Industry 4.0 and Lean Six Sigma Integration in Manufacturing: A Literature Review, an Integrated Framework and Proposed Research Perspectives

This paper explores the literature on lean management (LM), Six Sigma (SS), Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and their relationship. A systematic literature review (SLR) combined with bibliometric analysis was conducted to identify, select and evaluate articles and was supported by content analysis to classify papers into group discussed clusters. A total of 134 articles were retrieved from relevant databases and publisher engines between 2011 and June 2022. The analysis of these articles enabled us to identify the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on Lean Six Sigma; the relationship between LM, SS and Industry 4.0 and the implications of their combination on operational excellence. The results show that while a majority of researchers consider Industry 4.0 to be a driver of LSS and a prerequisite for helping companies access the data and analytics needed, others find them to be complementary and synergistic. Similarly, various authors support the idea that LSS could be a facilitator of Industry 4.0. This study provides an overview of the main research streams in this field and its shortcomings and presents an LSS4.0 framework integrating lean six sigma and Industry 4 which will be of great value to academics and practitioners working in this area

Analysis of factors influencing Circular-Lean-Six Sigma 4.0 implementation considering sustainability implications: An exploratory study

In this study, we develop a new paradigm, Circular Lean Six Sigma 4.0 (CLSS4.0) to promote manufacturing sustainability. This paper aims to provide a practical and holistic view of the drivers and barriers that can help companies design an integrated CLSS4.0 model. The paper is based on a qualitative exploratory study using multiple case studies within 12 Moroccan manufacturing firms conducted through semi-structured interviews with top executive managers. The results show that the drivers are related to expected operational and environmental performance, increasing customer requirements, gaining competitive advantage and market growth while barriers are related to insufficient tangible (finance, human and equipment) and intangible (skills and techniques) resources, data privacy, technical issues and management support. The proposed framework identifies the assessment of drivers and barriers and their attributes as a starting point for managers to lead the CLSS4.0 transformation, thereby contributing to its successful implementation. To the best of our knowledge, this study is among the very first studies to discuss the CLSS4.0 drivers and barriers. It could be useful to managers as a diagnostic tool to assess their ability to implement CLSS4.0 before investing in the initiative

Blockchain Technology for Viable Circular Digital Supply Chains: An Integrated Approach for Evaluating the Implementation Barriers

Blockchain technology (BT) is creating a new standard for all business operations. It can assist businesses in handling the complexity of circular digital supply chain management. Despite this optimistic view, several barriers hinder its implementation. In this regard, this study contributes to Industry 4.0, Circular Economy, the viability with a critical emphasis on its potential ramifications and influence on the future agenda while using BT technology in supply chain (SC). In addition, the research reduces the knowledge gap by investigating and ranking the key barriers to the deployment of BT in viable circular digital supply chains (VCDSCs) and studies their interdependencies and causal relationships. The barriers to BT adoption in VCDSC are identified through a thorough literature review and considering viability performance. These barriers are then classified using the AHP method. DEMATEL is then employed to examine the cause/effect, correlation, and connection among the 14 barriers selected barriers from the AHP classification to estimate each barrier's overall degree of impact over the others. This paper identifies and analyses the BT adoption barriers in VCDSC as well as examines how the key barriers interact. As a result, according to the AHP/DEMATEL method, the most prominent influencing barriers to the BT implementation in VCDSC are “Data transparency”, “Market competition”, “Missing infrastructure”, “Lack of standardization”, “Complex protocol”, “Lack of industry involvement”, “Financial constraints”, “Missing infrastructure”, “Data transparency” and “Interoperability”. The outcomes offer a potential path for identifying important barriers as well as insight into the implementation of BT in SC while integrating different capabilities such as viability, sustainability, and circular economy principles. Managers and researchers will benefit from this research by gaining an understanding of the challenges that must be prioritized and examined for BT to be implemented successfully in VCDSC. The use and implementation of Blockchain-enabled VCDSC continue to face challenges despite an increase in relevant practice and research. Despite the benefits of blockchain technology, managers struggle to apply such technology in the context of their company. In this respect, this paper uses an integrated AHP-DEMATEL for categorizing the BT barriers as well as the interrelationship between them. In this respect, this paper presents a The BT barriers studied are those related to the use of BT in SC while integrating different paradigms such as viability, digitalization, and circular economy. While many studies look at the barriers to BT adoption, none of them has ever included the viable capability, which means the ability to "react agilely to positive changes, be resilient to absorb negative events and re-cover after disruptions and survive at long-term periods". The study concludes with insightful comments based on the findings and suggestions for eradicating those obstacles and their associated effects

