Reconfiguring global value chains in a post-Brexit world: A technological interpretation

[EN]With the uncertainties that it may entail in terms of possible trade barriers between the UK and the EU, increased exchange rate risk, restrictions on the establishment of professionals and possible changes in regulations on the environment, tax and protection of competition, Brexit could exacerbate the process of re-localisation of operations that commenced to a small extent some years ago. This process was based on technological innovations under the heading of Industry 4.0, and more recently strengthened by the supply problems that came to light during the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the social, political and institutional context matters a lot, we believe that technology is going to be a conditioning element in the ability of businesses to reconfigure the value chains in which they are involved. We propose a typology based on this technological perspective that could have considerable potential impact in defining business strategies in numerous industries and in orienting industrial policy in countries striving to acquire a more central role or to prevent themselves from being cut out of the global value chain.The authors acknowledge research funding from University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) : Grant GIU19/078

Industry 4.0 and potential for reshoring: A typology of technology profiles of manufacturing firms

The paper analyses the trend towards reshoring processes in the field of manufacturing industry as a result of the massive digitisation of the technical solutions used by most product fields. The paper analyses the trend towards reshoring processes in the new productive scenario of industry 4.0 posed by the manufacturing industry because of the overall application of ICT and other technologies in their product fields. The incorporation of Industry 4.0 technologies (I 4.0 T) and the resulting digitalisation raises needs for technology adaptation in production plants that have strong territorial effects derived from the technological constraints linked to the adaptation process itself and that result, in many cases, in reshoring. Our analytical proposal takes a logical-formal point of view based on the cognitive composition of the technical solutions used by manufacturing industry, and draws up a typology of technology profiles to help determine the potential for reshoring among offshored plants and the difficulties that the process may entail. The results enable us to identify a growing role for reshoring processes, distinguishing different degrees of intensity depending on the characteristics of the technological scenario in which each plant is located, with the technological resources offered by its local setting playing a fundamental role

Industry 4.0, servitization, and reshoring: A systematic literature review

The goal of this literature review is first of all to help define, characterise and contextualise the phenomena that make up Industry 4.0 (I4.0), the servitisation of manufacturing and re-shoring; and secondly to explore the strong interactions between them. We conduct a systemic literature review to identify, synthesise, assess and interpret the findings of past studies to address the research question analysed here. Industry 4.0 technologies (I4.0Ts), and particularly increased digitisation, has made for the configuration of new business models and the servitisation of the economy in the context of a new paradigm of competition. This digital servitisation is conducive to networking and enhances the role of proximity. Together with other concurrent factors (changes in relative costs, agglomeration economies, the skills and expertise in data management required by I4.0Ts) this is favouring re-shoring. Technology is always present to a greater or lesser degree as an explanatory factor in re-shoring. The increasing cognitive complexity of technical solutions is enhancing proximity constraints. More frequent, more intense contacts are needed between customers and suppliers in a production set-up that is increasingly customised.The authors acknowledge research funding from Basque Government (GIC21/113 BILBAO UBILLOS, JAVIER)