Industry 4.0 as a competitive advantage : intelligent solutions and perceived financial performance
Romppainen, Jenni (2024-05-13)
J. Romppainen
13.05.2024
© 2024 Jenni Romppainen. Ellei toisin mainita, uudelleenkäyttö on sallittu Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) -lisenssillä (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Uudelleenkäyttö on sallittua edellyttäen, että lähde mainitaan asianmukaisesti ja mahdolliset muutokset merkitään. Sellaisten osien käyttö tai jäljentäminen, jotka eivät ole tekijän tai tekijöiden omaisuutta, saattaa edellyttää lupaa suoraan asianomaisilta oikeudenhaltijoilta.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202405133362
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202405133362
Tiivistelmä
The aim of this thesis is to explore the perceptions of the benefits, opportunities, and threats related to Industry 4.0 as well as the role of management accounting in relation to Industry 4.0. Another aim of this study is to map potential angles for future research.
This study is commissioned by Indalgo Oy, an Industry 4.0 solutions provider. The case company is a large multinational manufacturing company chosen among the clients of Indalgo based on the level of Industry 4.0 implementation.
The findings of this study support the notions of previous academic literature, as they show that there is certainty in the financial and operational benefits of Industry 4.0. Even if the case company doesn’t measure the direct implications of Industry 4.0 solutions, they were convinced of these benefits especially regarding the future. The case company has already seen some operational improvements, for example related to labor productivity, which can be seen to improve the overall financial performance. The opportunities Industry 4.0 presents were recognized, although the perceptions of the future role of Industry 4.0 wasn’t seen as disruptive as current academic research suggests. The most significant threat Industry 4.0 brings, especially when evaluating the economic implications, seems to be cyber security related issues.
Within the case company, the role of management accounting was quite small during the consideration and implementation of Industry 4.0 solutions, and even now the role is mostly related to recording costs instead of a more involved, even strategic, role. Management accounting could provide valuable insights before implementation by offering data for decision making and giving insights related to resource usage, for example. Management accounting could even have a strategic role related to Industry 4.0.
This study aims to fill the gap in current research related to Industry 4.0 from the perspective of management accounting. Manufacturing organizations can benefit from the findings of this study to gain certainty on the financial implications, future opportunities, and threats of Industry 4.0. In conclusion, these results can provide valuable information to support decision-making in manufacturing organizations.
This study is commissioned by Indalgo Oy, an Industry 4.0 solutions provider. The case company is a large multinational manufacturing company chosen among the clients of Indalgo based on the level of Industry 4.0 implementation.
The findings of this study support the notions of previous academic literature, as they show that there is certainty in the financial and operational benefits of Industry 4.0. Even if the case company doesn’t measure the direct implications of Industry 4.0 solutions, they were convinced of these benefits especially regarding the future. The case company has already seen some operational improvements, for example related to labor productivity, which can be seen to improve the overall financial performance. The opportunities Industry 4.0 presents were recognized, although the perceptions of the future role of Industry 4.0 wasn’t seen as disruptive as current academic research suggests. The most significant threat Industry 4.0 brings, especially when evaluating the economic implications, seems to be cyber security related issues.
Within the case company, the role of management accounting was quite small during the consideration and implementation of Industry 4.0 solutions, and even now the role is mostly related to recording costs instead of a more involved, even strategic, role. Management accounting could provide valuable insights before implementation by offering data for decision making and giving insights related to resource usage, for example. Management accounting could even have a strategic role related to Industry 4.0.
This study aims to fill the gap in current research related to Industry 4.0 from the perspective of management accounting. Manufacturing organizations can benefit from the findings of this study to gain certainty on the financial implications, future opportunities, and threats of Industry 4.0. In conclusion, these results can provide valuable information to support decision-making in manufacturing organizations.
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Ellei muuten mainita, aineiston lisenssi on https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/