THE IMPACT OF DIGITALIZATION IN THE TRANSITION TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED SUPPLY CHAIN A Supply Chain Event Management Case Study

Abstract

During the last few decades, the change in the world’s economic environment has led to a transformation of supply chain activities and logistics operations. The growing globalization, the increase of destructive events (such as the current global health crisis), and the drive towards digital innovation dictated by the Fourth Industrial Revolution require companies to make an organizational change regarding both internal and external activities. We are witnessing a radical transition from competition between individual companies to competition between industrial supply chains. There is a shift from the traditional supply chain, characterized by the linearity of operations, to a more integrated supply chain model, where information flows in more than one direction at once. This thesis aims to study how the supply chain can fully experience the benefits brought about by integration mainly thanks to the support provided by the enabling technologies of Industry 4.0. The primary goals of the research are understanding which are the pressures towards the integration and digitalization of supply chain activities, evaluating the advantages and challenges, and studying how a supply chain can be integrated through digitalization. To support the thesis, a case study on Supply Chain Event Management carried out by the author is reported.