Kevin Overdulve , Director in Logistics & Distribution at Deloitte Belgium , shares his insight into how the disruptive power of AI is shaping the autonomous supply chains of tomorrow

F rom the invention of the steam engine and new ironworking processes to the microchip and the nuclear reactor , the first three industrial revolutions have each recast the world in a new mould . Now , as the world plunges into a fourth transformation , driven by disruptive technologies , hyper-connectivity and customer-centric new business models , looking back across the past 260 years can grant valuable direction into the shape of tomorrow . The trends defining Industry 4.0 are reflected in the impetus that fuelled the First Industrial Revolution at the close of the 18th century : harnessing new innovations in order to increasingly improve and automate the work carried out by human labour .