Supplier selection for smart supply chain: An adaptive fuzzy-neuro approach

In recent years, companies have experienced international changes that have occurred as a result of technological advances, market globalization, or natural disasters. So, organizations are trying to improve their performance in order to be more competitive. In other words, organizations’ competitiveness highly depends on their suppliers. At present, companies need to consider and include so-called ‘resilience’, ‘sustainability’, and ‘smartness’ in the supplier’s selection to retain a competitive advantage. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to present an intelligent decision-making model for selecting the appropriate suppliers. For doing so, a set of criteria evaluation was determined to respond to the novel era circumstances. The suggested work is helpful for academics as well as professionals as it emphasizes the importance of resilient-sustainable supplier selection in the digital era.N/

Sustainable and Resilient Supplier Selection in the Context of Circular Economy: An Ontology-Based Model

Purpose: Selecting the optimal supplier is a challenging managerial decision that involves several dimensions that vary over time. Despite the considerable attention devoted to this issue, knowledge is required to be updated and analyzed in this field. This paper reveals new opportunities to advance supplier selection research from a multidimensional perspective. Moreover, this study aims to formalise supplier selection knowledge to enable the appropriate selection of sustainable, resilient and circular criteria. Design/methodology/approach: This study is developed in two stages. First, a systematic literature review is conducted to select relevant papers. Descriptive and thematic analyses are employed to analyze criteria, solving approaches and case studies. Second, a criterion knowledge-based framework is developed and validated by experts to be implemented as ontology using Protégé software. Findings: (1) Evaluating the viability of suppliers need further studies to integrate other criteria and to align supplier selection objectives with research advancement; (2) Artificial intelligence tools are needed to revolutionize and optimize the traditional techniques used to solve this problem; (3) Literature lucks frameworks for specific sectors; (4) The proposed ontology provides a consistent criteria knowledge base. Practical Implications: For academics, the results of this study highlight opportunities to improve the viable supplier selection process. From a managerial perspective, the proposed ontology can assist managers in selecting the appropriate criteria. Future works can enrich the proposed ontology and integrate this knowledge base into an information system. Originality/value: This study contributes to promoting knowledge about viable supplier selection. Capitalizing the knowledge base of criteria in a computer-interpretable manner supports the digitalization of this critical decision

Towards responsible conflict minerals supply chain management: A systematic literature review and a supply chain governance framework

Abstract Purpose –Literature on conflict minerals supply chain management issues has witnessed a significant surge during the last decade. The authors review how CM research addressed supply chain issues over the last decades and present a critical assessment of such literature based on supply chain governance theory. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic literature review approach was adopted and a sample of 122 papers was identified in relevant journals. A descriptive, thematic and content analysis of the papers is presented to delineate the structure and the main research clusters of the literature. Findings – The authors provide a comprehensive assessment of CMSC literature and identify four main research clusters. Most research has focused on operational practices and adopted a fragmented approach to CMSC issues. Accordingly, the authors provide research propositions related to under-explored aspects in extant literature. Implications – This study has a number of implications. Practitioners and researchers will gain a greater understanding of specific CMSC issues have been addressed in current literature, and how responsible CMSC actions can be implemented. Originality/value – This study is one of the first literature reviews of publications on CMSC from a supply chain governance perspective. This review presents an overarching map of CMSC literature and a series of propositions to inform future research. Keywords –conflict minerals, literature review, supply chain due diligence, responsible supply chain management, supply chain governance, conflict resources

