Abstract
This paper aims to present a study of the type of advanced technologies used across manufacturing supply chains in supporting the main processes of the supply chain operations reference model (SCOR). It also intends to identify a set of sustainable performance indicators (environmental, economic, and social) suitable to evaluate a supply chain 4.0 (SC4.0). To attain this objective, based on the literature review, a conceptual model is proposed. The multiple case study is used with a cross-case comparison to identify the type of advanced technologies more commonly used in SC4.0, and the performance indicators more suitable for assessing a SC4.0 sustainability performance. A sample of ten case studies was considered with companies belonging to different manufacturing SCs, from different countries, and belonging to different echelons. Main findings revealed that the level of adoption of advanced technologies in the Supply Chain SCOR processes varies amongst the case studies. Some technologies are quite commonly used among the several SCOR processes and companies while others are seldom applied. Some indicators were also identified that are regarded as very or extremely suitable to evaluate the sustainability performance of a SC4.0. The main contribution of this research to the body of knowledge is the empirical insights on the SC4.0 field and on Supply Chain Sustainability performance measurement. The results provide guidelines for the selection of advanced technologies to support SC processes and for the design of sustainable SC4.0 performance measurement systems.
Highlights
The supply chain is fundamental to connect suppliers, producers and clients
As a main conclusion from our study, grounded on the 12 advanced technologies considered, it can be said that the level of adoption of SC4.0 technologies to support supply chain operations reference model (SCOR) processes is quite low
There are some specific advanced technologies that have a high level of implementation
Summary
The supply chain is fundamental to connect suppliers, producers and clients. It works like the arteries and veins that transport the blood to and from all cells in the human body. Supply chains are highly complex enlarged networks that could start in one point of the planet and finish in another This is only possible due to the available technologies, some provided by the Industry 4.0 concept [1]. The industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies as a support to the sustainability of supply chains have recently gained importance due to delivering sustainable outputs and reducing man–machine interaction, if some barriers (e.g., ineffective performance framework) are overcome [2]. The SCOR model is considered by academics as a reference in the SCM field [32] for the design and enhancement of SCs [33] This model provides a common setting for determining, unifying, and accomplishing SC processes [31], illustrating SC activities as a series of interconnecting inter-organizational processes, conventionally used in benchmarking studies [32]. This model considers the following five main processes as strategic in analyzing any topic in SCs: Plan, Source, Make, Deliver and Return, Table 1.
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