CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Supply chain is one of the most important aspects of any business organization. For example, it ensures that a business organization is able to deliver goods to customers on time.  An efficient supply chain also ensures that a company is able to respond to customers issues quickly. This contributes to increased customer satisfaction which, in turn, results in higher sales and profitability (Fawcett, Magnan and McCarter 2008). Other benefits of an efficient supply chain include reduced lead times, maintenance of product quality, and even enhanced market penetration. An efficient supply chain ensures that a firm delivers products to customers in the shortest time possible (Koech and Ronoh 2015). This also contributes to improved customer satisfaction, allowing a firm to maintain or even increase its sales. Efficient delivery of products to customers is also likely to improve customer loyalty, enabling a business organization to maintain its market share.

The ability of a company to deliver products to customers in a short of time ensures that product quality is maintained. This is particularly important for firms that deal in perishable products such as groceries. Maintaining quality of products at the point of delivery ensures customer satisfaction, allowing a firm to maintain sales (Fawcett, Magnan and McCarter 2008).  Lastly, an efficient supply chain allows a company to penetrate new markets and increase its market share.  This allows it to realize higher sales, profitability and improved growth. In general, an efficient supply chain allows a company to operate efficiently and gain a competitive advantage in the market.

However, like any other aspect of a company, the supply chain is affected by many factors both internal and external.  One of the external factors that have significantly the supply chain of many organizations in recent times is COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant effect on human health, way of living, and business operations (Verma and Prakash 2020). For example, at the height of the pandemic, people were compelled to stay at home. Movement was significantly restricted. Business operations were disrupted because people could not go to work. On the other hand, with restricted movement, business organizations could not easily take their products to the market or get raw materials from supplies (Reza et al 2021). In short, the supply chain of many business organizations was disrupted.

One of the consequences of disruption of supply chains in organizations was reduced sales even in situations where demand remained high. With businesses unable to produce at the original capacity as well as deliver goods in all their markets, sales were considerably reduced.  This affected the profitability of business organizations, with many of them registering significant losses. Other negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic included market share losses, delays in delivery, and reduction in service level and customer satisfaction (Spieske and Birkel, 2021). Delivery delays and reduction in service in particular damaged the reputation of a business organization. This reduced sales for most firms, leading to lower profitability levels and in some cases, losses. Market share loss was a consequence of reduced supply of products and entry into markets (Sarkis 2020).  As pointed out, COVID-19 made it hard for business organizations to produce maximally because of lower supply of raw materials and manpower because many employees were compelled to stay at home. On the other hand, restricted movement made it hard for companies to access some markets.

However, while the pandemic significantly affected the supply chain of business organizations, most companies did not stop operating completely. They developed strategies that ensured they continue being operational even with the changed situation around the world. Most of the strategies were focused on the supply chain. The goal was to develop supply chain resilience which is the ability of a supply chain to withstand and recover from supply chain disruptions.

One of the strategies applied to the supply chain to ensure its sustainability during the COVID-19 period is industry 4.0 technologies. Industry 4.0 in general is a new industrial stage that has had a significant impact on the business. Considered to be the fourth industrial revolution, industry 4.0 has helped transform the business models of manufacturing firms. The adoption of industry 4.0 technologies has helped companies achieve production flexibility, productivity, and efficiency (Dalenogare et al 2018). These technologies include artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), additive manufacturing, and blockchain. Industry 4.0, as a practice, has helped to revolutionize entire production systems. However, despite its vast benefits, industry 4.0 has not been implemented significantly in companies. For example, according to Raj et al (2020) a survey carried out by Deloitte, a consulting firm, in 19 countries revealed that only 14% of CEOs were confident that their companies were ready to incorporate industry 4.0. This means that most companies do not have the right systems to incorporate industry 4.0 technologies. Nonetheless, existing evidence shows that industry 4.0 technologies have a huge potential and this was better demonstrated during the COVID-19 with some companies maintaining operations despite the disruptions experienced. In this study, the application of industry 4.0 technologies in the sustainable supply chain during COVID-19 pandemic will be examined. The focus is to determine how industry 4.0 technologies were applied to the supply chain to ensure its sustainability during the pandemic.

