The era of industry 4.0: The effectiveness of local Saudi Arabian organisations in integrating technology in their supply chains

Abstract

In today’s environment where all industries are accelerating disruption, companies are under pressure to continue innovating to remain competitive. For many companies, this means adopting new technologies to improve efficiency and help meet the changing and growing needs and expectations of customers. Technological advancements now allow companies to create efficient supply chain solutions. The aim of this study is to explore the way the current Saudi supply chain companies have been integrating technologies in the era of Industry 4.0. The study examines the role of big data analytics in enhancing the supply chains in Saudi Arabia. In addition, it investigates how Saudi Vision 2030 has enabled the integration of technology in Saudi companies that are specialists in the supply chain sector in particular. This study uses Resource-Based view theory to analyse how industry 4.0 resources and capabilities in creating sustained competitive advantage and efficiency and effectiveness of the supply chain. A mono-method qualitative study based on primary and secondary data was conducted. In addition, a case study on a Saudi organisation – Warsha Plus – was used to conduct an in-depth investigation of the effectiveness of using industry 4.0 technologies in Saudi Arabia, as well as the challenges that were encountered. The primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the Chief Executive Officer of the company and transcribed and coded using NVivo software. The research concludes that industry 4.0 technologies have positive impact on the company’s performance as a whole in the Saudi supply chains. Big data analytics is considered as the most crucial technological tool in Saudi Arabia due to its effects on running the operations smoothly. Finally, Vision 2030 has accelerated digital transformation within Saudi organisations, as shown in the Warsha Plus case study. The key implication of this study is that it is beneficial for both academics, since it fills the gap in the literature, and supply chain managers in Saudi Arabia, as it provides some insights that they should be aware of when integrating technology. The limitations of the study include the limited data and the need to use quantitative data to provide better insights that examine the effectiveness of the technology integration in Saudi supply chain companies more efficiently.