Digitalization of Supply Chain Management with Industry 4.0 Enabling Technologies: A Sustainable Perspective

TLDR

Supply chain management must integrate sustainability to support responsible consumption and production, yet few studies examine the role of Industry 4.0 technologies in this context, with most research focusing on operational, economic, or automation aspects. This study aims to explore how Industry 4.0 technologies—IoT, cloud computing, big data, AI, blockchain, and digital twin—support sustainable supply chain management and to identify future research directions, including the use of ESG metrics. The authors employ the PRISM framework to analyze the significance of sustainable supply chain management and the integration of Industry 4.0-enabling technologies. The study finds that empirical research on Industry 4.0 technologies in developing countries is scarce and largely limited to case studies, while it demonstrates the potential of IoT, cloud computing, big data, AI, blockchain, and digital twin to advance sustainable supply chain management.

Abstract

Supply chain management is one of the most prominent areas that needs to incorporate sustainability to achieve responsible consumption and production (SDG 11).It has been identified that there are limited studies that have presented the significance of different Industry 4.0 technologies from the perspective of sustainable SCM. The purpose of this study is to discuss the role of Industry 4.0 technologies in the context of sustainable SCM, as well as to identify important areas for future research. The PRISM framework is followed to discuss the role and significance of sustainable SCM and the integration of Industry 4.0-enabling technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and digital twin for sustainable SCM. The findings of the study reveal that there are limited empirical studies for developing countries and the majority are emphasized in case studies. Additionally, a few studies have focused on operational aspects, economics, and automation in SCM. The current study is able to contribute to the significance and application of IoT, cloud computing, big data, AI, blockchain, and digital twin in achieving sustainable SCM in the future. The current study can be expanded to discuss the Industry 4.0-enabling technologies in analyzing sustainability performance in any organization using environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics.