of the use of the social media for the process of promoting the products as well as the services offered by a particular company is that it allows the company to provide information to the customers from the different parts of the world about the kind of products as well as services that they are offering to the customers and at the same time it provides the concerned company the opportunity to inform the customers about the new products and the services that they are going to launch in the business market in the near future (Escobar-Rodríguez & Carvajal-Trujillo, 2014). Many experts are of the viewpoint that this is important since the customers like to take the help of the products or services that they knowledge or idea about and the process of promotion of the products or the services over the social media helps the concerned company to achieve this purpose (Cusumano, Kahl & Suarez, 2015). Furthermore, by providing information to the customers about the new products as well as services that they are likely to launch in the future times so provides the opportunity to these companies to build an adequate customer base for the new products or the services way in advance and this particular process helps them to boost the sale of the new products or the services at the time of their launch in a significant manner (Cusumano, Kahl & Suarez, 2015).
Brand image is another important concept which has gained a significant amount of prominence within the contemporary business world. Furthermore, the various customers have become more conscious about the brand image of the company or the business enterprise from which they are buying the products or the services (Özdamar & Ertem, 2015). There are various means or strategies that the business enterprises usually take the help of in order to enhance the brand image of their company. Some of the commonly used methods that are being used by the business enterprise are effective presence as a positive profile over the online media, various corporate social responsibility activities and others (Özdamar & Ertem, 2015). It is generally seen that many of the customers in the present times do not like to use the products or the services offered by a particular company if it does not have an effective presence over the social media. Many experts are of the viewpoint that in the present times the quality of the products or the services offered by a particular company is often equated with the kind of online profile that the concerned company has over the social media and other kinds of media (Kane et al., 2015). Furthermore, it also noticed that the customers before opting for the products as well as the services offered by a particular company generally like to research online and read the reviews provided by the other customers who are already taking the help of the concerned product or services (Kane et al., 2015). The effective use of the social media and other kinds of social media has become very important for the various business enterprises and in the majority of the cases it is also seen that they help a particular company to gain a substantial amount of competitive advantage.
The role which the concept of data analytics plays within the modern day business world cannot be undermined at the same time. It is significant to note that one of the major challenges for the various business enterprises of the present times is to meets the demands and the requirements of the customers in the most effective manner (Ptak & Schragenheim, 2016). Furthermore, it is generally seen that the amount of choices that the customers of the present times are having at the current moment is significantly more in comparison to the ones that the customers of the earlier times used to have and this is generally seen as a reflection of the increased number of business enterprises that are offering the same kind of products as well as services to the customers and that too at the same price (Ptak & Schragenheim, 2016). Thus, the customers generally tend to buy the products or the services that are more in proximity to their needs and at the same time at the lowest price possible. Thus, the business enterprises of the present times need to conduct regular researches as well as market surveys to understand the needs of the customers. It is precisely here that the role of the technology of data analytics comes into play. The process of data analytic is generally been used by the various business enterprises of the present times to analyze the data which they have gathered from the various market researches and surveys and come up with the things that the customers expect from the products or the services that they are buying from a particular company (Campbell, Jardine & McGlynn, 2016). The role played by the concept of data analytics thus the various business enterprises to integrate the demands and the expectations of the customers into the products as well as the services offered by the companies or the business enterprises (Campbell, Jardine & McGlynn, 2016). This step is important from the perspective of the companies by integrating the expectations as well as the demands of the customers into the products or the services offered by them they can gain a significant amount of competitive advantage over their competitors and this is being reflected in the increased number of sales of the products and the services offered by the concerned company.
The customers of the present times generally like to take the help of the smart as well as connected products. These products are generally manufactured taking the help of the various forms of recent technology and software which allows the customers to do multiple things from the one product that they have purchased. A pertinent example of this particular product is the Fuelband which is being offered by the company Nike that only helps the customers to use their iphones in a much more effective manner but at the same time helps them to monitor their physical activities as well. Therefore, the company should try to use this particular need of the customers in the most effective manner for the manufacture of the products or the services offered by them. Furthermore, the use of this particular technology for the production of the products or the services offered by the companies is not likely to help the concerned company to enhance the percentage of the products or the services sold by them but at the same time helps them to gain a significant amount of competitive advantage over their competitors as well (Venkatesh, Thong & Xu, 2016). Thus, the companies can use similar kinds of products or services that not only take into consideration the needs of the customers but also use the opportunities provided by technological advancements to earn the loyalty as well as the satisfaction of the customers. This is likely to help the companies since the customers switch from one particular brand to brand another as they are not satisfied with the quality of the services provided by them. Therefore, it would be apt to say that the use of this particular process is likely to help the companies to a great extent to achieve a certain degree of leverage over other companies.
Conclusion:
To conclude, the use of the smart enabling technologies belonging to the genre of Industry 4.0 provides various kinds of opportunities to the various business enterprises and it is seen that the prospects of any company depends on the extent to which they are being able to use these technologies for their business. Furthermore, the various companies are taking the help of these technologies not only for the purposes of marketing and promoting the products as well as the services that they are offering to the customers but at the same time it is seen that they are being used by the various business enterprises to integrate the expectations and the demands of the customers into the products or the services that they are offering to the customers. Therefore, it would be apt to say that the use of these smart enabling technologies provides various diverse kinds of benefits to the various business enterprises which if effectively utilized can help an enterprise not only to gain a significant amount of competitive advantage but at the same time help them to bring about their overall growth and development. This is important since the process of achieving competitive leverage generally entails a higher profit returns for the various companies. This in turn helps them to fulfill the basic goal of their organization, that is, to earn a higher amount of profit.
The rapid transformation that has taken place within the framework of the modern day business world is generally begin attributed to a conglomeration of diverse kinds of factors like globalization, internationalization, advancements in technology, and others (Bryson, 2017). The style of conducting business of the present day business enterprises is drastically different from the ones of the prior times and thus it is not longer sufficient for the various business enterprises of the present times to just focus on the primary requirements as well as the aspects of their business (Bryson, 2017). The enterprises of the present times are required to taken into effective consideration a wide range of different factors like effective marketing, ways to reduce the production cost, the strategies that they need to follow to reach out to a much large customer base, the customers on whom they need to focus so that they would be able to earn a higher rate of profit and others (Laudon & Laudon, 2015). However, the end goals of the majority of the companies of the present times are to attain the stage wherein they would be able to gain a considerable amount of sustainable competitive leverage over their competitors (Whitmore, Agarwal & Da Xu, 2015). It is precisely here that role of the smart enabling technologies belonging to the genre of Industry 4.0 has gained significance in the field of the contemporary business world. This report will about the manner in which the various business enterprises of the present times can take the help of these smart enabling technologies to gain a substantial amount of sustainable competitive leverage over their competitors.
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