Satya Shah

The study seeks to fulfil the ultimate step of the previous researches on demand chain concepts within manufacturing environments, with a specific focus on sustainability criteria. In this case, New Product Development (NPD), Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing act as effective tools towards production of updated products facilitating both business survivability and customer satisfaction. This paper utilizes a brief overview of the literature studies as a knowledge platform and further investigates the case of two German manufacturing companies using a mixed research method. The outcomes and findings will then be analyzed to examine the study hypothesis towards creation of a comprehensive conceptual framework defining interconnections between NPD and Sustainable Demand Chain Management (SDCM) within global manufacturing domain. The novelty of this research is to develop the results of previous stages of this study including comparison of practices within several manufacturing companies in terms of the linkage between SDCM and NPD projects. This will be completed by creation of the main conceptual framework of this study introducing the new concept called sustainable demand-driven product development (SDPD).

This research study aims to examine the importance of Big Data applications with a specific focus towards services and supply chain management, then just the standard dimension focus on marketing. Although big data is generally accepted as still being in its infancy, it has many applications. For instance, in Logistics, Healthcare, Banking & Finance and it has changed the way of traditional operation in these fields. The paper aims to use literature studies as a knowledge platform in investigating the use of Big Data and Big Data Analytics within services and supply chain environments. The value of this research study is to examine the concept of Big Data within the dimension of supply chain and service management. This study is at its preliminary stages of the research project, and the researcher aims to further investigate the use of big data adoption within service/supply chain manufacturing industry. The findings and early analysis of this research study can be referred by researchers when addressing the use of Big Data adoption within Supply Chain environments.

Integration of suitable supply chain system with the industry 4.0 in the face of the evolving sustainability consciousness is of paramount importance to engineering and manufacturing industry at large; this is gradually becoming an irresistible option to manage production effectively and with high efficiency in engineering and manufacturing sector. Industry 4.0 also referred to as “smart factory” enables to address issues such as food safety, security, control, perishability, competitive pressure, demand predictions etc. within the food manufacturing aspects. The paper examines the challenges and opportunities towards the advancement of technology and that of industry 4.0 implications towards sustainability and more closely on sustainable food supply chain environments.

This research study aims to examine and review the key advantages of smart manufacturing to achieve and improve performance within global supply chain environments. In recent years supply chain has been arisen as one of the major areas to gain a competitive edge in manufacturing industries. The current business methodologies of short product life cycle, increased outsourcing, expanding product variety, improved customer focus and improved technologies has led supply chain to be some challenging and complex tasks. Smart Manufacturing has been considered as a successful advancement in industrial revolution featuring resource efficiency, adaptability, agitability with wide application of internet and other innovative engineering technologies integrating of customers and business value processes creating a better manufacturing environment. The research is at its preliminary stages and will aim to examine and evaluate existing literature within the areas of smart and digital manufacturing and compare examples of best practices and methods towards creating a detailed comprehensive and systematic finding of the key research studies. This paper is a literature review which aims to review the benefits of smart manufacturing and its influence to achieve an improved performance in supply chain.

The research study aims to examine and evaluate the impacts of Internet of Things (IoT) on Global Supply Chain environments. The Internet of Things (IoT) phenomenon, being a part of a digital revolution, is currently considered as a quite profitable factor for the industries and the markets worldwide. Adopting and incorporating the latest technologies, increases competitiveness and develops new ways of communication. The IoT pervades and revolutionizes supply chain sector, influencing its management and way of structure. It is proposed that its impact on Supply Chain Management (SCM) is strong and instrumental, promising profits and innovations. The IoT systems are used more by many companies worldwide, which enjoy their benefits: delivery service improvement, financial profits, cost reducing, wastage minimization, equipment monitoring, preventing and retailers and consumer’s alleviation. Although, the researchers are at the preliminary stages of the research study, this paper aims to adopt an in-depth secondary data collection method through conducting a critical literature review within the field. Through investigative understanding, the researchers aim to adopt a detailed case study approach through service based supply chain providers using a mixed research method. The outcomes and findings will further be analyzed to examine the proposed knowledge framework developed within the research. Even though there is a positive approach for the IoT expansibility dominating the public view, there are still some problems and key challenges that should be taken into consideration. The IoT complicated nature brings to light privacy, security and cost issues that should be faced and solved. However, considering its immature face, time will bring opportunities for problem solving and further development.