Exploring barriers and strategic approaches in smart factory adoption: a real-world case study in a German manufacturing company.

Smart factories act as focal points to the process of Industry 4.0, and for this reason they pose distinct issues in terms of their applicability within manufacturing organizations. The purpose of this research is to establish the challenges and approaches regarding implementation of smart factories, and it will be based on the manufacturing sector only; results will then be used to analyze and verify for a German firm. The study assesses 47 performance variables placed under nine main groups with the support of the BWM. The application of this approach enables the author to classify the barriers and group them by means of the gathered data and the reference to the other experts' opinions from the case study. Main discoveries highlighted the existence of significant challenges such as connectivity, technology, and program complexity; the need for a flexible software solution; and a stable structure for IT support. New pairs of environmental considerations, such as electronic waste and energy, emerged as important issues, together with ethical issues needed for the safety of society and its employees and the management of information. Implications for theory highlight the necessity of elevating the status of challenges and incorporating applicable factors to improve the appreciation of subjects like e-waste and ethical SCM as priorities. Application-based research suggests conceptual frameworks for smart manufacturing system definition and functioning, with a strong focus on the strategic approach to prioritization and flexibility. Shortcomings are likely to involve the use of consultant advice and the fact that the conclusions are industry-specific. The further study about this subject could be done from a cross-industry perspective, as well as employing integration of new advanced technologies such as blockchain and AI to take the industrial sector to new frontiers of digitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]