1.1 Aim

To examine the application of industry 4.0 Technologies in the sustainable supply chain during Covid-19

1.2 Objectives

• To determine how industry 4.0 technologies have been applied in modern supply chain and its benefits
• To examine the implications of Industry 4.0 towards achieving sustainable supply chain
• To determine the implication of industry 4.0 on the supply chain during the Covid-19 pandemic era

1.3 Research questions

RQ1: How has industry 4.0 technologies applied in modern supply chain and what have been its benefits?

RQ2: What are the implications of Industry 4.0 towards achieving sustainable supply chain?

RQ3:  What has been the implication of industry 4.0 on the supply chain during the Covid-19 pandemic era?

1.4 Research problem

An inefficient supply chain negatively affect a company‘s operations. As indicated, an inefficient supply chain reduces the ability of a company to deliver goods to customers in the market in time. A company may also fail to maintain quality of its products if its supply chain is not effective. As also established, the efficiency of supply chain is influenced by both internal and external factors. This implies that for a company to ensure its supply chain is constantly efficient, it has to develop strategies that adapt the supply chain to changes in the market.  One such change, as pointed out, was the emergence of COVID-19 which negatively affected the supply chain of business organizations. One of the strategies that has the potential to improve the supply chain and increase its resilience to events such as COVID-19 is the implementation of industry 4.0 technologies. The problem, however, is many business organizations are yet to implement these technologies, meaning that their supply chains are still vulnerable to adverse events such as  COVID-19. In addition, with COVID-19 having not been eradicated there being reports of variants of the virus emerging, it is possible that the world may experience the pandemic again in future. This means that companies that have not adjusted their supply chains significantly are likely to experience the same problems experienced at the height of the pandemic should the problem. But most importantly, there is limited research carried out on the benefits of adopting industry 4.0 technologies in the supply chain. This could be the reason why most companies have not adopted these technologies. This research aims to resolve this problem by examining the benefits that come with applying industry 4.0 technologies to the supply chain.

1.5 Research significance

This research is important both from an academic and practical point of view. Academically, this research study will contribute to existing knowledge about industry 4.0 technologies. As pointed out, there is limited research carried out on the subject. This is probably because industry 4.0 is a fairly new phenomenon and the technologies such as IoT are yet to be significantly adopted in business organizations.  This research will thereby considerably increase the knowledge about the subject and possibly act as a basis for further research in future.

From a practical point of view, the results of this research can inform strategy among companies in relation to their supply chain. One of objectives of this study is to examine the benefits of applying industry 4.0 technologies in the supply chain. Most importantly, the study examines the application of industry 4.0 technologies in the supply chain during the COVID-19 period. Knowledge about the benefits of these technologies in the supply and how the technologies help companies to improve the resilience of their supply chains and even gain a competitive advantage in the market during the pandemic can inform the strategies adopted by business organizations. For instance, if this research shows that a company can benefit significantly from implementing industry 4.0 technologies, then companies may invest in these technologies in order to also derive these benefits.

1.6 Research limitations

One of the limitations of this research study is it is focused on qualitative data. Interpretation of qualitative data is, in most cases, subjective, judgmental, and biased which may fail to provide better insight into the research subject. Another limitation is, this being an exploratory research, it is hard to use a large sample size in collecting data. The results obtained cannot thereby be generalized.

1.7 Research gap

While significant research has been carried out on industry 4.0 technologies and how they can be applied in supply chain, limited research has been focused on the application of these technologies in the supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is thereby known on whether these technologies were applied during the pandemic and if they were applied, how they contributed to the sustainability of the supply chain. This study is aimed to bridge this gap by examining the implications of industry 4.0 technologies in the sustainable supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic.

1.8 Dissertation outline

This dissertation comprises of the introduction, literature review, methodology, findings, discussion, and conclusion. The introduction gives a background of the study. The literature highlights what previous studies indicate. The methodology section indicates how data was collected and analyzed. The findings chapter shows the results obtained. The discussion section explains the results while the conclusion chapter gives a summary of the study.

 

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter highlights what previous research indicates on the application of industry 4.0 technologies in the sustainable supply chain during COVID-19. The aim of the chapter is to gain insight into how these technologies helped companies survive during the pandemic. The literature review in this study is based on the objectives stated above.

