# Technology Adoption in the Industry 4.0 Era: Empirical Evidence from Manufacturing Companies

Nenad Medic, Zoran Anisic, Nemanja Tasic, Nikola Zivlak, Bojan Lalic

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Nenad Medic, Zoran Anisic, Nemanja Tasic, Nikola Zivlak, Bojan Lalic. Technology Adoption in the Industry 4.0 Era: Empirical Evidence from Manufacturing Companies. IFIP International Conference on Advances in Production Management Systems (APMS), Aug 2020, Novi Sad, Serbia. pp.115-122, 10.1007/978-3-030-57993-7_14 . hal-03630881

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# Technology Adoption in the Industry 4.0 Era: Empirical Evidence from Manufacturing Companies

Nenad Medic¹[0000-0002-4914-334X], Zoran Anisic¹[0000-0001-7030-0728], Nemanja Tasic¹[0000-0003-0695-6671], Nikola Zivlak²[0000-0002-5425-7464] and Bojan Lalic¹[0000-0002-2202-9352]

¹University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Novi Sad, Serbia
{medic.nenad, anisic, nemanja.tasic, blalic}@uns.ac.rs

²Emlyon Business School, Écully, France
zivlak@gmail.com

**Abstract.** In the process of introducing Industry 4.0 concept into the manufacturing environment companies from emerging countries are lagging behind. The rationale for this could be found in the fact that developed countries are leading this transformation, which includes digitalization and integration of manufacturing processes across the entire value chain. Low technological maturity of companies from emerging countries indicates that their focus should be on the implementation of well-established technologies. The aim of this research is to analyze the trend in implementation of Smart Manufacturing technologies in manufacturing companies from emerging country. For this purpose, data gathered among Serbian manufacturing companies through international project European Manufacturing Survey are used. The results indicate that there is a positive trend in the adoption of Smart Manufacturing technologies, which represents solid ground for Serbian manufacturers to move towards the implementation of the Industry 4.0 concept. Results presented in this research could be of use for managers and practitioners for their strategic orientation concerning improvements of production processes.

**Keywords:** Industry 4.0, Smart Manufacturing, Technology Adoption, Emerging Countries.

## 1 Introduction

Technological changes have always been a driving force for the development of the manufacturing sector. Recently, a new trend called Industry 4.0 has been introduced into the manufacturing environment [1]. This new approach is focused on digitalization and integration of processes across the entire value chain. Emerging technologies such as internet of things, big data, and cloud computing are considered as enablers of Industry 4.0, making it become a reality [2]. The main feature of Industry 4.0 is creation of cyber-physical systems in which physical objects and software are interconnected with the purpose of information exchange [3]. In order to achieve these standards, manufacturing companies are adopting various advanced technologies to gather
and analyze real-time data that can quickly be converted into useful information for
the production system [4].

Since the Industry 4.0 is relatively new concept, there is a lot of ambiguity around
it. There are a lot of different approaches, focusing on various areas on which Indus-
try 4.0 has impact [5], [6]. One of the concerns lies in the fact that there is no clear
understanding about the technologies that are considered as enablers of Industry 4.0
[6]. Research related to Industry 4.0 goes from analyzing widely established technol-
ogies such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), to emerging technologies such as
blockchain technology [7], [8]. According to Frank et al., Industry 4.0 technologies
can be classified into two layers depending on their purpose [9]. One of these layers,
called “front-end technologies”, is primarily related to operational and market needs
of the company. There are four groups of technologies in this layer, namely: Smart
Manufacturing [10], Smart Products [11], Smart Supply Chain [12], and Smart Work-
ing [13]. The other layer, named “base technologies”, is considered as enabler of the
Industry 4.0. Technologies in this layer (i.e. internet of things, cloud, big data, and
analytics) serve to provide connectivity and information exchange between front-end
technologies, thus creating an intelligent manufacturing system [9], [14]. It is worth
noting that from all above mentioned layers and groups of technologies, Smart Manu-
facturing has the crucial role in the early stage of the Industry 4.0 introduction into the
manufacturing environment [15].

