Analysis of Industry 4.0 challenges using best worst method: A case study

Abstract

As manufacturing organizations are in need to adopt Industry 4.0 technologies, analysis of challenges is essential. Industry 4.0 is relatively new to the developing nations particularly India and requires in-depth knowledge about its implementation challenges and business practices. Industry 4.0 adoption can aid manufacturing industries to digitalize the manufacturing process which in turn helps in increasing the production output. However, adoption of Industry 4.0 is not so easy due to presence of various challenges. This study aims to identify key challenges pertaining to Industry 4.0 adoption in automotive sector and analyse the identified challenges to derive rank for systematic implementation in Indian automotive industries. In this regard, thirty-six challenges are identified related to Industry 4.0 adoption and categorized into four dimensions and are analysed using Indian automotive component manufacturing firms based on Best Worst Method (BWM). The priority order of challenges is derived, and the prioritized challenges are found to be ‘Real-time link of physical production and digital factory (MT1)’ and ‘Context-adaptive and autonomous systems (MT2)’. The challenges are being analysed with regard to Indian automotive component firms in manufacturing domain. Practical and managerial along with theoretical and academic implications are highlighted. Moreover, the conclusions, limitations and future research directions are presented.