Impact of Selected Intelligent Systems in Logistics on the Creation of a Sustainable Market Position of Manufacturing Companies in Poland in the Context of Industry 4.0

Within the broadly understood concept of Industry 4.0, many intelligent systems featuring artificial intelligence are used. Their importance in recent years has been growing. That can be attributed to a number of notable advantages these systems provide, including the possibility of expanding the manufacturer’s offer, greater customization of products, which facilitates reaching niche markets, as well as better internal and/or external communication (between the company and the consumer). Six such systems are brought into focus: The Internet of Things, Data Base, Cloud Computing, Blockchain, SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), and SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytics, Cloud). The aim of the study was to assess their relevance and impact on the market position of enterprises in Poland. The analysis is based on the research carried out by the authors in 2020 on a sample of production companies that use logistic supply chains in their operations. The conclusions are to some extent surprising, e.g., the companies do not believe that implementing intelligence systems gives them significant market advantage nor that the positive impact of these systems depends directly on the number of systems used.