One more distinctive characteristic of Industry 4.0 is the difference in the approach to the research related to this concept when it comes to the level of development of the region of interest. More specifically, there is a clear distinction of the research conducted in companies from the developed countries compared to those that are focused on emerging countries [16]. This is mainly due to the fact that the idea of Industry 4.0 is born in developed countries which are now transferring their knowledge and expertise to other countries interested in the adoption of this concept [17]. This process of diffusion is relatively slow, thus making a clear distinction between developing and emerging countries concerning adoption of Industry 4.0 concept and related technologies [11]. Therefore, due to low level of maturity concerning implementation of advanced technologies, the research in emerging countries should be focused on the use of well-established technologies that represent a solid starting point for the introduction of the Industry 4.0.

Having this in mind, the aim of this research is to analyze the trend of the imple-
mentation of Smart Manufacturing technologies in emerging country (i.e. Serbia). For
this purpose, we used data gathered from the European Manufacturing Survey (EMS).
More specifically, we did the comparative analyses of the introduction of Smart Man-
ufacturing technologies from two rounds of the survey (years 2015 and 2018) in order
to see the trend in implementation of these technologies. This research contributes to
the existing literature by presenting empirical evidence on the implementation of
Smart Manufacturing technologies in emerging country, thus opening the possibilities
for further research in this direction.

The remainder of the paper has the following structure. Section 2 presents the liter-
ature review, while Section 3 describes methods and data that were used for the pur-
pose of this research. Section 4 presents the results and discussion of this research.
Finally, in Section 5 we made conclusions along with identified limitations and possibilities for further research in the field.

## 2 Literature review

Research related to Industry 4.0 in emerging countries is getting more attention in the last few years. The direction of these studies varies significantly. One of the most common approaches is to analyze the readiness of companies for Industry 4.0, focusing on the barriers for the implementation of this concept [18], [19]. All of these studies are on the conceptual level, using an interview approach as a tool for analysis, without any empirical evidence about the use of Industry 4.0 enabling technologies in companies. There are some attempts to put focus on the use of advanced technologies in manufacturing companies from emerging countries and their contribution to the Industry 4.0 [9], [11], [20]. The analyses in these studies are comprehensive, trying to cover a wide range of emerging technologies. There is a lack of studies that are focused on specific group of technologies that form a bundle of complementary technologies. This is an important aspect that is neglected, as prior study shows that investment in emerging technologies do not always lead to expected outcomes [21]. We aim to fill this gap by analyzing one group of technologies identified as one of the enablers of the Industry 4.0. More precisely, our focus is on the adoption of Smart Manufacturing technologies in manufacturing companies from emerging country (i.e. Serbia), which are considered crucial for the implementation of the Industry 4.0 concept [9].

The main function of Smart Manufacturing technologies is to create flexible manufacturing system that is able to adapt to quick changes in the production processes triggered by market demand [4]. One of the expectations from the Industry 4.0 concept, that is enabled by Smart Manufacturing technologies, is to increase flexibility of the production system to the point of mass customization [22]. Furthermore, Smart Manufacturing technologies are focused on operations activities and product processing [10]. It is expected that these technologies contribute to the vertical and horizontal integration, virtualization, automation, flexibility, and energy efficiency [9]. In order to achieve this, the following technologies should be considered [20], [23]–[25]:

* Mobile/wireless devices for programming and controlling facilities and machinery (e.g. tablets)

* Digital solutions to provide drawings, work schedules or work instructions directly on the shop floor

* Software for production planning and scheduling (e.g. ERP system)

* Digital Exchange of product/process data with suppliers/customers (Electronic Data Interchange EDI)

* Near real-time production control system (e.g. Systems of centralized operating and machine data acquisition, MES)

* Systems for automation and management of internal logistics (e.g. Warehouse management systems, RFID)

* Product-Lifecycle-Management-Systems (PLM) or Product/Process Data Management

* Industrial robots for manufacturing processes (e.g. welding, painting, cutting)
* Industrial robots for handling processes (e.g. depositing, assembling, sorting, packing processes, AGV)

* 3D printing technologies for prototyping (prototypes, demonstration models, 0 series)

* 3D printing technologies for manufacturing of products, components and forms, tools, etc.)

