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Manufacturing is the pillar and core competitiveness of the country. With the implementation of the "Internet plus" plan, the era of intelligent manufacturing has arrived. However, the home appliance manufacturing industry is facing many new challenges, such as the transition of smart home appliances, mass customization mode, regional industrial ecology construction and so on. In this paper, aiming at the problems of variability of the value chain and unclear value-added path in the process of regional smart home appliance manufacturing, a regional value chain architecture based on Porter diamond theory is proposed to realize the aggregation and sharing of regional home appliance manufacturing resources. And then from the perspective of embedded position and value-added path of value chain, the collaborative innovation model of manufacturing resources is constructed with mass customization mode as the main line, leading enterprises pulling and regional value chain integration, so as to realize global collaboration and whole process interaction of manufacturing resources in regional industrial ecosystem. Finally, taking Haier smart home as an example, the collaborative innovation model of regional value chain is applied to optimize the application of enterprise, upgrading the value-added path from the perspective of producer and purchaser, so as to realize the innovative development of collaborative mode of regional home appliance manufacturing industry.

Industrial food production represents one of the largest industries, accounting for a share of ten percent of the world’s gross domestic product. Simultaneously, it is responsible for 26 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Due to increasing CO2 taxes and population’s call for sustainability and CO2 reduction, it is facing challenges in terms of economic profitability and stakeholder demands. These challenges could partly be overcome by participating in data ecosystems in which data are refined as data products, understood, exchanged and monetized as economic goods. Despite large amounts of data, collected parenthetically along the value chain in food production, potentials of data analytics and data ecosystems are only marginally exploited. Food production mainly focuses on traditional, product-centric business models. This work shows the conceptualization of a data ecosystem for food production, enabling data-based business models. Therefore, resources, actors, roles and underlying relationships of future ecosystem are analyzed. Building on these, corresponding architectural and analytical artifacts that support data ecosystem exploitation are presented. A food production data ecosystem is exemplified by applying data analytics to compressor data, which reveals high potentials for CO2 reduction.

Retailers are actors in charge of integrating the sustainable activities of the different stakeholders along the supply chain, particularly between producers and consumers. During the last year because of Covid-19 pandemic, retailing sector changed its activities as regards logistics, more safe packaging, additional safety requirements in stores, going online and other particular issues to keep customers and improve customer service. Hence, sustainability management and transfer into communicating to their consumers how much they value their satisfaction and wellbeing, gains a momentum. It becomes important to explore sustainability communication of retail chains, whether and how it changed because of Covid19. Taking into consideration retailers' critical position in the value chain, their sector's economic significance and environmental externalities, the aim of this paper is to explore communication patterns of retail chains as a way of sustainability management in Covid-19 circumstances. Web scan approach and content analysis was carried out to reveal sustainability communication patterns due to the influence of Covid-19. Additionally, the paper provides an overview of retailing markets in Estonia, Germany, and Lithuania by highlighting the local context in each country.

EU member countries are still lacking behind with the sustainable development goals and CE development. It relates to business orientation to short-term solutions, which bring higher profits faster. Most manufacturing regulatory efforts are focused on addressing the consequences in the value chain. There is still a significant lack of attention to the preventive approach based on circular product design. Circular product design can help prevent a product or service obsolescence by building high emotional and physical durability. Circular Design strategies are defined to counter obsolescence and go along with circular business models. The insufficient research on Circular Design challenges its application in business. This paper focuses on studying Circular Design strategies and their application in manufacturing SMEs. A literature review and case study overview are used as the method within this paper. The research shows that transformation at the product-service-system levels can potentially influence the business models to create more meaning and dematerialization within the company’s production. The research results can be used in further research and business practice, contributing to diffuse the preventive approach in business and move from Material Efficiency towards Resource Sufficiency.

