The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual model that defines the essential components shaping the new Digital Supply Chains (DSCs) through the implementation and acceleration of Industry 4.0.,The scope of the present work exposes a conceptual approach and review of the key literature from 1989 to 2019, concerning the evolution and transformation of the actors and constructs in logistics and Supply Chain Management (SCM) by means of examining different conceptual models and a state-of-the-art review of Industry 4.0’s concepts and elements, with a focus on digitization in supply chain (SC) processes. A detailed study of the constructs and components of SCM, as defined by their authors, resulted in the development of a referential and systematic model that fuses the inherent concepts and roles of SCM, with the new technological trends directed toward digitization, automation, and the increasing use of information and communication technologies across logistics global value chains.,Having achieved an exploration of the different conceptual frameworks, there is no compelling evidence of the existence of a conceptual SCM that incorporates the basic theoretical constructs and the new roles and elements of Industry 4.0. Therefore, the main components of Industry 4.0 and their impact on DSC Management are described, driving the proposal for a new conceptual model which addresses and accelerates a vision of the future of the interconnectivity between different DSCs, grouped in clusters in order to add value, through new forms of cooperation and digital integration.,This research explores the gap in the current SCM models leading into Industry 4.0. The proposed model provides a novel and comprehensive overview of the new concepts and components driving the nascent and current DSCs. This conceptual framework will further aid researchers in the exploration of knowledge regarding the variables and components presented, as well as the verification of the newly revealed roles and constructs to understand the new forms of cooperation and implementation of Industry 4.0 in digitalized SCs.

Digital supply chain model in Industry 4.0

Considering the stringent regulations, manufacturing of aircraft parts is often quite complex and time consuming. The multi-million components, multi-tier manufacturing systems and the severe constraints surrounding the sector lead to heavy inventory investments to achieve the just-in-time supply of parts often needed to reduce the airplane ground times. Additive manufacturing evolved allowing for the direct production of complex parts based on digital data with no complex tooling or machinery, a messiah of true just in time production. Appropriate integration of additive manufacturing with the aircraft industry could resolve some of the supply chain and inventory hurdles. Significant progress is already evident in these lines, but the lack of quality assurance attributes and certification standards is hampering the progress. The state-of-the-art of the application of additive manufacturing in the aircraft industry is reviewed in this paper.

https://www.longdom.org/articles/additive-manufacturing-for-the-aircraft-industry-a-review.pdf

Additive Manufacturing for the Aircraft Industry: A Review.

In this article we discuss how to summarize the persistent and large heterogeneity in innovative behaviour and economic performance. A Revision of the Pavitt (1984) taxonomy - covering manufacturing and services, as well as ICT activities â€“ is proposed as a key tool for identifying common characteristics and diversities in patterns. An extensive analysis of Innovation Survey data, on sources, objectives, inputs and outcomes of innovation, allows us to test alternative industry groupings, leading to an extensive assessment of a Revised Pavitt Taxonomy that is able to capture major structural differences in the relationship between innovation and performance. As industries' classifications has changed from NACE Rev.1 to NACE Rev.2 in 2008, a Revised Pavitt taxonomy is also provided for the new industries.

The Pavitt Taxonomy, Revisited. Patterns of Innovation in Manufacturing and Services

The novelty of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) as a research topic means that the literature covering the interrelations between digital business transformation and categories such as internationalisation, foreign direct investment (FDI), or clusters is scant. This paper shows that clusters may contribute to the advancement of I4.0 while at the same time they stimulate the internationalisation of indigenous firms and the inflow of foreign investors. Based on conceptual deliberations it develops a research agenda for exploring how clusters might affect OFDI and IFDI by facilitating the I4.0. It can advance our understanding on the spatial aspects of the ongoing business digital transformation.

/pdf/primer-on-the-cluster-impact-on-internationalisation-in-the-41yhs1e1vg.pdf

Primer on the Cluster Impact on Internationalisation in the Form of FDI in the Time of Industry 4.0

According to a strong and diversified theoretical framework, innovation is one of the usual suspects in defining differences in firm performance. Understanding the diversity that exists within the population of innovative firms is essential for developing appropriate innovation policies. Our study explored the diversity of innovation patterns among Norwegian firms included in the 2018 Community Innovation Survey (CIS2018). By applying factor analysis to a wide array of survey variables and a large sample of firms, we identified eleven typical approaches to innovation, which connect innovation inputs and outputs at the firm level. A main outcome of our study is a novel fine-grained view of innovation as a multifaceted concept. Our research path helps us to find commonalities in innovation behavior across industries and, as a consequence, to better isolate those innovation patterns that differentiate industries from one another. We also show the relation between firm size, on one hand, and each of the firm scores associated to the eleven typical approaches to innovation, on the other hand, thus uncovering ways in which small firms may survive in sectors dominated by large firms.

https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7116/2/1/4/pdf?version=1646110706

Innovation Pattern Heterogeneity: Data-Driven Retrieval of Firms’ Approaches to Innovation

In spite of the fast spread of Additive Manufacturing (AM) in several countries and industries, its impact on employment is still unexplored and theoretically ambiguous. On the one hand, higher product customisation and shorter time-to-market entail an expansion of the market, thus fostering labour demand; on the other hand, AM profoundly changes the way goods are produced and little evidence exists regarding the complementarity or substitutability between AM technologies and labour.

In this article, we contribute to fill this gap. We estimate labour demand functions augmented with a (patent-based) proxy of AM-related innovation in 31 OECD countries, across 21 manufacturing industries, over the 2009–2017 period. Our econometric findings show an overall positive relationship between AM technologies and employment at the industry level, due to both market expansion and complementarity between labour and AM technologies, while no labour-saving effect emerges. The importance of each mechanism, however, is heterogeneous across sectors.

The employment implications of additive manufacturing

The results show that AM decreases a country’s participation in GVCs, both at the country level and, in particular, in the sectors which are more likely to be affected by AM technologies. This evidence suggests that this phenomenon might be induced by a decreasing reliance on intermediates processed abroad, hence an increasing importance of domestic goods, manufactured via AM.

Additive Manufacturing and Global Value Chains: An Empirical Investigation at the Country Level

Abstract The investigation of the adoption of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies and its implications, both at the macro and micro level, has attracted growing interest in the recent literature. Most studies have looked at the production and diffusion of related innovations and knowledge, but what do we know about the adoption of these technologies over time and across countries? In this paper, we look at three I4.0 technologies and present a new empirical perspective able to overcome the limitations of existing attempts at measuring their adoption, generally based on small-scale and country-specific studies. Our study provides a methodology that allows measuring adoption across countries for a relatively long time period. In so doing, we build on the well-established idea in the international economics literature that trade of capital goods captures technology diffusion, and so adoption across countries. We provide preliminary and comprehensive evidence on the adoption of these I4.0 technologies in Europe and set the premise for monitoring its evolution and implications on a large scale and over time. 

/pdf/measuring-adoption-of-industry-4-0-technologies-via-1jrhiuy2.pdf

Measuring adoption of industry 4.0 technologies via international trade data: insights from European countries

/pdf/measuring-adoption-of-industry-4-0-technologies-via-10v3kgsh.pdf

Fabio Lamperti

Papers

The employment implications of additive manufacturing

Additive Manufacturing and Global Value Chains: An Empirical Investigation at the Country Level

Measuring adoption of industry 4.0 technologies via international trade data: insights from European countries

Measuring adoption of industry 4.0 technologies via international trade data: insights from European countries