Lifecycle and Supply Chain Optimization in Industry 4.0

Dear Colleagues,

Industry 4.0 has fundamentally reformed manufacturing processes, resulting in much more efficient production and supply chain management than ever before. However, in addition to automatized industrial processes, digitalization has brought about great changes in many other related areas. One of these major fields is lifecycle management. It can be observed that the previous models have transformed or evolved, with some new management models also appearing, according to the specific needs of a given area. In addition to traditional product lifecycle management, service lifecycle management also plays an important role because of service-oriented Industry 4.0. The lifecycle management of software, applications, information, and systems is also continuously changing.

With adequate lifecycle management within various parts of the supply chain, it is evident that more transparent and efficient production can be achieved. Monitoring all of the elements of a smart factory can allow for proactive maintenance and production optimization; furthermore, advanced product lifecycle management can raise the user experience and can lead to greater customer satisfaction. This Special Issue aims to gather work related to supply chain and lifecycle management in general, especially in the aspect of Industry 4.0. Original and survey papers analyzing state-of-the-art in the area are also welcome. Reports on applications of existing models are interesting, as well as scientific achievements on the changes in current lifecycle management models, whether it is a change within a given model or possibly a description of how several lifecycle models can work together to achieve better lifecycle management. Furthermore, of course, it is particularly interesting to introduce research that presents new lifecycle models that did not exist before and were created to meet the changing needs brought about by Industry 4.0.

Prof. Dr. Pal Varga
Dr. Daniel Kozma
Prof. Dr. Felix Larrinaga
Guest Editors

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