Towards Industry 4.0: Functional and Technological Basis for ERP 4.0 Systems

In the Industry 4.0 conception, due to the development of new information technologies and their implementation in management systems, there are developed systems with extended functionalities, new functional features and new technologies such as, for example, the Internet of Things, fog computing, big data, big management. These are ERP 4.0 systems. They increase the scope of automation and even robotize information processes, they are also able to transform information into knowledge, which increases the efficiency of decision-making processes and thus increases the efficiency of enterprises and organizations. The main aim of the chapter is to identify and discuss the features in the newly emerging ERP 4.0 system and also to analyze and classify the main contributions published on the topic of ERP 4.0 in management literature, seeking to give it a unique definition, discover the gaps still remaining in literature and outline future avenues of research in this domain. The main contribution of the chapter is developing the guidelines for structural and technological development of ERP-class systems, with particular emphasis on technological solutions of the ERP 4.0 system, such as cognitive technologies, big data, the Internet of Things, cloud computing and fog computing. The Authors attempts also to formulate a unique definition and features of the ERP system and outline future research directions in this area.