E-business adoption and application portfolio management in remanufacturing small and medium enterprises

Abstract

The role of e-business or the use of information and communication technology (ICT) for business activities in advancing sustainable industrial development is well acknowledged. As one of the key drivers in manufacturing growth, e-business can potentially enable increased productivity and industrial competitiveness. The adoption of e-business in remanufacturing, an emerging strategy in sustainable manufacturing, has been lagging especially among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. SMEs face challenges in capitalizing on growth opportunity in remanufacturing, which include demand forecasting and inventory management. These challenges, if left unaddressed, could pose threats to SMEs business viability. Exploratory in nature, this study presents the state-of-the-art in e-business for remanufacturing industries including accounts on the hurdles that contribute to the lack of adoption. A number of factors have been identified as potential hurdles to adoption include, among others, knowledge and competencies in e-business and financial support. To address the issue of lack of adoption, potential strategies are also discussed. Furthermore, a value chain analysis of a remanufacturing SME is used to provide latest insights into how e-business applications portfolio could be used to counter aforementioned challenges faced by remanufacturing SMEs.