*4.1.1 Lack of experience and established models*

The lack of experience is certainly one of the biggest factors that hold back the businesses from transitioning to Industry 4.0. era. Indeed, the transformation of the companies is very costly, and no clear business case is available as a reference for companies. It is very difficult to justify such investments when there is no perspective, no pattern to follow, and no successful case to reproduce. Therefore, most frequently, companies will either fail in their transition (60% rate of failure) or simply lack the necessary courage to follow through the process of radically changing their organization and investing as much time and resources.

To tackle this challenge effectively, some interesting research in the field has started to emerge, building the first tools to approach the transition. According to Bibby et al. [34], firms should begin by assessing the current level of Industry 4.0 maturity in their specific context or supply network. This analysis will help them determine their strengths and weaknesses and focus their improvement on the right area. Few academic research has been done so far in this area, and many research are done by consulting firms. As an example, in order to assess the industry maturity level of firms, two Industry 4.0 assessment models have been developed in 2016 by consulting firms, IMPULS management consulting GmbH (IMPULS) and PWC. While the PWC model helps companies self-assess their level of maturity based on various criteria, the IMPULS model is focused on delivering improvement advice based on the company's preparation. More of these models are currently developing, showing that the challenge of the lack of experience will likely be overcome with time as Industry 4.0 spreads across the manufacturing world.
