Search

Unpredictable natural and man-made disasters highlight importance of humanitarian supply chain (HSC) to serve people and affected areas. The main challenges of applying effective relief operations are creating "swift trust" and "coordination" between aid organizations. Implementation of Industry 4.0 facilitates coordination and swift trust within HSC performance. The study intends to assess the readiness status of swift trust and coordination between stakeholders as well as to recommend the most suitable Industry 4.0 tools for improving relief operations. Firstly, a comprehensive set of critical success factors for implementing Industry 4.0 tools are introduced. The factors are categorized into limited groups using Exploratory Factor Analysis. In the next step, hierarchy fuzzy expert system is designed for assessing the readiness status of swift trust and coordination as well as to suggest the most suitable Industry 4.0 tool for enhancing HSC performance within given case study. The framework was applied for three aid organizations to address the pandemic disease in Iran. The outcome denotes that the organization has the highest readiness in logistic and transparency while information quality received the lowest readiness value. In addition to that, the organization should invest on the development of Industry 4.0 enablers including "Internet of Things and Big Data Analytics". The study extends organizational information process theory within HSC for reaching competitive advantage by information processing. The study suggests theoretical and practical implications by introducing a comprehensive set of critical success factors for implementation of Industry 4.0 and providing practical advice for enhancing HSC performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The high degree of likely disruption challenges organizations at all levels to develop and implement innovative strategies. Ensuring supply chain continuity even during emergency and complex situations is critical for organizations. Therefore, this study explores some strategies adopted by firms based on innovation and blockchain-enabled digital transformation to reduce risk in their supply chain. Design/methodology/approach: This study follows the qualitative form of enquiry. The authors interviewed 26 professionals from the supply chain domain. After three-layered coding and mapping multiple layers to the data of interviews, the authors identified emerging themes and sub-themes through a thematic analysis. Findings: The authors identified type of risks that can affect global supply chains along with both the role of blockchain and innovation culture in minimizing the degree of such risks and the challenges in adopting blockchain technologies. This led us to develop a framework to address supply chain risk through digital transformation through innovation and blockchain. Practical implications: This research offers exciting implications for practice by drawing on the insights gathered to facilitate supply chain risk management through innovation and blockchain applications for organizations that are strongly impacted by digital transformation practices around the world. The study also offers the utilization of a framework followed by propositions to reduce supply chain risks in the digital transformation era. Originality/value: This study focuses on presenting a mechanism of supply chain risk management through the application of innovation and blockchain technology for the digital transformation of a value chain. Blockchain can offer an innovative platform to ready the supply chain for future dynamic situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Zero-level capabilities have a positive relationship with smart circular product-service systems capabilities. • Environmental dynamism is a significant moderator between zero-level capabilities and smart circular product-service systems capabilities. • Smart circular product-service systems capabilities have a positive relationship with financial performance and environmental performance. A smart product-service system is an integrated digital infrastructure that brings together products and services to provide clients with a full range of options. A smart product-service system is a crucial capability that enhances collaboration among several parties in a supply chain and gives businesses valuable insights into performance. This study investigates (a) the zero-level capabilities (also known as organizational capabilities) that influence dynamic capabilities (i.e., smart circular product-service systems capabilities) building in the Industry 4.0 era while environmental dynamism acts as a moderator, and (b) how the smart circular product-service systems capabilities can support firms' (financial and environmental) performance. Based on the data collected from the manufacturers who have been actively involved in smart circular product-service system based projects, our findings reveal that three zero-level capabilities (i.e., product lifetime database creation capabilities, analytics and business intelligence capabilities and actuating capabilities) are crucial for building dynamic capabilities (i.e., smart circular product-service systems capabilities) in a volatile business environment. Besides, we also highlight how these capabilities can positively affect firms' financial and environmental performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In the era of industry 4.0 and digital manufacturing, big data analytics is a game changer in increasing accuracy in decision-making. • Big data affects firms' marketing performance for firms involved in digital manufacturing as well as service. • Qualitative analysis and was guided by a knowledge-based theoretical framework. • Thematic analyses resulted in the identification of a number of emergent categories. A universal trend in advanced manufacturing countries is defining Industry 4.0, industrialized internet and future factories as a recent wave, which may transform the production and its related services. Further, big data analytics has emerged as a game changer in the business world due to its uses for increasing accuracy in decision-making and enhancing performance of sustainable industry 4.0 applications. This study intends to emphasize on how to support Industry 4.0 with knowledge based view. For the same, a conceptual model is framed and presented with essential components that are required for a real world implementation. The study used qualitative analysis and was guided by a knowledge-based theoretical framework. Thematic analysis resulted in the identification of a number of emergent categories. Key findings highlight significant gaps in conventional decision-making systems and demonstrate how big data enhances firms' strategic and operational decisions as well as facilitates informational access for improved marketing performance. The resulting proposed model can provide managers with a reference point for using big data to line up firms' activities for more effective marketing efforts and presents a conceptual basis for further empirical studies in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Effect of institutional pressures and resources on BDA-AI adoption is examined. • Effect of BDA-AI on sustainable manufacturing and circular economy capabilities. • Digital progress is essential for the development of circular economy capabilities. The significance of big data analytics-powered artificial intelligence has grown in recent years. The literature indicates that big data analytics-powered artificial intelligence has the ability to enhance supply chain performance, but there is limited research concerning the reasons for which firms engaging in manufacturing activities adopt big data analytics-powered artificial intelligence. To address this gap, our study employs institutional theory and resource-based view theory to elucidate the way in which automotive firms configure tangible resources and workforce skills to drive technological enablement and improve sustainable manufacturing practices and furthermore develop circular economy capabilities. We tested the research hypothesis using primary data collected from 219 automotive and allied manufacturing companies operating in South Africa. The contribution of this work lies in the statistical validation of the theoretical framework, which provides insight regarding the role of institutional pressures on resources and their effects on the adoption of big data analytics-powered artificial intelligence, and how this affects sustainable manufacturing and circular economy capabilities under the moderating effects of organizational flexibility and industry dynamism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthcare supply chain management (HCSCM) is a network of different systems, tools, and processes. This system works in a seamless manner to ensure healthcare related materials such as medicines, hospital supplies, and so on. These materials are manufactured in the firms, distributed through agents, and eventually reach patients on time. During COVID-19, HCSCM was severely impacted in many countries. Many patients had to face severe difficulties during the pandemic. But post pandemic and after the adoption of several modern technologies like Industry 4.0, the performance of HCSCM was more reliable. Not many studies are available which have examined the influence of Industry 4.0 in HCSCM during such a crisis. In such context, the study aims at examining the influence of Industry 4.0 in HCSCM with moderating role of environmental dynamism. A conceptual model is proposed with the support of theories and literature. This was later validated by PLS-SEM approach considering 312 respondents from people of HCSCM system. The study ascertained that Industry 4.0 has greatly improved the performance of HCSCM system after COVID-19 crisis. In addition, this study highlighted that environmental dynamism has a significant moderating role on the linkage between adoption of industry 4.0 technology with HCSCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Contributes to a holistic business solution focusing on enablement of business strategy, system and data integration, facilitating real time business optimisation. • The ability to monitor, to manage, any aspect of the business from shop floor to top floor with all available data for decision making. • The solution provides for any optimisation initiative, these can include functionality and workflow capacities. Initiatives can be enabled via real time data, through the defined network. • With a globally connected business, all contemporary requirements can be included. This could include any cutting edge technologies. • Extended the research into business simulations as aligned to business processes with the aim of securing operational data to create a cyber physical system. 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]