Information and communication integration in smart factory design

Abstract

Strategic smart factory design is essential to utilize Industry 4.0 technologies in production environments effectively. Although a series of earlier reviews in the context of smart manufacturing have been published, so far none addresses smart factory design, i. e. the planning and operation of smart factories.  This review provides an overview of recent research in the field by systematizing opportunities, risks and success factors of smart factory design as available from recent empirical studies (2018-2022). Businesses are informed how smart factory design should be approached and implemented to realize cost advantages and increase competitiveness. Academic research benefits of a classification of relevant issues and open research fields are outlined.