Today’s complexity of technologies, emerging business models and business environments calls for specialisation and sustainable collaboration. Vibrant, flexible, high-performing virtual organisations of specialised partners are the critical success factors of the emerging business environment. Critical for Industry 4.0 organisations is the enhancement of their operational resources and innovation potential through the involvement of local, regional and international virtual networks of partners with adequate logistical support. Cross-functional programme-managed structures and culture, combined with effective and efficient transformational leadership, management and governance, is the ideal vehicle for delivering the integration, coordination, collaboration and synergy required for mitigating complexity
and risk, while achieving essential organisational performance, strategic benefits and value add in the Industry 4.0 environment.
The academic programmes offered by Cranefield College are purposefully designed to serve the organisational leadership, management and governance needs of the Industry 4.0 economy. Cranefield’s staff and students have performed extensive practical research at master’s and doctoral levels and published groundbreaking articles, resulting in Cranefield being the educational leader in this field. Cranefield’s academic programmes and courses focus on achieving organisational value chain performance excellence through programme-managed cross-functional and inter-organisational supply chain and project portfolios that ensure effective and efficient differentiation,
integration and collaboration of work generally shaped as virtual networks of partners. Transformational leadership for strategic success remains a strong focus throughout.