2.2 The concept of industry 4.0 technologies

Industry 4.0 technologies, as a concept, have not been defined explicitly in research. Instead, most research studies focus on describing these technologies and giving examples of some of them. For example, Bai et al (2020) describes industry 4.0 as a new paradigm of smart and autonomous manufacturing which integrates manufacturing operations systems with information, communication, and intelligence technologies. On the other hand, Koh, Orzes and Jia (2019)  describes industry 4.0 as a confluence of technologies which range from digital technologies such as 3D printing, Internet of Things and robotics to new materials such as bio and nano-based materials to new processes like synthetic biology, Artificial Intelligence, and data driven production. Based on the above descriptions, industry 4.0 technologies can be defined as a conglomeration of revolutionary technologies which are applied in manufacturing with the key results being connectivity, automation and generally digital transformation in the manufacturing processes. However, while the definition above limits industry 4.0 technologies to manufacturing, in reality these technologies can be applied in all areas of a business operation. Haseeb et al (2019), provides a comprehensive   list of industry 4.0 technologies as part of digital transformation as depicted in the figure 1 below.

Figure 1:  Industry 4.0 technology features and contributions towards digitalization. Source: Industry 4.0: Building the digital enterprise, 2016 global industry 4.0 survey, PwC engineering, & construction 2016.

Source : Haseeb et al (2019)

Supply chain and Supply chain management

Supply chain is basically the entire system that is involved in the production and delivery of goods or services to consumers in the market. On the other hand, supply chain management is basically the management of the flow of goods, information, and even financial resources related to a product from the production to delivery of the product to customers (Janvier-James 2012). From the definitions, it can be deduced that supply chain management influences the effectiveness of the supply chain. How the flow of goods and other material from production to delivery is managed determines the success of the whole system involved in the production to delivery (Arawati 2011). For example, if a company has a better raw material supply system, then raw materials can easily be acquired from suppliers which, in turn, fasten the production process.

As indicated, supply chain is the system involved in production and delivery of goods to consumers in the market. Organizational performance, on the other hand, is how well an organization is doing in the market in terms of achieving its goals. Research shows that there is a positive relationship between supply chain and organizational performance (Hanaysha and Alzoubi 2022). It is implies that a poorly designed supply chain results in poor organizational performance and vice versa. In other words how a supply chain performs determines how the organization performs. However, how the supply chain performs is determined by a number of factors, one of them being technology. Research shows that technology has a positive impact on supply chain performance (Sari 2010). For example, Zelbst et al (2010) established that when RFID technology is applied to the supply chain, information sharing among different players which, in turn, enhances supply chain performance.

2.3 Application of  industry 4.0 technologies in  modern supply chain

Research shows that industry 4.0 technologies are gradually being adopted by firms around the world to improve operations especially in the supply chain. For example, Szozda (2017) presents a number of cases where industry 4.0 technologies have been applied by companies in their supply chains and the benefits these companies obtained. One such case is that of Logistics Knapp AG. According to Szozda (2017), this company has developed a modern technology based on Augmented Virtual Reality where hard paper copy has been replaced with digital carriers. This technology uses glasses instead of electronic carriers or paper where an additional image is imposed on the actual image. Szozda (2017) observes that the additional information generated using this technology allows employees to locate products designated for loading faster. The new technology does not only help employees to find products quickly but also provides information to employees about the manner in which each product should be loaded.  Szozda (2017) indicates that this has helped to optimize cargo, especially in relation to fragile and dangerous products. The main benefits of using the technology, according to Szozda (2017) include saving of time, error reduction, reduced time of completing processes.

Ghadge et al (2020), on the other hand, indicate that the core industry 4.0 technologies include big data analytics, autonomous robots, cloud technology, simulation, the industry internet of things (IIoT), additive manufacturing, and augmented reality among others. According to Ghadge et al (2020), each of these technologies plays an important role in business organizations. For example, Big Data analytics helps business organizations to obtain value from huge amounts of data. Big data analytics is basically the use of advanced analytic techniques to collect and analyze large amounts of data. Ghadge et al (2020) indicate that big data analytics allows companies to use data to improve the efficiency of their processes, enhance agility and flexibility, and improve customization. It implies that big data analytics allows companies to convert huge quantities of data from different sources into meaningful information and then use this information to improve their processes.

