Delivering on digitalization for large multinational business, in the contemporary context of global operations and real time delivery, is a significant opportunity. Operations of localised facilities independent of global operations can result in compromised global synergies. Centralised functions such as research and development, optimisations of assets, corporate planning (strategy, investment planning, financial), and supply chain together with any other function deliver significant business value. Integration of these functions via industry 4.0 delivers significant business value, delivering strategic and operational benefits. This research proposes a global system approach, as defined by industry 4.0 (vertical, horizontal and total business integration), to this challenge, from ERP through manufacturing systems down to instrumentation. The proposed work resolves the inter-site challenges together with global standardization and inter-functional integration. This proposed architecture is reinforced by a simulation illustrating the benefits of the integrated business. (C) 2018 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.