Maturity model toll to diagnose Industry 4.0 in the clothing industry

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a diagnostic instrument of the maturity of Industry 4.0 technologies adapted to the textile and clothing sector and constructed based on the technological references that support this industrial evolution process.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed methodology began with the systematic literature review using the SciMAT software and then a questionnaire was developed with 49 questions divided into 5 categories – demography, technologies, strategy, digital skills and benefits of the deployment.

Findings

The application in 19 different sectors and 72 people in a textile industry showed this sector is still traditional. The diagnosis results pointed that the level of implementation of Industry 4.0 is considered the first level, later advancing in this order to levels of connectivity, visibility, predictability and adaptability of the processes.

Research limitations/implications

Only in one company was applied the developed instrument, in this case study, a factory that makes children's and adult clothing items located in Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Practical implications

Through the use of this assessment instrument, it is possible to perform an internal benchmarking at the company detecting the strong and weak points, as well as involve a multidisciplinary collaborator team.

Social implications

The comparisons and improvements may be carried out per dimension or sector, which motivates the constant application and assessment of improvements. The instrument to diagnose the maturity of Industry 4.0 technologies in the textile and clothing sector is considered an effective tool for application in a single company or to have its use expanded in a new piece of research to the entire industrial textile segment.

Originality/value

The developed diagnostic tool may be used for both the internal assessment of the company and its placement relative to its competitors, involving several companies from the same sector. It is possible to know about what level of Industry 4.0 maturity the company is and after benchmarking by others and improve.

Citation

Dal Forno, A.J., Bataglini, W.V., Steffens, F. and Ulson de Souza, A.A. (2023), "Maturity model toll to diagnose Industry 4.0 in the clothing industry", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 201-219. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-09-2021-0241