The main focus of this research is to examine whether acquiring external technological capabilities and internally developed technological capabilities increase value chain of the foreign firm within Indonesia’s high-tech industries context. Foreign firms usually have better resources in term of technology, human resources and capital, in order to develop technological capabilities internally by increasing their ownership. On the other hands, foreign firms may also access to available technology, innovation and new method in the market by paying amount of royalty. Based on resource-based theory, this research argues that royalty and foreign ownership will contribute to increase value chain of the firms. Using ordinary least square (OLS) with Stata software, results show that contribution of technological capabilities have different effect on value chain for both chemical & pharmaceuticals firms and motor vehicles & other transport equipment firms. Acquiring external technological capabilities has increased value chain of the firms in these 2 types of industries. Meanwhile, internally developed technological capabilities has decreased value chain of the firms in chemical and pharmaceuticals industries but it has increased in motor vehicles & other transport equipment industries. The implication of this study is to provide the insights that the effect of technological capabilities on firm’s value chain depends on the characteristics of industries. For chemicals & pharmaceuticals industries, dominant foreign ownership provides greater flexibility to develop resources so that it has its own capability to compete and have the option of not getting involved in the value chain. For motor vehicles & other transport equipment industries, Indonesia’s firm played more of a role as upstream producers, where the products are produced to support other industries.

This study aims to produce a strategic planning proposal for the IS / IT of non-franchise pharmacies to be able to compete with franchised pharmacies and to realize the vision, mission, and objectives of the pharmacy. This research was conducted using a mixed-method with a sequential explanatory design. Observation and interview methods are used to formulate the vision, mission, and objectives of the pharmacy. The data obtained is used as a basis for making objective factors in the form of Likert scale questions. The results of the questionnaire were analyzed for validity and reliability using Pearson's Product Moment and Cronbach's Alpha and showed the results of the r-count value of all the questions were positive and greater than the r-table (r-table>0.457) with a value of α = 0.980, which means the question items in the questionnaire valid and reliable. These questions are then described in the form of a decomposition diagram with the consideration of value chain analysis. The output of the decomposition diagram is used as data for analyzing the company's success factors (CSFs). Quantitative factor analysis was also carried out with the help of statistical applications using Bartlett's Test of Sphericity and the Keizer-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test. As a result, the chi-square value is 279.591 and the MSA value is 0.738, so it can be concluded that the data has met the requirements for factoring. Based on the factor analysis, 7 (seven) components were also extracted which were then used to compile the application portfolio in the McFarlan quadrant. The Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) application and the Point of Sales (POS) application occupy a strategic position, while the Inventory Module, Finance Module, Sales Module occupy a high potential position.

Most industries are shifting from product-oriented business models towards services to step up the value chain and engage in long-term relationships with their customers throughout the service lifecycle. Digital technologies are contributing to servitization in many ways by creating and enabling capabilities like connectivity, IoT, data generation and assessment, etc., for new value generation, distribution, and capture. Because value is subjective, dynamic, and changes during the service lifecycle, service providers need to examine closely the value perceptions of customers to constantly provide better value and remain relevant with the competition. Through a consumer survey and a longitudinal study of thirteen customers, this paper uses qualitative and quantitative assessment to identify the value dimensions that play a major role for customers being onboarded on a digital enabled service, and also highlights how customer value dimensions change over the course of the service lifecycle. One important finding is that change in customer value perception does not follow a pattern and is highly individual and personal. This opens a discussion regarding the need for hyper-personalization in successful servitization, and the role of digital technologies towards the same.

The current DOE targets for solar are to achieve 50 year lifetimes, and 50% cost reductions (50/50) by 2030. These goals are challenging from both a fundamental physics mode as well as from an implementation aspect. To achieve these goals it will be necessary to address not only the hardware and BoS types of costs, but also the execution costs. In this regard, it will be essential to have AI and Machine Learning as key components for development and for optimization. This paper will outline the critical role that AI/ML will play in the various segments of the value chain and indicate the modes where the targeted use will lead to achieving the challenging goals.This paper will describe the following: (1) the key advantages of AI/ML, along with the current issues, (2) the need for AI/ML to achieve the DOE goals of 50-year lifetimes, and 50% cost reductions, and (3) a potential AI/ML approach which can support some of the necessary developments.

