Industry’s 4.0 transformation process: how to start, where to aim, what to be aware of

Abstract

Industry 4.0 has fused digitalisation with traditional industrial processes bridging the physical and virtual worlds and opening unimagined possibilities for 21st century business growth. Research is still evolving towards the development of frameworks linking Industry’s 4.0 enabling technologies to specific goals and to their impact on the manufacturers’ businesses. A systematic review of all peer-reviewed managerial research is performed to extract Industry’s 4.0 enabling technologies, barriers and goals. A framework linking technologies, barriers, and goals is then developed together with a web application based on its contents. The use of the framework is demonstrated through its application to two specific empirical case studies. The review shows that there are 9 classes of Industry’s 4.0 enabling technologies, whose different arrangements lead to the achievement of up to 15 business goals that can be thwarted by 21 barriers. The pursuit of these goals leads to three different destinations, i.e. three diverse digital transformations of the manufacturing firms. This paper provides a holistic framework that analyses the relationships among Industry’s 4.0 enabling technologies, barriers and goals. It appeals to managers who can use its contents along with the web application to derive recommendations and suggestions tailored to their Industry’s 4.0 journeys.

Keywords:

• Industry 4.0
• digital transformation
• manufacturing
• framework
• journey

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Armando Calabrese

Armando Calabrese is an Associate Professor of Management Engineering at the University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, where he received his PhD. He had international research experience as visiting research fellow at the Advanced Services Group at Aston Business School, Aston University (UK) and at the Department of Management, Society and Communication at Copenhagen Business School (Denmark). His main research interests are service management and economics, sustainability, health and public management.

Manoj Dora

Dr Manoj Dora has several years of experience in teaching, research and consultancy worldwide. He is the founder of ‘Circular Food Forum’ which brings together academic, industries and policy makers to facilitate dialogue and take forward research agenda. Manoj's areas of specialisations are Sustainable Value Chain and Quality Management with a focus on Lean Six Sigma in the agro-food sector. He has been involved in many capacity building initiatives focussing on the circular economy, humanitarian operations, Industry 4.0 and food supply chain in Europe, Africa, South America and Asia.

Nathan Levialdi Ghiron

Nathan Levialdi Ghiron is a Full Professor in Management Engineering at the University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, former head of the Department of Management Engineering. His research involves network economics, health management, service management and economics, sustainability and public management.

Luigi Tiburzi

Luigi Tiburzi is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Management Engineering at the University of Rome, ‘Tor Vergata’, where he received his PhD. He is interested in the role of services in shaping the business models of manufacturers, from revenue making and sustainability perspectives. In addition, he is interested in understanding the role new technologies play in firms’ strategies.