Manufacturing Strategy in the Era of Industry 4.0

Abstract

The evolution of Industry 4.0 has influenced the manufacturing sector with the latest technology for improving the manufacturing process. This study is carried out to understand and upgrade information with regards to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In the context of the above study, the manufacturing strategies of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are evaluated for the adoption of Industry 4.0. The main purpose of this study is to identify the opinions of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Belagavi District of Karnataka state on the manufacturing strategy for the adoption of Industry 4.0 technology for improving manufacturing. This research used a structured questionnaire with a sampling method of random sampling with a nominal and Likert Scale of 67 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing of auto-component products. The data was analyzed through advanced statistical tool Structural Equation Modeling for understanding the results. A major contribution from this study has highlighted the challenges influencing the manufacturing strategy of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for the adoption of Industry 4.0 and has suggested measures to overcome these challenges through actual application of Industry 4.0 manufacturing strategy