We deploy territorial system dynamics as a methodology to analyze stock and flow diagrams (SFD), identify the circularity in the value chain management of bioeconomy, the strengths and limits of circular economy incorporating symbiotic links between multi-products supply chain. Complex systems theory, supply chain management and the geographic economy constitute the frameworks conceptualizing the closed loops supply chain management of industrial symbiosis. Our outcomes draw up three scenarios proposing simulations for 2027, which are able to integrate the complexity of multi-products and by-products allocation (sugar green juice, low quality syrup, CO2, and stillage) in the model. The strategic decisions engaged in the Scenario 2 trigger a less resilient industrial network in comparison with baseline scenario 1, standing out the lack of resilience in the biorefinery platform to an exogenous tension like climate change resulting in extreme periods of rain or drought. Scenario 2 results from a decrease in sugar beet production by 5%, in sugar beet production will trigger a fall of almost 50% on sugar production by 2027 in comparison with the baseline scenario. Furthermore, scenario 3 (COVID-19) shows strong negative effects just after 2020 crisis for agro-industrial ecosystems in cities, but they can maintain value chain functionality which is not the case for climate change effects in scenario 2, entailing a faster network recovery that in some extent can be explained on the bases of the value chain circularity of industrial symbiosis.

Throughout the forty years of upgrading the information industry, innovation has been the main theme, and every innovation in the context of media convergence will bring far-reaching impact to the development of the information industry. This paper defines two different media integration contexts: self-integration and other integration, and analyzes two major trends in the upgrading of the information and information industry in this context of innovation: from information distribution to content integration, and the value chain closure brought by supply-side adjustment. Finally, using Porter's five forces analysis model, the competition among suppliers, buyers, other enterprises of substitutes, potential new entrants and sellers in this innovation context is analyzed, and the future development of the information and information industry is proposed.

This study explores smart IT systems’ utilization level in the value chain processes of manufacturing and empirically examines the effect of utilization level of IT systems on manufacturing competitiveness in Korean SMEs. Smart IT systems in the manufacturing value chain processes are divided into Sales, Purchasing, Production & logistics, and Support systems. By analyzing the research model with structural equation modelling, this study identify that Sales systems, Purchasing systems, Production & logistics systems, and Support systems have a significant impact on the Manufacturing process efficiency, and Production & logistics systems and Manufacturing process efficiency positively and significantly influenced the Manufacturing Competitiveness. It can be seen that information utilization is directly and positively relationship with manufacturing process efficiency including reducing lead-time, reducing work performance man-hour (M/H), and improving work accuracy. These processes finally have a significant impact on the manufacturing competitiveness. In conclusion, the use of smart IT systems is now becoming an integral part of the manufacturing industry. It will be necessary to gain a competitive edge by introducing and utilizing an optimal smart IT system, considering the size of a manufacturing firms.

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) is promoting the digitization of traditional manufacturing systems towards flexible, reconfigurable and intelligent factories based on Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). In this context, the Reference Architecture Model Industrie 4.0 (RAMI4.0) provides guidelines to develop I4.0 compliant solutions based on industrial standards. As the main RAMI4.0 specification, the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) is a standard digital representation of an industrial asset that plays a pivotal role in enabling interoperable communication among I4.0 components across the value chain. This paper provides an analysis of the current state-of-the-art of implementing AAS, discussing, amongst others, the key enabling technologies used to implement the AAS and the alignment of the research works found in the literature with the I4.0 components criteria. This work has been supported by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UIDB/05757/2020. The author Lucas Sakurada thanks the FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal, for the PhD Grant DFA/BD/9234/2020. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

