In manufacturing circles, there's a term called "Industry 4.0" that may not necessarily be familiar to the average person. The term is the name given to the current trend of automation and digitization that's currently taking place in the sector.

Industry 4.0 is commonly referred to as the "fourth industrial revolution." Typically, it includes cyber-physical systems, the Internet of things, cloud computing and cognitive computing, and creates, ultimately, what's been called the "smart factory." Basically, this isn't your father's factory or your grandfather's manufacturing sector. 

And, not surprisingly, consultants will lead manufacturing executives into this brave, new world. Consulting leaders are trying to solve the sector's challenges; and there are plenty—everything from technology advancements and automation disruptions to a talent crunch and an emerging trade war. In addition, they'll be focused on helping sector leaders with strategy, operations, trading partners and security.

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Meanwhile, this year marks the 10th Anniversary of our Top 25 Consultants Gala Awards dinner. From humble beginnings in 2009, this year's dinner was our largest ever—with more than 200 attendees gathering at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. Photos and coverage of that evening can be found in a 16-page section beginning on Page 18 in this issue. 

This year's event, however, included a new Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding service to the consulting profession. This year, that award went to EY's Robert Patton for his three decades-plus in the profession. His time as EY Americas Vice Chair of Advisory Services helped grow the practice from $1.5 billion in revenue with 6,000 consultants to $5 billion and 16,000 consultants. Bob celebrated the award that evening with colleagues, co-workers and family.

Joseph Kornik Publisher & Editor-in-Chief jkornik@alm.com 

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