In general, existing research shows that industry 4.0 technologies are increasingly being applied in modern supply chain. Some of the areas of the supply chain these technologies are being applied include procurement (Jahani et al 2021), enterprise resource planning (ERP) (Majeed and Rupasinghe 2017), and production Szozda (2017) among other areas. For example,  Jahani et al (2021) established that industry 4.0 technologies have been applied in procurement, with the key procurement activities the technologies are applied being supplier selection and evaluation, purchasing performance management, and pricing. With regard to benefits of the technologies in relation to procurement, Jahani et al (2021) found that industry 4.0 technologies help companies to manage risks, lower costs, and select the most appropriate suppliers. In short, on procurement, it can be concluded that industry 4.0 technologies help companies to come up get quality goods and services efficiently and at a reduced cost.

One of the theories that explains how new technologies like industry 4.0 technologies are adopted in the supply chain is Technology Acceptance Model. This theory indicates the perceived use of use and usefulness of a technology determines the level of acceptance (Holden and Karsh 2010). This theory implies that before a new technology is adopted, the first is evaluating whether it is easy to use and whether it is useful to the organization. If a technology is considered easy to use and useful, the company then makes the decision to invest in it and other necessary systems for its adoption.

(Ghazizadeh, Lee and Boyle 2012)

Another theory that explains the process of adoption of new technology in the supply chain is Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. This theory holds that the adoption of technology depends directly on the effect of four constructs which are performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, social influence, and effort expectancy (Venkatesh et al 2016). It implies before an organization adopts a technology, it is likely to evaluate whether the technology will help it achieve the desired level of performance and whether the technology is easy to use. However, the decision can be influenced by adoption of the technology by other companies as this creates the feeling that this technology is likely to be good (Venkatesh and Zhang 2010). Lastly, a company may adopt a technology only if it has the infrastructure to support the system. It implies that if one of the above factors is missing, a firm may fail to adopt a new technology.

 

(Venkatesh and Zhang 2010)

The main benefits of applying industry 4.0 technologies to the ERP system, according to Majeed and Rupasinghe (2017) include reduction of lead and processing times and automation of processes. The ERP system is used to manage daily business activities like accounting, project management, procurement, and supply chain operations.

Existing literature shows that industry 4.0 technologies has been applied in all aspects of the supply chain. The application of these technologies has generally helped to improve the supply chain. For example, they helped improve the production process, distribution of products to consumers in the market, procurement of goods and services, and the general operations of the supply chain. However, it can also be gathered from the literature that despite the benefits of applying these technologies to the supply chain, there are challenges in the implementation of these technologies which has limited the application of these technologies in the modern supply chain. These challenges include cybersecurity concerns, cost, and reduction of employment opportunities (Caiado et al 2022). For example, Caiado et al (2022) indicate that there is a high risk of cyberattacks and this has probably made business organizations wary of applying these technologies to their business operations. In addition, there is concern that decision makers may misuse individual data collected using industry 4.0 technologies.  The cost of implementing industry 4.0 technologies, according to Caiado et al (2022) is also high. This is especially for companies in emerging economies which are probably considerably behind in terms of technological development. Lastly, automation of most supply chain operations due to application implies that employment opportunities have reduced significantly. However, this challenge does not influence, in any way, the implementation of industry 4.0 technologies. It is a societal challenge and it may have resulted in opposition of the implementation of industry 4.0 technologies. Nonetheless, despite the challenges, existing literature shows that industry 4.0 technologies have the potential to significantly improve the modern supply chain and provide firms with a competitive advantage in the market through increased efficiency, reduced cost of operation, and improved quality of products delivered.

2.4 The implications of Industry 4.0 towards achieving sustainable supply chain

A Sustainable supply chain is one which fully integrates environmentally and ethically responsible practices. Research shows that there is increased consciousness on sustainability (Ojo et al 2018). For example, there is increased awareness among people about the influence of the greenhouse gas emission to the environment. There is thereby increased pressure on companies to implement practices that improve environmental sustainability. However, sustainability is not limited to the physical environment. There is also social and economic sustainability. The question that arises is, what are the implications of industry 4.0 technologies towards achieving sustainable supply chain? In other words, do the industry 4.0 technologies contribute towards the achievement of a sustainable supply chain? In their study, Strandhagen et al (2022) established that industry 4.0 technologies can significantly improve sustainability in the shipbuilding supply chain. For example, Strandhagen et al (2022) assert that use of RFID in logistics can help improve social and economic sustainability. This is because this technology helps to improve data sharing among different players in the supply chain, allowing for reduction of cost and increase of revenue generated. This improves economic sustainability. On the other hand, sharing of data improves the quality of relationships shared by the parties involved in the supply chain. This enhances the social sustainability.  With regard to environmental sustainability, Strandhagen et al (2022) established that applying industry 4.0 technologies to weather routing and hull condition monitoring can help improve fuel consumption of ships. Improved fuel consumption of ships lowers greenhouse gas emission into the atmosphere, there contributing to environmental sustainability.

