Supply Chain 4.0 challenges

Abstract: The Supply Chain has undergone major transformations due to the need to implement new Industry 4.0 technologies, such as Internet of Things, Big Data, Cyber-Physical Systems and Cloud Computing. Thanks to these technologies, as well as to their subsystems and components, full integration of the supply chain is becoming possible. However, it is observed that the real impacts of Industry 4.0 technologies, rather positive or negative, are not yet totally clear and identified. This paper aims to identify and present an analysis of the challenges and obstacles that Industry 4.0 technologies may cause in the Supply Chain. For this, the most relevant papers on the topic were selected and analyzed through a systematic literature review. Twenty challenges grouped into four macrogroups were identified: (1) technical challenges, (2) financial, environmental and legal challenges, (3) technological challenges, and (4) sociocultural challenges. It should be noted that these challenges require greater attention and more in-depth studies on the part of the academy to support industry in order to mitigate them and thus allow better use of the available technological resources and optimize the performance of Supply Chain operations.

摘要：由于亟需落地工业4.0（Industry 4.0）新兴技术，供应链（Supply Chain）领域已发生深刻变革，此类技术涵盖物联网（Internet of Things）、大数据（Big Data）、信息物理系统（Cyber-Physical Systems）与云计算（Cloud Computing）。依托这些技术及其子系统与组件，供应链的全域整合正逐步成为现实。然而，当前尚未完全厘清并明确工业4.0技术的真实影响，无论其为正向抑或负向。本文旨在识别并分析工业4.0技术在供应链应用中可能引发的各类挑战与阻碍。为此，本文通过系统文献综述法，遴选该领域内最具相关性的研究文献并展开分析。最终共识别出20项挑战，并将其划分为四大类别：(1) 技术挑战；(2) 财务、环境与法律挑战；(3) 技术挑战；(4) 社会文化挑战。需特别指出的是，学界需对这些挑战予以更多关注并开展更深入的研究，以助力工业界规避此类阻碍，进而实现对现有技术资源的更优利用，并优化供应链运营绩效。