Comparative Study on Policy of Overseas Smart Factory: Focusing on Germany, USA, Japan, and China

In recent years, the establishment of a smart factory to overcome low growth and this has become a hot topic around the world. In 2016, the Davos Forum discussed what kind of changes the future technological revolution will bring to society and future generations under the theme of’Understanding of the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ as a way to solve low growth. This study aims to examine the concept of a smart factory, four tasks, and the impor- tance of a smart factory in relation to technological innovation in the manufacturing industry through a smart fac- tory. And it is to present the construction stage and expected effects of a smart factory. Second, to cope with smart factories, we want to compare policies between countries such as Germany, the United States, Japan, and China. In this study, the following results and implications are presented. First, before constructing a smart factory, the Korean government should be researched as a prerequisite for the establishment of a smart factory through a government-private-academic consultative body. Third, before building a smart factory, laws or systems that can protect large enterprises and SMEs must be prepared. Fourth, SMEs in particular need to think about how to oper- ate a smart factory.