Industry 4.0 – Implications for Sustainability in Supply Chain Management and the Circular Economy

Dear Colleagues,

Industry 4.0 has often been investigated from the perspective of smart factories, intracompany digital transformation, and further isolated solutions. However, to unlock its full potential, we need to examine the whole supply chain with regard to its core concepts: horizontal and vertical integration.

Likewise, much of the potential of Industry 4.0 regarding sustainability or a circular economy can only be approached when inter-organizational structures or systems, i.e., entire supply chains, value networks, or ecosystems, are considered regarding Industry 4.0. Such an approach might match the complexity of sustainability in the interorganizational sphere with advancements in data availability, real-time connectivity, and decision making that Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things offer. However, extant literature only scarcely regards Industry 4.0 from the perspective of horizontal integration, supply-chain management, and its implications towards sustainability.

In response, this Special Issue seeks contributions in but not limited to the following fields connected to Industry 4.0 and supply-chain management:

• (Multi-tier) supply-chain management;
• Global value chains, value networks, and ecosystems;
• Small and medium-sized enterprises;
• (Supply-chain) risk management;
• The circular economy and developing countries;
• Sustainable, green, or responsible supply-chain management.

References

Birkel, H. S., Veile, J. W., Müller, J. M., Hartmann, E., & Voigt, K. I. (2019). Development of a risk framework for Industry 4.0 in the context of sustainability for established manufacturers. Sustainability, 11(2).

Brix-Asala, C., Geisbüsch, A. K., Sauer, P., Schöpflin, P., & Zehendner, A. (2018). Sustainability tensions in supply chains: a case study of paradoxes and their management. Sustainability, 10(2).

Kiel, D., Müller, J. M., Arnold, C., & Voigt, K. I. (2017). Sustainable industrial value creation: Benefits and challenges of industry 4.0. International Journal of Innovation Management, 21(08).

Machado, C. G., Winroth, M. P., & Ribeiro da Silva, E. H. D. (2019). Sustainable manufacturing in Industry 4.0: an emerging research agenda. International Journal of Production Research, in press, available online.

Müller, J. M., Kiel, D., & Voigt, K. I. (2018). What drives the implementation of Industry 4.0? The role of opportunities and challenges in the context of sustainability. Sustainability, 10(1).

Müller, J. M., & Voigt, K. I. (2018). Sustainable industrial value creation in SMEs: A comparison between industry 4.0 and made in China 2025. International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology, 5(5), 659-670.

Sauer, P. C., & Seuring, S. (2018). A three-dimensional framework for multi-tier sustainable supply chain management. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 23(6), 560-572.

Stock, T., Obenaus, M., Kunz, S., & Kohl, H. (2018). Industry 4.0 as enabler for a sustainable development: A qualitative assessment of its ecological and social potential. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 118, 254-267.

Prof. Dr. Julian Marius Müller
Prof. Dr. Kai-Ingo Voigt
Dr. Philipp Christopher Sauer
Guest Editors

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• Industry 4.0
• Industrial Internet of Things
• Supply Chain Management
• Sustainability
• Circular Economy