Reconsidering the Relationship between Cloud Computing and Cloud Manufacturing

International audienceHistory shows many relations between computer science and manufacturing processes, starting with the initial idea of " digital manufacturing " in the 70's. Since then, advances in computer science have given birth to the Cloud Computing (CC) paradigm, where computing resources are seen as a service offered to various end-users. Of course, CC has been used as such to improve the IT infrastructure associated to a manufacturing infrastructure, but its principles have also inspired a new manufacturing paradigm Cloud Manufacturing (CMfg) with the perspective of many benefits for both the manufacturers and their customers. However, despite the usefulness of CC for CMfg, we advocate that considering CC as a core enabling technology for CMfg, as is often put forth in the literature, is limited and should be reconsidered. This paper presents a new core-enabling vision toward CMfg, called Cloud Anything (CA). CA is based on the idea of abstracting low-level resources, beyond computing resources, into a set of core control building blocks providing the grounds on top of which any domain could be " cloudified "

The Perceived Business Benefit of Cloud Computing: An Exploratory Study

The objective of the research is to study the benefits of cloud computing perceived by adopters and examine the impact of moderating factors on the relationship between the type of cloud computing and the perceived benefit. The moderating factors include firm size and value-chain activities. A measurement instrument of a 5-point Likert scale was administered on businesses of different sizes in Taiwan. The benefit of cloud computing measured in the study were: cost reduction, improved capability and enhanced scalability. The results show that the perceived benefit of cloud computing varies depending on the type of cloud computing, the value chain activity where cloud computing is deployed, and the business size. Also, businesses benefit more in enhanced scalability than in cost reduction and increased business capability. After adopting cloud computing, businesses gain more capability in support activities than in primary activities. However, there is no significant difference in composite benefit among Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Furthermore, there is marginally significant interaction effect between the types of cloud computing and the business size

Determinants of Blockchain Adoption as Decentralized Business Model by Spanish Firms : an Innovation Theory Perspective

Purpose: Large attention surrounds identifying the meaningful blockchain business model on financial services, while a little focus about non-financial organizations and solutions in terms of how the blockchain business model can affect the organization and bring more value. To address the complex structure of businesses that have public goods, it is important to develop sustainable blockchain-based business models. Design/methodology/approach: This study offers the first qualitative research that uses an integrated technological, environmental and organizational (TOE) framework with technology acceptance theory (TAM) to study the adoption of blockchain technology by Spanish firms. Findings: The results of the paper discuss how that competitive pressure, competence, top management support and relative advantage have a positive impact on intention to adopt blockchain technology while complexity affects the intention to adopt the technology negatively. Contrary to many adoption studies, the findings show that intention to adopt negatively impacts adoption and outline the effect of blockchain on business model elements on the macroeconomic level. Originality/value: The key contribution of this study lies in providing a comprehensive understanding of the environmental, technological and organizational factors that impact the intention to adopt blockchain that eventually affects adoption

THE UNIQUE PATIENT IDENTIFICATION (UPI) DEBATE: IMPLEMENTING A U.S. PATIENT IDENTIFICATION STANDARD

This study provides a comparison and contrast of the merits surrounding the implementation of a US national unique patient identification (UPI) system. Based on the lack of trust created in the minds of current US patients in how current medical records are distributed throughout the US medical system, this study reviews the UPI initiative in India, public trust concerns in the United Kingdom (UK), and trials and feedback from research and clinical review by the US medical community concerning the pros and cons of such a system. This study leads to a proposed patient trusted solution that could be implemented for the purpose of tracking and protecting confidential patient information in the US via the latest cloud based technologies. The proposed solution intends to bring more patient trust to the entire US national medical information technology system as a whole

The Strategic Supply Chain Management in the Digital Era, Tactical vs Strategic

The perspective of procurement and supply chain management is changing dramatically; traditionally, it was seen as a support function; however, the procurement function is receiving increased attention and investment as an essential contributor to the strategic success and a business enabler. While an end-to-end digital supply chain is an opportunity as it unleashes the next level of strategic growth and involves minimal investment in infrastructure, it is still a challenge to optimize and transform. Furthermore, the recent pandemics and geopolitical disruptions of Covid-19, the Ukraine-Russian war, Brexit and the US-China trade war; have structurally changed the global economy and revealed a new risk assessment that will result in the re-introduction of buffers, boundaries across industries and a partial return to regionalization with sort of de-globalization in which existing just-in-time getting replaced by just-in-case strategy

Who runs the show in digitalized manufacturing? Data, digital platforms and the restructuring of global value chains

This article explores the position of industrial Internet platforms (IIPs) in manufacturing value chains. We develop an understanding of the role of data in global value chains (GVCs), referring to literature on intangible assets and theories on platform business models. We use data from a qualitative empirical study based on 33 interviews on platforms active on the German market to answer (1) whether there are tendencies of oligopolization that lead to an accumulation of power on the side of the platforms, and (2) whether it is the platforms that capture most of the gains derived from higher productivity or lower transaction costs. The analysis shows that platforms mainly act as service providers and/or intermediaries that support manufacturing companies in reaping benefits from data. While the relationship between platforms and manufacturers currently corresponds to a symbiosis, a stronger power imbalance could evolve in the future since processes of oligopolization are likely

Manufacturing System Design in Industry 5.0: Incorporating Sociotechnical Systems and Social Metabolism for Human-Centered, Sustainable, and Resilient Production

This paper delves into the concept of social metabolism as a foundation for the development of sociotechnical systems in Industry 5.0. The study conducts an analysis of the existing methods and approaches for designing sociotechnical systems, and reviews publications that utilize such systems to incorporate Industry 4.0 technologies into manufacturing processes. Additionally, it examines the three key factors of Industry 5.0 and the enabling framework of Industry 4.0 technologies. Based on these investigations, a theoretical model is proposed for manufacturing system design, employing sociotechnical systems to integrate Industry 4.0 enabling technologies, while considering the essential aspects of Industry 5.0. The model emphasizes the early consideration of sociotechnical systems to design manufacturing systems that prioritize human-centricity, sustainability, and resilience. By embracing this comprehensive approach, the proposed model contributes to the realization of a production environment aligned with societal needs, fostering a more conscious and adaptable industry

Digital Product Innovation in Manufacturing Industries - Towards a Taxonomy for Feedback-driven Product Development Scenarios

In the light of pervasive digitalization, traditional physical products get augmented with digital components that create the potential of making the whole product lifecycle visible for product developers. As numerous opportunities sketch out how feedback such as sensor data might be leveraged for future products, a comprehensive model to describe, particularly a classification model to organize and structure these opportunities seems analytically useful. Hence, this paper pursues a scenario-based approach and proposes a taxonomy for feedback-driven product development scenarios in manufacturing industries. Grounded on (1) empirical data from case studies and focus groups and (2) a systematic literature review, we follow an established taxonomy development method employing the general systems theory as meta-characteristic. With the limitation of a (1) qualitative, interpretive empirical research design and a (2) representative literature review, we contribute to the body of knowledge by shedding light on feedback-driven product development from a classification perspective which may act as structuring and creativity fostering tool