Application of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to enhance supply chain sourcing: A systematic literature review

Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Application of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to enhance supply chain sourcing: A systematic literature review
 
Creator Selepe, Refentse L. Makinde, Olasumbo A. Munyai, Thomas
 
Subject Operations Management; Supply Chain Management; Supplier Management 4IR technologies; sourcing; supply chain; manufacturing; systematic literature review
Description Background: In an era marked by rapid technological advancements, the manufacturing sector is increasingly adopting Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies to streamline sourcing processes within supply chains. Sourcing and supplier management are crucial to achieving competitive advantages, cost reductions and sustainable practices.Objectives: The study examines the application and the integration of various 4IR technologies in sourcing activities to achieve improved supplier selection, cost control, on-time delivery and supply chain resilience.Method: A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted, following a structured methodology across five stages: database selection, keyword generation, application of filters (inclusion and exclusion criteria), search area selection and final document review. The Scopus database was used for data collection, and VOSviewer was employed for keyword co-occurrence analysis.Results: Out of 1530 documents, 16 relevant studies were identified, highlighting the usage of specific 4IR technologies in the sourcing process. Simulation, Internet of things (IoT), machine learning (ML), additive manufacturing and radio frequency identification (RFID) were found to be critical technologies.Conclusion: Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies are pivotal in optimising sourcing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), although gaps exist in the literature around ethical sourcing, augmented reality and cybersecurity. Moreover, the study identifies emerging trends such as crowdsourcing and IoT, which indicate a shift towards data-driven decision-making in sourcing.Contribution: This study serves as an eye-opener to unveil appropriate 4IR technologies that could be deployed by supply chain managers to ensure effective manufacturing sourcing operations. The study also unveils further research on ethical sourcing and cybersecurity.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2025-04-30
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/jtscm.v19i0.1111
 
Source Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management; Vol 19 (2025); 10 pages 1995-5235 2310-8789
 
Language eng
 
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https://jtscm.co.za/index.php/jtscm/article/view/1111/1912 https://jtscm.co.za/index.php/jtscm/article/view/1111/1913 https://jtscm.co.za/index.php/jtscm/article/view/1111/1914 https://jtscm.co.za/index.php/jtscm/article/view/1111/1915
 
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Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Refentse L. Selepe, Olasumbo A. Makinde, Thomas Munyai https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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