Digitalization of operations and supply chains: Insights from survey and case studies

Abstract

Purpose – This article aims to understand where industry is in terms of digitalizing their operations, what features of this transformation are essential for practitioners, and what barriers they are facing during their journey. In addition, the authors aim to provide recommendations for organization to start their digital transformation. Design/methodology/approach – Through literature review, the authors summarize the emerging tools and technologies in operations and supply chains to inform the practitioners. Then, the authors use surveys conducted on 183 operations and supply chain professionals, and use statistical tools to examine the association between variables of the data set. The authors present real-life case studies to explain important steps of a digital transformation project. Findings – The survey results indicate that real-time monitoring and data analytics are viewed as the most important and needed tools for organizations. High cost, lack of stakeholder buy-in and lack of successful business use cases are major barriers for companies when starting a digital transformation. Practical implications – The authors provide recommendations for practitioners based on the survey responses, and outline that starting small, focusing on stakeholder buy-in and implementation of software are the three key steps for a successful transformation journey. Originality/value – Main contributions of this article are to understand practitioner perspectives in digitalization and provide guidelines for organizations to follow when transforming their operations. This research closes the gap between academic research and practice by collaborating with operations and supply chain professionals.

Keywords

• Digitalization
• Operations management
• Supply chain management
• Visibility
• Real-time monitoring
• Data analytics