Sustainable Manufacturing Supply Chain Performance Enhancement through Technology Utilization and Process Innovation in Industry 4.0: A SEM-PLS Approach

Abstract

The fourth industrial revolution brought a paradigm shift in the present manufacturing system and its supply chain management (SCM). The evolution of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) brought several disruptive technologies like cloud computing (CC), blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), cyber-physical systems (CPS), etc. These disruptive technologies have changed the face of the modern manufacturing system and its manufacturing supply chain (SC). Several changes in manufacturing in terms of lead time, cost reduction, agility, flexibility, and response to market sensitivity are seen in almost all types of manufacturing. I4.0’s disruptive technologies influence lean SC, agile SC, leagile SC, and green SC. The current study examines how I4.0 technologies affect society on such supply chains (SCs), which leads to enhanced performance of the manufacturing SC. The effect of process innovation (PI) resulting from I4.0 innovations is also investigated. SEM-PLS-based modeling is constructed based on 195 responses received from manufacturing enterprises implementing various SC practices in managing their manufacturing SCs. The findings demonstrate a favorable correlation between I4.0 technology and the enhancement of various SCs. The result also revealed that there is a positive impact of I4.0 technologies on PI, which leads to manufacturing SC performance improvements.