At present, the new energy automobile industry is developing rapidly. Not only the traditional automobile enterprises are forced to develop new energy vehicles under the pressure of policies, but also a series of new forces have joined in building new vehicles. At present, the competition among new energy automobile enterprises in the market is fierce. How Tesla can stand out among all automobile enterprises, besides outstanding product innovation, personalized customer care is necessary. The external environment affects the company's strategic decision. In this study, PEST model and five forces model are used to analyze Tesla's external environment. As a newly emerging industry, the new energy automobile industry has good development opportunities. Secondly, this paper uses Porter's value chain model to analyze Tesla's internal environment and determine Tesla's strategic positioning. The data about Tesla in this study are collected from the official website, the annual report and the analysis of the company. Finally, on the basis of the above analysis, using the "customer journey analysis" combined with McKinsey's customer care strategy, this paper puts forward some strategic transformation suggestions on customer care for Tesla.

under the guidance of rural revitalization strategy, as the main body of agricultural economy, the development of farmers has become an important factor. The natural attributes of agricultural products and other factors cause farmers to face financing difficulties, financing expensive dilemma. The financial model of Internet embedded in agriculture to a great extent alleviates the financing pressure of farmers. Through the questionnaire survey of farmers and the analysis of AHP, it is found that the value chain risk is taken as the standard layer of the choice of Internet financial model, and farmers are more concerned about the risk of enterprise financial management and credit risk.

InsurTech adoption leverages the innovative use of technology to transform insurance value chains. Although insurers are aware of the importance of InsurTech in creating a competitive advantage, the actual adoption in the global market seems relatively slow due to various obvious reasons. However, the recent Covid-19 pandemic crisis has expedited technology adoption in the insurance industry. The focus of this study is to build a model for InsurTech adoption using Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) Theory. By using DOI Theory, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the significant factors of InsurTech adoption by value chain activities among insurers. This conceptual model will provide a platform for further empirical testing and a better understanding of potential users of InsurTech adoption at organizational level.

This paper explores how South Korea utilizes a location-based system to monitor those in quarantine. The researcher conducted qualitative data analysis from articles and government website in regard to the implementation of “Self-Quarantine Safety Protection” mobile app. The study is organized in location-based system perspective which includes, the value chain stakeholders, the technical system, technical issues, social issues, and legal issues of the app deployment. It is recommended in the implementation of the app to obtain maximum stakeholder adoption, improve the accuracy level, and to maintain public trust and obedience.

This paper describes the COVID-19 automated contact tracking application in Taiwan, known as the Entry Quarantine System. The research conducted is composed of qualitative data analysis from articles and government websites in regard to the implementation of the Entry Quarantine System. The study is organized as the value chain, the working of the technical system, and social-technical legal issues revolving around the system.

the IEEE Xplore database, Web of Science and indexed by EI Compendex and ISI Proceedings; One of the major contributions of social manufacturing is in the realm of sustainability. The apparel industry is a good example to assess contribution of social manufacturing to improve sustainability in practice. Value chains in the apparel industry are faced with various challenges regarding sustainability issues. Apparel companies pay higher attention to economic sustainability issues, and environmental and social sustainability issues of the apparel industry are often underrated. We realize that the apparel brand owners have the highest impact on improving the sustainability of the apparel industry. Thus, we design a collaborative business model empowered with social manufacturing to join the forces among the brand owners for improving sustainability of the apparel industry throughout the value chain. We chose a case study of shifting from conventional screen-printing to more environmentally sustainable digital textile printing. We suggest that this shift can be accelerated if the brand owners join theirforces together to shift from conventional printing to digital printing technology in the apparel industry.

With the development of internet and artificial intelligence, Internet+ and intelligence become the leading development direction of inspection. As the value chain extension and the driving force to reform the testing industry, the intelligent inspection system plays a more and more important role. This paper analyzes the research and application of intelligent inspection systems and studies the relevant macro-environment from four aspects based on the PEST method. Then, combined with the analysis of the upstream and downstream industries, the development prospect of the intelligent inspection system is discussed.

