Introduction
The article “The Adoption of Digital Technologies in Supply Chains: Drivers, Process and Impact” by Yang et al. (2021) aimed to investigate the use of digital technologies by manufacturing companies in their supply chains. The researchers conducted a literature review of 55 peer-reviewed articles to answer three research questions: why firms adopt digital technologies, how they do it, and what effects this adoption has. Among the existing digital technologies, Yang et al. (2021) focused on AI, big data, and the Internet of Things because of their largest importance to the manufacturing sector. As the result of their research, Yang et al. (2021) developed a conceptual framework describing the adoption of digital technologies in the supply chain, which consists of three components based on the three research questions: drivers, adoption process, and impact.
Main body
The first research question is related to why firms start using digital technologies. Yang et al. (2021) found out that the firm’s drivers of digital technologies could be divided into internal and external. The first internal driver is operational, meaning that companies adopt digital technologies in response to operational issues, such as the increased complexity, higher labor costs, and the need to improve efficiency. The second internal driver is strategic, which means using a top-down, proactive approach to improve social, environmental, or economic aspects of production and gain a competitive advantage. The external drivers identified by Yang et al. (2021) are customer, supplier, and competition. They mean that firms adopt digital technologies to satisfy the needs of their customers better, adapt to the technologies used by a core player in the supply chain, and improve their competitiveness.
The second research question is concerned with how the adoption of digital technologies takes place. Yang et al. (2021) identified several supply chain processes, in which companies use digital technologies. In particular, technologies are applied to design products, forecast demand, select suppliers, plan production, manage quality, maintain equipment, control and plan inventory and logistics, run e-business, and manage customer relationships. Yang et al. (2021) also distinguished four levels of adopting digital technologies, depending on supply chain cooperation and technological intelligence. The lowest level is characterized by low intelligence and cooperation and results in using technologies for analyzing the firm’s internal operations descriptively. Higher levels involve increased cooperation between firms in the supply chain and more complex applications of digital technologies, for example, prescriptive analysis.
The third research question focuses on the digital technologies’ influence on the supply chain. Yang et al. (2021) found that digital technologies improve the efficiency, structure, sustainability, and innovation of supply chains. Enhanced efficiency is manifested in improved operating speed, quality, reliability, agility, flexibility, and cost. The influence on the structure is explained by a more effective information flow enabled by digital technologies. Sustainability is improved because digital technologies help firms reduce carbon emissions, use energy more efficiently, and extend product longevity. Finally, the data provided by digital technologies facilitate innovation in business models, products, and the ecosystem.
Based on their findings, Yang et al. (2021) developed a conceptual framework, illustrating two key points. First, their framework contains three layers, representing the drivers, the process, and the impact of digital technology adoption. Second, the model demonstrates the interrelation between the three layers. Yang et al. (2021) also made two propositions in relation to their conceptual framework. The researchers argued that different adoption drivers had a different influence on the other components of the framework. The second proposition is that every firm has to identify its own drivers and develop its strategy for adopting digital technologies as there is no universal way of doing it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the article has value to other scholars because it offered a conceptual framework of digital technology adoption, which had not existed in the literature before. Furthermore, this research can help supply chain managers to realize the benefits of digital technology use and guide them through the process of the development of the adoption strategy. Finally, the researchers called for other scholars to explore this topic in more detail and extend their proposed framework.
Reference
Yang, M., Fu, M., & Zhang, Z. (2021). The adoption of digital technologies in supply chains: Drivers, process and impact. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 169, 120795. Web.