Industrial Revolution 4.0 and Supply Chain Digitization

Abstract

The latest technological advancements have forced logistics and supply chain digitization in general. Organizations that embrace and prepare for change can survive and maintain a competitive position in the new global business environment. In contrast, the industrial businesses that do not implement the new rules will not survive long and will eventually be obsolete. Therefore, the concept of digitization and industrial revolution 4.0 in supply chain management was intended to be reviewed to determine its trending dimensions. This paper conducted a systematic review of 60 articles on the research topic by considering the publication during the period 2017 to 2021. The paper investigated the evolutionary changes in the supply chain's operational functions in the digital and industrial revolution 4.0 context. The main objective of reviewing articles was to identify the new trend on the search topic. Some trends identified in the current research include the use of blockchain in the supply chain and the nine elements of industry 4.0, the internet of things. The paper is equally significant for researchers and practitioners as it explains industry 4.0 and supply chain digitization trends. Future research can evaluate the mathematical, decision-making, and simulation techniques to support the research domain by increasing its applicability. This research allows us to consider the validation of the digital supply chain models and their components presented preliminary by experts that provide a headway toward emerging and new constructs in this domain.