Decision-making in the context of Industry 4.0: Evidence from the textile and clothing industry

Industry 4.0 arrives with a multitude of technological advances which impact the different components of a product’s value chain. Most existing research investigate the application of Industry 4.0 technologies in various parts of the manufacturing process. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive research on the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on decision-making and how it must be adapted in order to truly benefit from the advantages brought by these technologies. This paper is thus intended to give more enlightenment on the subject, with evidence brought from the textile and clothing industry. Following this objective, a systematic literature review of research articles associated with decision-making in the Industry 4.0 era is performed with a focus on the textile and clothing industry. Articles were retrieved from the Scopus database, and the selection procedure resulted in 61 research papers. Moreover, a content analysis was performed using tables and graphs featuring quantitative results which are grounded on the proposed taxonomy. This study permits to identify some decision-making trends such as data-driven, real-time, decentralized, integrated, and sustainable decision-making. Following these decision-making trends and technologies brought by Industry 4.0, we discuss the keys for a competitive textile and clothing industry of the future. Finally, challenges facing the industry are presented following two aspects including digitalization and Industry 4.0 technologies implementation as well as environmental and social responsibility.