Reflecting government policy to restrict internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), automakers are promoting the transition, or shift, from ICEVs to electric vehicles (EVs). Mass adoption of EVs will have a significant impact on the entire value chain of the electric industry, which contain power generation, power grid and consumer facilities. In order to further improve the competitiveness of EVs and achieve a full-scale EV shift, it is necessary to anticipate the influence of the trend on each component of the value chain and to establish appropriate hardware installation and operation procedures to minimize cost. By adopting such an approach, it is possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by economically shifting to EVs, and also to have positive environmental impacts on other components of the value chain such as reduction of the usage of peak power generation facilities and promotion of variable renewable energy such as photovoltaic and wind power. Ennet Corporation is an electricity retailer established in 2000 when electricity deregulation started in Japan, and is one of the leading companies among the new entrants. In this paper, we will describe the requirements for achieving an economical EV shift and introduce our smart charging service "EnneEV", developed using our unique technologies based on our advantages as an electricity retailer and the advanced EV charging and energy management platform of Driivz Ltd.

Decarbonization of the value chain is increasingly coming into focus for the oil and gas industry. Shareholders, investors and the general public are demanding transparency and action from operators to reduce their methane emissions. In the last 4 years, satellite technology which makes it possible to monitor oil and gas facilities remotely and frequently for methane leaks has become available, changing the way emissions are managed. In this paper, we introduce this technology, including the next generation of satellites to launch in 2020, and the impact it can have on reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations worldwide.

Digital transformation efforts in manufacturing companies bear the potential to reduce product costs and increase the flexibility of production systems. The semantic integration of data and information along the value chain enables the automated interpretation of interrelations between its different aspects such as product design, production process and manufacturing resources. These interrelations can be used to automatically generate semantic process descriptions and execute corresponding robot motions. An initial one-time effort to model the required knowledge of a particular application domain can make the manufacturing of high-variant products in small batches or even lot size one production more efficient. This paper introduces a knowledge-based digital engineering concept to automate engineering and production activities without human involvement. The concept was integrated and evaluated in a physical robot workcell where automotive fuse boxes are autonomously fitted with different fuse configurations.

In recent years, circular economy principles have arisen in response to natural resource depletion as rules for eliminating the take–use–dispose process. The consequences of shifting from a linear to a circular supply chain are impossible to visualize in the long term. For this reason, stakeholders are afraid of investing in sustainable policies, and it is not easy to convince them. Our contribution is a methodology to design a simulator that allows stakeholders to understand and find explanations about transforming their linear supply process to a circular value chain before implementing it in the real world. The methodology proposed is based on four perspectives: (i) service-dominant logic, (ii) ecosystem services, (iii) system dynamics, and (iv) agent-based modeling. These approaches allow us to model a three-dimensional system (social, physical, and ecological) for circular economy practices and to visualize consequences in the future. Additionally to the methodology proposal, as a result, we present its implementation in a real case: a food bank located in Jalisco, Mexico, where it generates food waste, and there is a need to transform the value chain in to activate food donations from agricultural producers. Finally, we conclude with the findings and future work.

Guiding system reform and further innovation of embedded technology development under the background of the mathematical modeling is analyzed in the paper. In our research, we have the following novelties. (1) Industrial modularization is basis of the industrial integration, which refines the enterprise, organization and target object in the value chain into a subsystem that can then run independently. (2) System processing primary functions are no longer concentrated on the single core processor, but are shared by multiple processors based on functional classification to then from a single core to multiple cores. (3) The data mining and mathematical modelling are combined to then construct the efficient system. Based on the proposed model, we then propose the suggestions for the guiding system reform and further innovation.