Like Strandhagen et al (2022), Mastrocinque et al (2022) also established that industry 4.0 technologies have a significant effect on all forms of sustainability which include social, economic, and environmental sustainability. However, when all the three types of sustainability were considered, it was established that industry 4.0 technologies have the biggest impact on environmental sustainability. With regard to the specific technologies that influence sustainability in companies, Mastrocinque et al (2022) established that big data and data analytics had the biggest impact on the overall sustainable supply chain. This implies that these two technologies influence all forms in sustainability equally. Other technologies had impact on the sustainability pillars, that social, economic, and environmental include mobile services whci had impact on social sustainability, cloud technologies on economic and environmental, and cybersecurity solutions which had impact on environmental sustainability.

In general, existing literature shows that industry 4.0 technologies contribute significantly to sustainability. The implication in relation to achieving sustainable supply chain is these technologies can help companies to develop sustainable supply chain in all aspects, that is, socially, economically, and environmentally (Luthra et al 2020). It implies that these technologies can help improve the performance of their sustainable supply chains. Socially, research shows that industry 4.0 technologies improve the relationship among different parties in the supply chain especially through data sharing. For example, companies can use technologies such as cloud, RFID, and big data to share data with suppliers. The sharing of data fosters relationships between business organizations and their suppliers.

Economically, research shows that industry 4.0 technologies can help to improve the efficiency of processes, thereby lowering the operational costs. For example, the use of robotics to track inventory in a warehouse increases the operational efficiency, resulting in reduced cost of operation for the company involved. Research also shows that industry 4.0 technologies can help companies to track suppliers and pricing, allowing them to identify the most efficient suppliers who sell their products at the lowest price and engage them (Jahani et al 2021). This means that a company is not only able to obtain the highest quality of supplies it also lowers the amount spent on supplies. Economic sustainability may also be in form of enhanced sales. For example, as pointed out, industry 4.0 technologies help to improve the level of operational efficiency, case in point being improvement in tracking products in the warehouse.  When products are effectively tracked, lead times are reduced and the quality of services offered to customers is improved. This may increase sales in a company. Lastly, it can be deduced that environmental sustainability is improved within the supply chain when industry 4.0 technologies. For example, Umar et al (2021) established that green supply chain management practices are positively affected by industry 4.0 technologies. In other words, it means that when industry 4.0 technologies are applied in green-based supply chain, the environmental sustainability of this supply chain is improved significantly. This means a firm can use these technologies to enhance the sustainability of their sustainable supply chains.

One theory that explains the benefits of adopting industry 4.0 technologies is systems theory. This theory attempts to explain characteristics that arise from complex systems. The four components of the systems theory are inputs, transformational process, outputs, and feedback (Dekkers 2015). One element in the inputs component is technology. This means that when technology is adopted, it may improve the transformational process and quality of outputs. Cimini et al (2018) provides a matrix of industry 4.0 Technologies and their impacts in the manufacturing and supply chain landscape as shown in the table 1 below.

 

Table 1: Assessment matrix: technologies for Industry 4.0 and impacts in the supply chain

Source : Cimini et al (2018)

2.5 The implication of industry 4.0 on the supply chain during the Covid-19 pandemic era

As pointed out, COVID-19 significantly affected the operation of business organizations and particularly the supply chain.  With industry 4.0 technologies having found increased application in companies, the question is, what is their implication on the supply chain during the pandemic era? Considerable research has been carried out on the implication of these technologies on the supply chain during the COVID-19 and the main conclusion is the technologies helped or had the potential of improving the resilience of the supply chain during the pandemic. For example, in their study where they carried out a literature review, Reza et al (2021) established that most of the articles put emphasis on digitization of supply chain management and acknowledged applications and prospects of industry 4.0 technologies. Reza et al (2021) also found that the key industry 4.0 technologies which improved or had the potential of improving supply chain resilience during the pandemic include Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, blockchain, additive manufacturing, and big data. In relation to how these technologies improved or could have improved the resilience of the supply chain, Reza et al (2021) established that some of the advantages of applying industry 4.0 technologies to the supply chain during the pandemic include supply chain monitoring, responsiveness, and integration, warehouse management, obtaining real-time data, and waste reduction.

