Being lean: how to shape digital transformation in the manufacturing sector

Abstract

PurposeIndustry 4.0 and Lean Production are a successful match in terms of performance improvement. While we understand the combined potential, there is still poor understanding of how companies should embrace digital transformation to make it successful and sustainable, and the role that lean plays in it. In this paper, we investigate how manufacturing companies embark upon digital transformation and how being lean might affect it.Design/methodology/approachWe conducted multiple case studies with 19 manufacturing companies. We identified two clusters of companies according to their Lean maturity, and we assessed digital transformation patterns by analyzing insights coming both from cases and from the literature. Integrating cross-case analysis results, we developed a framework that shows two different digital transformation patterns according to companies’ commitment to Lean.FindingsOur findings first and foremost show the significant role of lean in driving digital transformation. We identify two patterns, namely Sustaining digital transformation pattern, characterized by the pervasive role of lean culture with small and horizontal digital changes, involvement of people and willingness to maintain continuous process improvement, and Disruptive digital transformation pattern, characterized by few and large digital steps that imply a disruptive and radical change in the company system.Practical implicationsEmpirical evidence supports the relevance of the proposed model and its practical usefulness. It can be used to design digital transformation, prepare properly the introduction of Industry 4.0 through a lean approach, and plan the future desired state, identifying the Industry 4.0 technologies that should be implemented.Originality/valueIt is widely recognized that the relationship between Industry 4.0 and lean is significant and positive, yet little evidence was presented to back that. We aim at bringing this debate forward by providing initial empirical evidence of the significant role that lean has on digital transformation, showing how lean drives the digital transformation pattern of companies.

Fostering insights and improvements from IIoT systems at the shop floor: a case of industry 4.0 and lean complementarity enabled by action learning

“…group she participated in for the board of directors in a foreign language, something she would not have dreamt of doing before participating in the action learning intervention. Rossini et al (2021) suggest that manufacturers should approach lean to achieve a faster and more robust digital transformation, this paper supports a perspective. But how do managers approach lean for undergoing a digital transformation?…”

“…Prior research has demonstrated complementarity between I4.0 and lean leading to improved performance and acceleration of a digital transformation (e.g. Buer et al, 2021;Raji et al, 2021;Rossini et al, 2021). But what facilitates this complementarity between I4.0 and lean?…”

“…An emerging trend in manufacturing is embarking on a digital transformation to utilise new digital technologies to better cope with changing customer demands (Balci, 2021;Machado et al, 2021;Sousa-Zomer et al, 2020). Since many manufacturing firms have previously developed their production systems based on lean practices, there is a growing interest in supplementing and integrating lean production with digital manufacturing technologies, often referred to as Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies (Rossini et al, 2021).…”

“…The extant literature indicates that the techno-centric focus associated with I4.0 can prevent manufacturers from realising valuable improvements from the increasing amount of digital data available on the shop floor and thereby not capitalising on their investment in I4.0 technologies (Rossini et al, 2021;Saabye et al, 2020). This is often the case if shop-floor workers are not enabled and empowered to utilise the real-time data to foster insights on improving production lines and adapting them to new products and machinery (Brown and Vondráček, 2013;Rossini et al, 2021). Several operation management research studies regard applying a people-centric approach during digital transformation as imperative (e.g.…”

Digital Outcome Optimization: Ensuring a Return Oninvestment of Digital Strategy

“…They are increasingly implemented in unison [53,54,63,69]. Digitalization and optimization build on and enhance one another [39,42,47,65,70,71,72,73]. Their combined impact is greater than the sum of the individuals [47,68,72,74].…”