Increasing the efficiency of industrial production, customised products, collaboration between IT systems and production lines, efficient cooperation between machines and people... Are we still in the laboratory or already in a science fiction movie? The answer is: in the laboratory, or more precisely, in the Digital Manufacturing Laboratory of the Department of Economics and Management “Marco Fanno” of the University of Padua. It was here that dr Wojciech Dyba of Adam Mickiewicz University conducted research into the digital transformation of industrial enterprises in Europe and their readiness to implement solutions as part of Industry 4.0. Are you also wondering what Industry 4.0 is? In a nutshell - another industrial revolution. After the spread of breakthrough technologies connected with mechanisation (Industry 1.0), electrification (Industry 2.0), digitisation (Industry 3.0), the time has come for another breakthrough - process, organisational and marketing innovations implemented in production companies thanks to the progress in digital technologies using ever newer applications of the Internet. By networking and sharing data, companies can produce more economically and respond more quickly to individual customer needs. Will this not lead to factories where people are replaced by robots? Well, no! The idea is that Industry 4.0 will transform factories into better workplaces and provide their employees with new tools tailored to their needs and skills.Dr Dyba, with the support of prof. Valentina de Marchi and prof. Eleonora di Maria from Padua, conducted international comparative research in various European regions renowned for their strong manufacturing sector, primarily Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy and Wielkopolska (Greater Poland) in Poland. The research showed that European regions are characterised by different conditions for the creation and implementation of Industry 4.0 innovations in companies. Both in Italy and Poland, the activities of authorities and regional organisations related to industry aim to disseminate information on the opportunities offered by new technologies and to identify and overcome barriers to their implementation, not least of which is the lack of knowledge of their potential. In turn, the analysis of good practices of production companies that have implemented selected innovations of Industry 4.0 allows us to look with great optimism at the further evolution and dissemination of the discussed solutions. We will be curious to conduct participatory observation of this new phenomenon.