Role of Digital Supply Chain in Industry 4.0: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Digitalization has significantly shifted technology-driven processes, products, services, and business models. This revolution envisions an era in which smart machines can transfer information to automatic manufacturing and production lines, evaluate and grasp specific production difficulties, and solve them with the minimum human intervention. Previously, this revolution was thought to disrupt the manufacturing sector mainly. Therefore, their integration and advancement would influence retailers, distributors, operational organizations, and service providers. This paper assesses how digital supply chains (DSC) are evolving to cater to the needs of Industry 4.0. This literature-based research approaches the broad topic of DSC using bibliometric techniques and network analysis tools using software like Gephi and VosViewer — our study’s data from 2002–2024 from journal databases like Scopus and Google Scholar. Aside from the demands and trends driving supply chain digitalization, digital transformation trends and the changing business environment add challenges and risks. Implementing IT technologies significantly impacts the whole supply chain in order to compete in today’s dynamic and competitive business environment. Increased openness across the whole process, from order dispatch to product end-of-life, depends on collaboration between suppliers, manufacturers, and consumers. Industry 4.0 promotes big data, Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Therefore, the urgency and importance of theoretical methods and empirical studies are needed to help businesses establish successful and long-lasting Industry 4.0 supply chains while quickly adapting to continuously changing markets and technology, which can be easily possible through the broad study of the previous study that has been conducted in the past. This study allows for a thorough review of the discipline’s current state and future directions, highlighting significant contributions, emerging trends, and areas requiring additional research that will be helpful for future researchers and policymakers.