ABSTRACT
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) is challenging every facet of modern life, including in the economic, business, community, and political spheres. Because of globalization, which in the past focussed on lowering trade barriers, global integration but is today accelerating due to increased connectivity of digital systems, enabling the flow of knowledge and services. More products are being realised by digitalized supply chains enabled by technologies, such as 3D printing and designs that consider sustainability a core requirement, which means that labour cost can no longer be considered a competitive advantage. From its experience as an engineering services supplier part of the global aerospace supply chain and a turnkey consultant for companies looking enter the aerospace industry, Strand Aerospace Malaysia (STRAND) developed an ecosystem investment tool called the Stratified Investment Model (SIM), which encapsulates five value propositions that allows government, companies and organizations to develop and implement strategies for revenue generation, value capture and to drive ecosystem synergy. This investment tool is part of the consultancy work that STRAND has executed with industry, government, and academia, which is the basis of this chapter. The chapter provides insights into some of the inner workings of the challenges accompanying the transformation of companies and the ecosystem embedding it that is taking place as part of Industrial Revolution 4.0 in Malaysia.