The idea of resilience in the supply chain is also recognized by Frederico (2021) who established that disruptive technologies such as industry 4.0 technologies can help supply chains to become more responsive and resilient to events like COVID-19. This is because, according to Frederico (2021), the application of industry 4.0 technologies might improve the performance of the supply chain in terms of transparency, flexibility, efficiency, process measurement, collaboration, and responsiveness. Transparency can be improved by these technologies through enhanced visibility of the supply chain. For example, as noted initially, robotics can be used in production or warehouse management to track the production process or inventory at each stage. This improves the transparency of the processes in the supply chain, making it possible to easily identify areas that need improvement (Spieske and Birkel 2021). Transparency can also be improved through data sharing among different players in the supply chain. With regard to COVID-19, during the pandemic, some products such as toiletries were in high demand. It implies that application of these technologies would have helped companies to track this demand and effectively meet it. Improvement of flexibility would have helped companies to respond quickly to changes in the market during the pandemic (Kumar et al 2020). As indicated, the pandemic led to changes in demand for various products, reducing the demand for some products and increasing demand for others.

Cugno et al (2022), on the other hand, established that application of industry 4.0 technologies will lead to recovery of production the levels achieved during the pre-COVID-19 era. It implies that during the COVID-19 production levels reduced significantly. Recovery of production may have been as a consequence of improvement in the level of efficiency. For example, industry 4.0 technologies allow companies to reduce waste, improve production processes, and lower the cost of production.  Recovery of production as a consequence of application of industry 4.0 technologies could be to improvement in lean production (Mrugalska and Wyrwicka 2017). This is because these technologies, as pointed, improve the level of visibility and responsiveness in the supply chain. For example, the ability of a company to effectively track demand in the market due to application of industry 4.0 technologies implies that the firm can produce only enough products to meet the demand in the market.

In general, existing literature shows that the implication of industry 4.0 on the supply chain during the COVID-19 era is industry 4.0 technologies have improved or have the potential to significantly improve the supply chain. This helped or would have helped companies to adapt to the changes in the market as a consequence of the pandemic (Luthra et al 2020). However, majority of the studies imply that these technologies were not significantly applied during the COVID-19. This is because of them highlight the advantages that would have obtained with the implementation of these technologies. The possible reason could be that most companies, while they may have invested in some industry 4.0 technologies, had not implemented these technologies considerably especially in their supply chains. This could have been, as pointed, the significant cost involved (Reza et al 2021).  With the technologies being expensive to acquire and implement, most companies may have overlooked them despite their potential benefits. COVID-19 was unforeseen event. Such a pandemic had not been witnessed in recent times and as such, it could not have been predicted. Companies did not thereby put in place contingencies to handle such an event. As such, they did not redesign their supply chains to deal with the pandemic. It is for this reason that some studies such as that of Frederico (2021) recommend the implementation of industry 4.0 technologies in the supply chain in order to make it resilient to events such as COVID-19.

2.6 Summary

Basically, research shows that industry 4.0 technologies are gaining increasing application in companies and particularly in the supply chain. The benefits of applying these technologies in the supply chain include saving of time, error reduction, reduced time of completion, enhanced productivity, enhanced efficiency, improved collaboration among different players in the supply chain, and improved flexibility. For example, reviewed studies show that production levels have improved considerably with the implementation of industry 4.0 technologies in those companies that have adopted the technologies. Reviewed research also shows that industry 4.0 technologies helped or had the potential of helping companies to improve the level of resilience of their supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Reasons why these technologies had the potential of enhancing the resilience of supply chains include enhanced flexibility, transparency, and responsiveness. For example, reviewed research shows that it these technologies allow companies to track demand in the market and thereby react to it in real-time whenever it changes. These technologies also allow companies to track suppliers and pricing, which allow them to pick the best suppliers.