Industry 4.0: The Case-Study of a Global Supply Chain Company

Abstract

The technological evolution that enterprises are facing is increasingly fast and dynamic, demanding more and more flexibility and agility in the application of new technologies in an increasingly globalized and competitive business environment. This work has a broad view of the industry 4.0 influence in the global supply chain companies, as it is essential for long-term business sustainability and one of the key drivers of profitability and growth. The model proposed in this research effort considers the application in the processes of a global supply chain enterprise, which includes from the beginning of the demand request, also the industrial activities, to the post-sale analysis; finally, an unprecedented indicator was developed to measure the level of application of industry 4.0 concepts in organizations according to the state-of-the-art in the evaluated processes. Then, the model was applied to the real case of a global high-tech supply chain company. The first findings demonstrate the ease of understanding and applicability of the model for companies to analyze the digital transformation in their processes and identify gaps to convert them into real opportunities to leverage their business.