Solutions of fourth industrial revolution as a condition for further development of industrial production in EU in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The spread of SARS-CoV-2 around the world has turned into an economic shock, affecting both the supply of goods and services, as well as the demand for consumption and investments. The challenges that enterprises most often faced were the low flexibility of global value chains to demand and supply disruptions, delays in completing exports orders and limitations in economic activity. The pandemic highlighted weaknesses related to the diversification of supply sources, as well as the concentration of production of certain goods. The aim of the paper is to present a summary of the main problems that affected the industrial production of European Union countries in short-term and the challenges for the European industry in long-term perspective, as well as solutions resulting from the fourth industrial revolution. The thesis adopted in this paper is that the experiences of enterprises related to the crisis caused by the pandemic will motivate them to implement new technologies. There is no guarantee that we will return to the pre-pandemic world. Therefore, transformation is not only a temporary means of coping with the crisis, but also a permanent solution for the development of EU industry.