The impact of digital technologies on m...

The purpose of this research is to analyze the impact of digital technologies on process quality and associated product quality that might increase the overall performance of manufacturing companies and supply chains. The implementation of digital technologies, such as smart factory systems or data science applications, represent an enabler for increasing competitiveness of manufacturing. The presented study will focus on the economic and social dimension of sustainability. For instance, installing additional sensors and business analytics applications promise to improve the capability of production processes. This might have a positive impact on lead times, process variability and cost reduction that may lead to increased customer satisfaction and customer retention. Moreover, these technologies may influence the transformation of work design and smart collaboration along manufacturing supply chains. Motivated by these potentially disruptive expectations, we develop a system dynamics model that analysis how the effects of fast-paced technologies cause fundamental challenges and opportunities for manufacturing companies and supply chains. The model integrates key performance indicators to evaluate the value creation through new technology implementation and unanticipated side effects on the above-mentioned sustainability dimensions. We intend to assess the effect of such digital technologies on organizations, financial performance and supply chain productivity.