* Technologies to recuperate kinetic and process energy (e.g. waste heat recovery, energy storage)

In order to analyze the adoption of Smart Manufacturing technologies in manufacturing companies from emerging country (i.e. Serbia) we form the following research questions:

*RQ1:* What is the current trend in the adoption of Smart Manufacturing technologies in manufacturing companies from emerging country (i.e. Serbia)?

*RQ2:* What is the expected level of the adoption of Smart Manufacturing technologies in manufacturing companies from emerging country (i.e. Serbia) in the future?

# 3 Methods and data

For the purpose of this study we used simple statistics. More specifically, our analysis on the use of Smart Manufacturing technologies in manufacturing companies is based on the descriptive statistics. The data for the analysis is gathered through a survey that is carried out under the international project European Manufacturing Survey (EMS) coordinated by the Fraunhofer ISI Institute from Germany. EMS is mainly focused on technological and organizational innovation in manufacturing companies, but other aspects of manufacturing processes are also considered [26]–[28]. The survey is performed each three years and targets manufacturing companies (NACE Rev 2 codes from 10 to 33) with more than 20 employees. The dataset used for the analysis in this paper is gathered from Serbian manufacturing companies and includes 285 responses from 2015 and 240 responses from 2018 round of the survey.

In both rounds of the survey (i.e. 2015 and 2018) companies were asked about the technologies that they currently use in their production processes. For our analysis technologies that belong to the Smart Manufacturing dimension are identified. We used this information to compare the use of Smart Manufacturing technologies in 2015 and 2018. In this way, the trend of the adoption of these technologies could be determined. Furthermore, companies that are not implementing Smart Manufacturing technologies were asked whether they plan to use any of these technologies in the next three years. This answer can give us the information about the possible trend of the adoption of Smart Manufacturing technologies in manufacturing companies in near future.

# 4 Results and discussion

The results aimed to present current trend in the adoption of Smart Manufacturing technologies in Serbian manufacturing companies are depicted in Figure 1. We have compared the share of companies that implemented Smart Manufacturing technologies in 2015 and 2018. From the results, it can be seen that for 10 out of 12 technolo-
gies there is an increase of the adoption through time. This positive trend of the adop-
tion of Smart Manufacturing technologies represents a solid ground for Serbian manu-
facturers to move towards the implementation of the Industry 4.0 concept [20]. This is
particularly important for companies, since these technologies should be implemented
as a bundle in the phase of the maturity growth [9].

<figure><img src="image_2.png" /></figure>

Note: T1 - Mobile devices for programming and controlling; T2 - Digital solutions directly on the shop floor; T3 - ERP system; T4 - EDI; T5 - Near real-time production control system; T6 - RFID; T7 - PLM; T8 - Industrial robots for manufacturing processes; T9 - Industrial robots for handling processes; T10 - 3D prototyping; T11 - 3D technologies for manufacturing; T12 - Technologies to recuperate energy

<caption>**Fig. 1.** The use of Smart Manufacturing technologies in Serbian companies in 2015 and 2018</caption>

