Industry 4.0 and Digitization are main topics when it comes to optimization of production processes, seamless traceability and quality assurance. With the Internet of Production, it is the aim of the new Cluster of Excellence at RWTH Aachen University to develop a conceptional reference architecture for a worldwide socio-technical network of processes and production environments. Thereby, it will be possible to generate Digital Shadows as purpose-driven, multi-perspective datasets and enable access to valuable information about every step in the value adding process. In plastics processing, hidden potential for improvement from material conditioning to quality assurance will be leveraged.