University of Twente Student Theses
Industry 4.0 and its impact on Cross Company Networking and the Supply Chain
Siek, Patric (2019) Industry 4.0 and its impact on Cross Company Networking and the Supply Chain.
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| Abstract: | This paper is devoted to show the influence of Industry 4.0 on manufacturing companies. It focuses on the effect of Cyber-Physical-Systems and the Internet of Things on the Supply-Chain and highlights the role of Cross-Company-Networking. Furthermore, the possible influence of Industry 4.0 applications is discussed and evaluated. Therefore, this paper should also be seen as an extension of the current literature towards Industry 4.0, as it gives a general overview of its development and consequences. To generate this overview and fill the existing research gap, secondary literature was reviewed in combination with a semi-structured interview with multiple organizations concerning the research topic. The final stage of this paper involves a discussion and analysis of the findings from the interviews as well as predominant research. The discussion will evolve around the research question and critically asses the perspectives taken. The study reveals several influences that Industry 4.0 applications have on business processes. New systems generate new, efficient processes, but the implementation itself implies barriers that are yet too big to encompass. Thus, the study shows that Industry 4.0 has significant impact on manufacturing organizations. The impact itself however, depends on several factors like size, resource availability, readiness, courage and the company culture itself. Results show that smaller companies struggle with the implementation of Industry 4.0 applications as cost and uncertainty are too high. Larger companies are less reluctant to implement Industry 4.0. But other barriers like cybersecurity and a lack in qualified employees slow the implementation process down. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 85 business administration, organizational science |
| Programme: | International Business Administration BSc (50952) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/78682 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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