Applications of Industry 4.0 Technologies in Warehouse Management: A Systematic Literature Review
<i>Background:</i> Recent literature indicates that warehouse management costs account for a significant portion of overall logistics costs in companies. Warehousing requires the classification, controlling and management of inventory as well as processing of related information. Therefo...
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Logistics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6290/7/2/24 |
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| author | Lihle N. Tikwayo Tebello N. D. Mathaba |
| author_facet | Lihle N. Tikwayo Tebello N. D. Mathaba |
| author_sort | Lihle N. Tikwayo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Background:</i> Recent literature indicates that warehouse management costs account for a significant portion of overall logistics costs in companies. Warehousing requires the classification, controlling and management of inventory as well as processing of related information. Therefore, adopting efficient and reasonable warehouse management measures to achieve effective management and control of materials is a key means to flexibly adjusting the supply and demand of storage materials and reduce operating costs. There remains a gap in the understanding of benefits and barriers to the full adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies and decision support systems (DSSs) in warehouse management. <i>Methods:</i> This work applies a systematic literature review methodology of recent implementation case studies to analyze documented barriers and benefits of Industry 4.0 technology adoption in warehouse management. For analysis, benefits and barriers are ranked in order of importance using Pareto analysis based on their frequency of occurrence. <i>Results:</i> Improved process efficiency, the availability of real-time data, added competitive advantage and the ability to integrate business activities digitally are the top four most important benefits of implementing Industry 4.0 technologies and decision support systems in warehouse management. The prominent barriers to implementation are high life cycle cost, challenging physical environment/layout, inadequate supporting resource constraints, increased security risk and high energy consumption. <i>Conclusions:</i> Barriers to implementing Industry 4.0 technologies are interrelated in nature and prevent businesses from realizing the full benefit of implemented Industry 4.0 technologies. Adequate financial support, new knowledge and skills are required to be able to ensure the successful implementation of Industry 4.0 in warehousing management. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a0de98ff31e245f8bc627ceaf3eb71fd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2305-6290 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Logistics |
| spelling | doaj-art-a0de98ff31e245f8bc627ceaf3eb71fd2025-08-20T03:35:48ZengMDPI AGLogistics2305-62902023-04-01722410.3390/logistics7020024Applications of Industry 4.0 Technologies in Warehouse Management: A Systematic Literature ReviewLihle N. Tikwayo0Tebello N. D. Mathaba1Postgraduate School of Engineering Management, University of Johannesburg, 1 Bunting Road, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, South AfricaPostgraduate School of Engineering Management, University of Johannesburg, 1 Bunting Road, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa<i>Background:</i> Recent literature indicates that warehouse management costs account for a significant portion of overall logistics costs in companies. Warehousing requires the classification, controlling and management of inventory as well as processing of related information. Therefore, adopting efficient and reasonable warehouse management measures to achieve effective management and control of materials is a key means to flexibly adjusting the supply and demand of storage materials and reduce operating costs. There remains a gap in the understanding of benefits and barriers to the full adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies and decision support systems (DSSs) in warehouse management. <i>Methods:</i> This work applies a systematic literature review methodology of recent implementation case studies to analyze documented barriers and benefits of Industry 4.0 technology adoption in warehouse management. For analysis, benefits and barriers are ranked in order of importance using Pareto analysis based on their frequency of occurrence. <i>Results:</i> Improved process efficiency, the availability of real-time data, added competitive advantage and the ability to integrate business activities digitally are the top four most important benefits of implementing Industry 4.0 technologies and decision support systems in warehouse management. The prominent barriers to implementation are high life cycle cost, challenging physical environment/layout, inadequate supporting resource constraints, increased security risk and high energy consumption. <i>Conclusions:</i> Barriers to implementing Industry 4.0 technologies are interrelated in nature and prevent businesses from realizing the full benefit of implemented Industry 4.0 technologies. Adequate financial support, new knowledge and skills are required to be able to ensure the successful implementation of Industry 4.0 in warehousing management.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6290/7/2/24Industry 4.0 technologieswarehouse managementRFIDautonomous mobile robots |
| spellingShingle | Lihle N. Tikwayo Tebello N. D. Mathaba Applications of Industry 4.0 Technologies in Warehouse Management: A Systematic Literature Review Logistics Industry 4.0 technologies warehouse management RFID autonomous mobile robots |
| title | Applications of Industry 4.0 Technologies in Warehouse Management: A Systematic Literature Review |
| title_full | Applications of Industry 4.0 Technologies in Warehouse Management: A Systematic Literature Review |
| title_fullStr | Applications of Industry 4.0 Technologies in Warehouse Management: A Systematic Literature Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Applications of Industry 4.0 Technologies in Warehouse Management: A Systematic Literature Review |
| title_short | Applications of Industry 4.0 Technologies in Warehouse Management: A Systematic Literature Review |
| title_sort | applications of industry 4 0 technologies in warehouse management a systematic literature review |
| topic | Industry 4.0 technologies warehouse management RFID autonomous mobile robots |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6290/7/2/24 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lihlentikwayo applicationsofindustry40technologiesinwarehousemanagementasystematicliteraturereview AT tebellondmathaba applicationsofindustry40technologiesinwarehousemanagementasystematicliteraturereview |