Digital Transformation of Production Tools: Industrial Robots Transform Inventory Management in Manufacturing

Abstract

Industrial transformation characterized by informatization, digitization and intelligence is advancing in depth, and intelligent technologies are being used on the ground, and the results of digital transformation in the production field, represented by industrial robots, have been widely integrated into economic production activities, so it is necessary to study the economic consequences of them. In this research, the influence of using industrial robots on the inventory management capabilities of Chinese manufacturing enterprises is investigated by using data related to inventory management of listed Chinese manufacturing enterprises from 2011-2019, and an index of industrial robot penetration of Chinese manufacturing enterprises is constructed. The empirical results show that industrial robots significantly improve the inventory control ability of enterprises. Controlling for factors such as firm characteristics, a 1% increase in the penetration rate of industrial robots in manufacturing firms was associated with a 10.66-day reduction in inventory turnover days. A test of heterogeneity revealed that firms with low financing constraints and technology-intensive firms improved their inventory control capabilities more. The study verifies the effect of industrial robots on the inventory control capability of enterprises and provides decision support for enterprises to carry out digital transformation in the production area.