In order to grasp the full potential of Industry 4.0 and create the environment for
the introduction of emerging technologies (i.e. internet of things, big data, and cloud
computing), thus creating cyber-physical industrial systems, companies should con-
tinue with this positive trend of the adoption of Smart Manufacturing technologies
[2]. The results presented in Table 1, which are based on the 240 responses from the
2018 edition of EMS, are showing the intention of manufacturers to implement Smart
Manufacturing technologies in near future. Based on these results, we can be confi-
dent that there will be continuance of positive trend of the adoption of Smart Manu-
facturing technologies in the future. Increased implementation of these technologies
will create an environment for the implementation of emerging technologies, thus
creating greater opportunities for companies [14]. Moreover, it is evident that Serbian
manufacturing companies are recognizing the importance of catching up with devel-
oped economies in order to be competitive on the global market. If the focus of manu-
facturing companies is in the right direction, the investments in technologies could
lead to expected benefits and increased competitiveness of manufacturing companies
from emerging countries. The gradual process of technology adoption will enable
companies to adapt smoothly to new manufacturing trends [16].
<table><caption>**Table 1.** Planned use of Smart Manufacturing technologies in Serbian companies until 2021</caption><thead><tr><th>Technology</th><th>N</th><th>Share<br>[%]</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Mobile/wireless devices for programming and controlling facilities and machinery (e.g. tablets)</td><td>36</td><td>15.0</td></tr><tr><td>Digital solutions to provide drawings, work schedules or work instructions directly on the shop floor</td><td>30</td><td>12.5</td></tr><tr><td>Software for production planning and scheduling (e.g. ERP system)</td><td>26</td><td>10.8</td></tr><tr><td>Digital Exchange of product/process data with suppliers / customers (Electronic Data Interchange EDI)</td><td>24</td><td>10.0</td></tr><tr><td>Near real-time production control system (e.g. Systems of centralized operating and machine data acquisition, MES)</td><td>34</td><td>14.2</td></tr><tr><td>Systems for automation and management of internal logistics (e.g. Warehouse management systems, RFID)</td><td>33</td><td>13.8</td></tr><tr><td>Product-Lifecycle-Management-Systems (PLM) or Product/Process Data Management</td><td>24</td><td>10.0</td></tr><tr><td>Industrial robots for manufacturing processes (e.g. welding, painting, cutting)</td><td>22</td><td>9.2</td></tr><tr><td>Industrial robots for handling processes (e.g. depositing, assembling, sorting, packing processes, AGV)</td><td>21</td><td>8.8</td></tr><tr><td>3D printing technologies for prototyping (prototypes, demonstration models, 0 series)</td><td>16</td><td>6.7</td></tr><tr><td>3D printing technologies for manufacturing of products, components and forms, tools, etc.</td><td>15</td><td>6.3</td></tr><tr><td>Technologies to recuperate kinetic and process energy (e.g. waste heat recovery, energy storage)</td><td>26</td><td>10.8</td></tr></tbody></table>

## 5 Conclusion

The aim of this paper is to investigate the current trend and expected level of the adoption of Smart Manufacturing technologies in near future in Serbian manufacturing companies. In order to obtain results, we used data gathered from EMS. Serbian manufacturers recognize the importance of Smart Manufacturing technologies, as there is a clear empirical evidence of the positive trend in their implementation. Furthermore, we can expect the continuance of this trend in near future.

Our contribution is reflected in the fact that our analyses are focused on specific group of technologies (i.e. Smart Manufacturing technologies) that are considered as vital in the process of introduction of Industry 4.0 in emerging countries. In this way, we opened the field for more narrow and detailed analysis of the adoption of advanced technologies related to Industry 4.0 in emerging countries. Additionally, we provide empirical evidence of the adoption of Smart Manufacturing technologies in manufacturing companies from emerging country. These results could be of use for managers and practitioners for their strategic orientation concerning improvements of production processes.
We have limited this research only to Smart Manufacturing technologies to gain insight on this specific category. However, this is not the only perspective that should be considered when analyzing the use of advanced technologies in manufacturing companies. Other relevant technologies should be analyzed in the context of emerging countries as well [9], [11]. Moreover, we have analyzed the manufacturing sector in general. One of the possible directions for further research is to consider differences between companies based on their size. Furthermore, some other aspects of Industry 4.0, such as new business models and organizational enablers, should be discussed in further research [5].

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