Defining SMEs’ 4.0 Readiness Indicators

Abstract

Industry 4.0 revolution offers smart manufacturing; it systematically incorporates production technology and advanced operation management. Adopting these high-state strategies can increase production efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and decrease manufacturer costs. Simultaneously, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were the backbone of economic growth and development. They still lack both the knowledge and decision-making to verify this high-stage technology’s performance and implementation. Therefore, the research aims to define the readiness indicators to assess and support SMEs toward Industry 4.0. The research begins with found aspects that influence the SME 4.0 readiness by using Bibliometric techniques. The result shows the aspects which were the most occurrences such as the Industrial Internet, Cloud Manufacturing, Collaborative Robot, Business Model, and Digital Transformation. They were then grouped into five dimensions by using the visualization of similarities (VOS) techniques: (1) Organizational Resilience, (2) Infrastructure System, (3) Manufacturing System, (4) Data Transformation, and (5) Digital Technology. Cronbach’s alpha then validated the composite dimensions at a 0.926 level of reliability and a significant positive correlation. After that, the indicators were defined from the dimension and aspects approach. Finally, the indicators were pilot tested by small enterprises. It appeared that 23 indicators could support SMEs 4.0 readiness indication and decision-making in the context of Industry 4.0.

Digital Transformation of Small and Medium Enterprises: Aspects of Public Support

“…Thus, the phenomenon of digital transformation should be studied in the context of SMEs. At the same time, SMEs are more exposed to various risks associated with entrepreneurial activities than large companies, so it becomes evident that there is a need to support this group of enterprises (Chonsawat and Sopadang 2020;Ziółkowska 2021). A special approach is required for the development and application of various support initiatives, the creation of a concept that provides an understanding of the relationship between the measures applied and the results achieved.…”

“…Upon going digital, one of the biggest takeaways is that if you are not on the web, you are not real. Unfortunately, many business owners and managers do not understand the meaning of digital transformation (Chonsawat and Sopadang 2020). In this age of digital transformation, the concept has become so abstract, so broad, that it can seem confusing.…”

SMEs' Digital Transformation Facilitated by COVID-19

“…A number of academic studies have confirmed that digital transformation is critical to the modern economy as it has a wide range of business implications [6,[22][23][24][25][26]. It has been shown that embracing digital capabilities and orientation to improve service delivery and customer integration increases the value of the products and services they offer, while increasing the long-term profitability [27][28][29].…”

“…This is remarkable because digital transformation provides SMEs with strategic directions to design and implement specific digital transformation strategies and select appropriate digitalization initiatives to ensure their sustainable journey. A number of academic studies have confirmed that digital transformation is critical for the modern economy, as it has a wide range of consequences for business [6,[22][23][24][25][26]. Leveraging digital capabilities and orientation by focusing on improved service delivery and customer integration can add value to the products and services they offer while increasing profitability over the long term [27][28][29].…”

Industry 4.0 HUB: A Collaborative Knowledge Transfer Platform for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

“…Research and European initiatives in recent years proved that SMEs must be considered independently from large-sized enterprises regarding Industry 4.0 implementation, because they are less capable of handling the financial, technological, and staffing challenges than large companies [6][7][8][9][10]. The Fourth Industrial Revolution could end up being an obstacle to support firm competitiveness and productivity if the SMEs' peculiarities are not properly identified and supported.…”