Industry 4.0 technologies as enablers of collaboration in circular supply chains: a systematic literature review

ABSTRACT

Close and novel forms of collaboration among supply chain stakeholders within and beyond industry boundaries are essential for implementing a circular economy. Industry 4.0 technologies, as recognised enablers for circular systems, can support such collaboration. This study explores the intersection of the circular economy, supply chain collaboration, and Industry 4.0. First, we derive an analytical framework that contextualises circular supply chain collaboration. Second, based on this framework, we conduct a systematic literature review that explores how Industry 4.0 technologies can enable collaboration mechanisms. The review shows that information sharing and joint planning and decision-making are the most common collaboration mechanisms studied. Simultaneously, the Internet of Things, Blockchain, and Cloud Systems are the most discussed technologies to enable those mechanisms. The most prominent review sample patterns are synthesised into three archetypes for Industry 4.0-enabled circular supply chain collaboration. Furthermore, the study derives nine promising questions for future research along six main dimensions: Digital Twins and Artificial Intelligence, joint knowledge creation and innovation, collaboration in product design and planning, systemic collaboration across industry boundaries, contextualisation with barriers for implementing circular supply chains, and transferability of applications across industries.

KEYWORDS:

• Circular economy
• collaboration
• supply chain management
• industry 4.0
• digital technology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, MG, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Maximilian Gebhardt

Maximilian Gebhardt is a doctoral candidate at the Chair of Supply Chain Management at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. He earned an M.Sc. in International Management at the Esade Business School in Barcelona, Spain, and a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg. His primary areas of research include supply chain resilience, Industry 4.0 technologies, and circular supply chain management. He is particularly interested in exploring the intersections among these research streams. Before pursuing his PhD, he spent several years in strategy consulting. While serving clients from a broad range of industries (e.g. insurance, automotive, consumer goods, and the public sector), he focused on digital transformations, operations management, strategy development, and private equity advisory.

Matthias Kopyto

Dr. Matthias Kopyto is a guest researcher at the Chair of Supply Chain Management at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. He is also a visiting lecturer at Corporate State University (DHBW) Mannheim, Germany. He earned an M.Sc. in Business Administration at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg and a B.A. in Business and Economics at the University of Basel, Switzerland. His primary research areas include the digital transformation of supply chains, supply chain resilience, blockchain technology in supply chains, and circular supply chain management. He presented his works at several conferences and published in peer-reviewed journal outlets, including Technological Forecasting & Social Change.

Hendrik Birkel

Dr. Hendrik Birkel is a postdoctoral associate at the Chair of Supply Chain Management at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. His primary research areas include Industry 4.0 and the digital transformation, supply chain risk management and resilience, and sustainability in the context of supply chain management. He has published in the International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Business Research, Journal of Cleaner Production, and other managerial and academic outlets.

Evi Hartmann

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Evi Hartmann (Dr.-Ing., Technical University Berlin) is Professor of Supply Chain Management at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. Her primary areas of research include purchasing and supply management, global sourcing, and supply chain management. She has published in the International Journal of Production Economics, Journal of Business Logistics, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Journal of Supply Chain Management, and other managerial and academic outlets.