Blockchains are globally gaining traction and gradually disrupting the traditional transactional eco-systems by eliminating the non-value adding parties in the value chain. Although blockchains enables digital currency transactions, distributed consensus models and provenance, the problem of scalability, security and privacy has to be solved for the blockchains to be utilized in its full potential. Typically all the transactions recorded in blockchain are visible to all the participants. Even though some blockchain frameworks offers private transactions they still lack transactional privacy and confidentiality. Privacy preserving smart contracts is an emerging field which guarantees the privacy of transactions during runtime and ensures confidentiality as well. In this paper we analyze various frameworks and methodologies and propose a systematic way of choosing the right privacy preserving smart contract framework for enterprise needs and requirements.

Smart City Santiago seeks to solve the main problems faced by Santiago daily, thus achieving that people improve their quality of life. This model is based on the Smart City Malaga model, Spain. In the study, the main challenges facing this type of companies are presented, in term of IoT for the construction of a Smart City. The research focuses on the components that define the IoT of the referential model, such as: sensors, networks and value chain management. The methodology that is applied is exploratory, through a case study that identifies the main challenges presented by Smart City Santiago companies that use IoT in the implementation and development of a Smart City model. This is carried out with interviews with twelve companies participating in the Smart City Santiago project, which allows determining the most important challenges within each component. The results of this research contribute to companies that have an interest, collaborate or intervene in the implementation and development of the model of a Smart City.

Model Based System Engineering is an approach that is not limited to the development activities of one system creating enterprise. In fact, many OEMs nowadays demand the contribution of their suppliers towards the continuous modelling of complex systems. Potentials of applying MBSE might vary and are connected to the constraints and resources of the applying company. This leads to different motivations throughout the value chain for applying MBSE. Especially the resulting additional effort gives rise to the question of generated benefits and the ROI of MBSE. While complex system manufacturers are benefiting from the approach through its complexity-grasping basis, suppliers might not benefit from it at all in their own development activities. With this paper the distribution along the value chain is analyzed and it is investigated how to compensate additional effort caused by MBSE for suppliers and SME.

Farm records hold the static, temporal, and longitudinal details of the farms. For small-scale farming, the ability to accurately capture these records plays a critical role in formalizing and digitizing the agriculture industry. A trusted exchange of these records could unlock critical insights to different stakeholders across the value chain. Recently, there has been increasing attention on digitizing small scale farming with the goal of increasing farm-level transparency and visibility, access to credit, etc. using these farm records. However, most solutions proposed so far have the shortcoming of providing granular and trusted small-scale farm digitization. To address these challenges, we present a system, called AG-Wallet System(AGWS), which leverages blockchain to formalize the interactions and data flow in small-scale farming ecosystem. Utilizing instrumentation of farm tractors, we demonstrate the ability to utilize farm activities to create trusted electronic field records (EFR). Using AGWS, we processed over one hundred thousand small-scale farm-level activity events for which we also performed automated farm boundary detection of several farms.

Under the fourth industrial revolution, how the traditional manufacturing industry moves from the low end of the value chain to the mid-to-high end, and from the traditional standardization and mass production to personalization and small batch customization is the key to the transformation and upgrading of the industry. This paper focuses on how Haier COSMOPlat can facilitate industrial upstream and downstream collaboration and cross-border integration. Through an explanatory single case study method, this paper analyzes how Haier COSMOPlat provides a model and opportunity for transformation and upgrading for industrial manufacturing, as well as how Haier builds a global and industry-wide industrial mass customization platform, successfully achieves cross-domain and cross-industry collaboration, and enables companies to transform and upgrade. This paper summarizes that COSMOPlat not only promotes the upstream and downstream collaboration of the industrial chain, but also promotes the cross-border integration, with a view to providing a new path for the transformation and upgrading of China's traditional manufacturing industry

