Towards the Development of Digital Manufacturing Ecosystems for Sustainable Performance: Learning from the Past Two Decades of Research

Abstract

Although the Internet of Things (IoT), advanced manufacturing technologies, and cloud manufacturing contribute to developing a digital manufacturing ecosystem that enhances energy efficiency and resource utilization, manufacturing processes are vulnerable to timely production and delivery. The digital manufacturing systems in Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) minimized the human-technology interactions to foster productivity and material flow. However, there is scarce research to gauge the efficiency of these digital technologies in the entire manufacturing process; also, little is known about the collaborative efforts among countries to achieve sustainable manufacturing performance through the digitalization of the production process. Thus, this systematic review aimed to highlight the effectiveness of the digital manufacturing systems for sustainable product development and the collaborative research on the subject. We selected 52 research articles for this review by following the 2015 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA) statement. The literature classifications were developed using text frequency algorithms in VOSviewer (Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, The Netherlands) Results exposed literature from 2005 to 2020 can be categorized into four major research streams: digital transformation, digital manufacturing ecosystem, performance management, and sustainability. The study’s findings revealed that the manufacturing processes are moving towards the IoT, digital devices, and smart factories that are entirely dependent on digital technologies. The digital manufacturing ecosystem is dependent on the availability of digital technologies to all stakeholders. The study concluded that digital technologies are improving manufacturing efficiency and process effectiveness. However, this requires infrastructure that primarily available in developed countries; thus, the digital transformation in underdeveloped regions is deliberate and requires more collaborative research.

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