A PDCA-based approach to Environmental Value Stream Mapping (E-VSM)

Research into the application of Value Stream Mapping (VSM) as a tool to enhance the environmental sustainability performance of operations has been confined to a handful of studies only. Research on this green lean research stream is therefore limited, especially when compared to the vast amount of scholarly research focused on the ‘traditional’ VSM tool. To complement and support the narrow body of knowledge on the application of VSM as tools to improve environmental performance and enhance the effectiveness of its application, this paper proposes an approach, based on the Deming's Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) improvement cycle, to systematically implement and conduct Environmental-VSM (E-VSM) studies. The implementation of the proposed method is reported through an action research-based case study conducted in a helical rolling process of one of the mining consumables business units of an international diversified mining and materials multinational company. The results of the case study indicate that the proposed PDCA-based approach to E-VSM can be an effective alternative to improve the green performance of operations. Besides the proposal of this approach, its testing, and expanding the body of knowledge in the green lean field, the paper also contributes by providing a guiding reference for operations managers who may want to make the operations of their organisations more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Finally, this paper also intends to contribute by inspiring researchers and practitioners to broaden the study of the under-researched field which explores the application of VSM for environmental sustainability enhancement

The cultural dimensions in Supply Chain Management research: A state of the art review and research agenda

Abstract Purpose –This paper reviews how current SCM research addresses cultural issues, presents a critical assessment of literature, and discusses future research avenues.Design/methodology/approach – The literature is reviewed using systematic literature review (SLR), bibliometric citation analysis (BCA) and content analysis. 280 relevant papers published between 1995 and 2019 were identified in ISI Web of Science’s database. Findings – Descriptive data is presented on chronological evolution of literature, geographical location, influential papers, and methodology. Four main research areas were categorized, namely: (i) papers on SC integration and performance; (ii) research on continuous improvement and lean initiatives; (iii) studies on the role of culture in sustainability, CSR and green practices; and (iv) studies on emerging topics of research. Most studies focused on organizational culture frameworks, adopted a static approach to culture, and targeted mainly developed countries and Asian emerging countries. A research agenda is suggested based on a multilevel cultural framework including operational and SCM culture. Implications – Practitioners and researchers will gain a greater understanding of how cultural issues have been addressed in current literature. A multilevel framework is suggested as well as “operational” and “SCM cultures” concepts to address some of the issues identified in current literature. Originality/value – This study is one of the first literature reviews considering both national and organizational culture dimensions in SCM research. Keywords – Cultural dimensions, national culture, organizational culture, Supply Chain Management, Systematic literature review, Bibliometric citation analysis

A framework for the integration of green and lean six sigma for superior sustainability performance

Evidence suggests that Lean, Six Sigma and Green approaches make a positive contribution to the economic, social and environmental (i.e. sustainability) performance of organizations. However, evidence also suggests that organizations have found their integration and implementation challenging. The purpose of this research is therefore to present a framework that methodically guides companies through a five stages and sixteen steps process to effectively integrate and implement the Green, Lean and Six Sigma approaches to improve their sustainability performance. To achieve this, a critical review of the existing literature in the subject area was conducted to build a research gap, and subsequently develop the methodological framework proposed. The paper presents the results from the application of the proposed framework in four organizations with different sizes and operating in a diverse range of industries. The results showed that the integration of Lean Six Sigma and Green helped the organizations to averagely reduce their resources consumption from 20% to 40% and minimize the cost of energy and mass streams by 7-12%. The application of the framework should be gradual, the companies should assess their weaknesses and strengths, set priorities, and identify goals for successful implementation. This paper is one of the very first researches that presents a framework to integrate Green and Lean Six Sigma at a factory level, and hence offers the potential to be expanded to multiple factories or even supply chains