The Internet of Things, as a concept, was officially named in 1999. One of the first examples of an Internet of Things was a Coca Cola machine, located at the Carnegie Melon University. Local programmers would connect by Internet to the refrigerated appliance and check to see if there was a drink available, and if it was cold, before making the trip. The term “Industrie 4.0” was used for the first time in 2011 at the Hannover Fair. In October 2012 the Working Group on Industry 4.0 presented a set of implementation recommendations to the German federal government. Industry 4.0” refers to the concept of factories in which machines are augmented with wireless connectivity and sensors, connected to a system that can visualise the entire production line and make decisions on its own. Industry 4.0 fosters what has been called a “smart factory”. Within modular structured smart factories, cyber-physical systems monitor physical processes, create a virtual copy of the physical world and make decentralized decisions. Over the Internet of Things, cyber-physical systems communicate and cooperate with each other and with humans in real-time both internally and across organizational services offered and used by participants of the value chain. So, it's been around for a while and is well defined with the keys being connectivity and ‘smart sensors’ to monitor and feedback data, we also see that this is NOT ‘lights out factory’ as it also mentions communicating and cooperating with humans, but not at what level. This paper will evaluate SMT production and inspection machines and attempt to define their status and potential to act as ‘smart sensors’, the first building blocks towards i4.0, this will lead to the answer to the question in the title.

The bioeconomy covers "the production of renewable biological resources and the conversion of those resources and waste streams into value-added products, such as food, feed, bio-based products and bioenergy" [1]. The concepts of the bioeconomy and the circular economy ultimately pursue different main goals: While the circular economy focuses only on "maintaining the value of products, materials and resources in the economy for as long as possible," many elements of the bioeconomy go beyond that goal. The bioeconomy and the circular economy share some of the goals: a more sustainable and resource-efficient and low-carbon world. In Bulgaria there is still a limited understanding of the added value of eco-innovation, the effects of defragmentation of the value chain, the consequences of the limited application of environmental investments, as well as the lack of appropriate financial instruments stimulating technological progress [2]. This report has been developed in the framework of the Bulgarian scientific program that supports research in the field of bioeconomy and sustainable development. This analysis was prepared as a result of a survey conducted within the project by interviewing 285 organic producers from all regions of Bulgaria. The purpose of the study is to analyze the situation in Bulgaria for the development of the organic sector in terms of production capacity, potential for growth of the organic production sector, to study the conditions, difficulties and prospects for the development of exports of organic products. The analysis will serve to evaluate the opportunities for regional bioeconomy development and the diversification of the agricultural sector.

Electromobility stands for sustainability, it shall be the key for a more environmentally friendly, resource saving and efficient transport sector. To achieve this goal, not only the car technology needs to be adapted, but also the value chain of vehicles, loads on the electricity network, the power Generation for drive as well as traffic and charging infrastructure. This paper focuses on numerous influencing factors, their links and discusses the complexity of a successful and sustainable establishment of charging infrastructure.

A transformation of the manufacturing industry is occurring, it is set to blur the boundaries between the physical and the digital worlds. This has become to be commonly known as the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). It is due to converging several technologies with the aim of developing factories with an information network backbone, allowing for a complete digitalization of the value chain from product customization to its end-of-life. This change will impact education and the methods used to train the engineers who will work in such factory environment. From an educational point-of-view, the underlying concepts are more easily illustrated on workshop-scale demonstrators, however, circumstances may dictate the need to use smaller table-top workbenches. In this paper one of such workbench-scale systems is proposed and described. It aims to illustrate a wide range of industrial automation concepts to a target audience of undergraduate students. It was conceived to allow the implementation of control strategies that go from simple sequential logic, up to distributed control of the workbench components. The PLC takes on a central role in this setting, as its capabilities of communicating, acting as a web-server, and running more than one program per cycle are all explored in this context. While keeping manufacturing tasks at a purely illustrative level, it is shown that it is possible to address a significant number of higher-level concepts closely related to the fourth industrial revolution on a small scale demonstrator equipment.