Industry 4.0 and supply chain performance: A systematic literature review of the benefits, challenges, and critical success factors of 11 core technologies

Abstract

The exponentially growing literature on Industry 4.0 technologies and their implications for supply chains exhibits valuable insights alongside considerable fragmentation. While prior systematic literature reviews (SLRs) started to consolidate the literature, an SLR that simultaneously (a) covers several core technologies of the Industry 4.0, (b) synthesizes their positive and negative implications for supply chain performance in a broad sense, and (c) accounts for the critical success factors that foster or impede these implications is still missing. We contribute to establishing a cumulative body of knowledge by conducting such an SLR. We synthesize 221 articles published on 11 Industry 4.0 technologies between 2005 and 2021. Rather than aggregate implications, our SLR presents the benefits, challenges, and critical success factors of each core technology vis-à-vis supply chain performance individually. We integrate our findings into a framework of Industry 4.0 supply chain performance and derive promising avenues for future research. Specifically, we call for more research on (a) the challenges and critical success factors of Industry 4.0 technologies; (b) hitherto underexplored core technologies of the Industry 4.0; (c) the interaction of multiple core technologies (are they complements or substitutes?); as well as for (d) further consolidation and interdisciplinary dissemination efforts.