The effect of islands of improvement on the maturity models for industry 4.0: the implementation of an inventory management system in a beverage factory

Abstract

Goal: Industry 4.0 has the main purpose of turning the company into an agile organization and adapting continuously to the market's dynamicity. Thus, to reach this target, the business should be aware of its current readiness level and establish digital strategies to reach higher levels. This research aims to explore how improvements in industry 4.0 can improve companies' business processes. Design / Methodology / Approach: The present study is action research that initially identified the most suitable maturity model in Industry 4.0 in the scientific and practitioner literature. Furthermore, the chosen model was applied to a beverage manufacturer to evaluate its current maturity level. Some Industry 4.0 improvements were implemented on the warehouse as part of the company's digital strategy into which it was integrated the inventory management system with new digital solutions. Finally, interviews were conducted, and data was gathered from company indicators. Results: The action research’s conduct revealed its current status and how storage management contributed to its digital transformation process. A phenomenon of islands of improvement is discussed at the end. Limitations of the investigation: Our main limitation is our case study approach. Additionally, more interviews crossing functional areas could bring additional elements about the perception of improvements that each functional group had at the implementation process. Practical implications: The case study suggests that maturity models' applications can generate the phenomena of islands of improvements. Managers must take this situation into account to plan digital transformation in the whole company. Originality / Value: The phenomena of the island of improvement is suggested to be a side effect of implementing industry 4.0 based on maturity models.