Supply chain digitalization is a transformative phenomenon taking place nowadays in many industrial sectors. Industry 4.0 is an example of radical change in the manufacturing industry scenario, but innovation is expected to occur across the board (European A.T. Kearney/WHU Logistics Study 2015). It is extremely important not to just keep up with change, but to exploit technological advancement for an effective systemic growth of the supply chain. This is critical for the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) industry, that “provides engineering and architectural design, construction procurement and construction services in the industrial, infrastructure and building construction markets” (Toole T.M., Chinowsky P., Hallowell M.R., 2010). Companies active in this sector often operate in an intricate network of suppliers and clients, with a high degree of fragmentation and complexity. This might display several obstacles, such as the problematic links between the actors, and a disproportionate share of risk (McKinsey, 2017). Some peculiarities embedded in the EPC industries (e.g. construction and mining) may contribute to obstruct digital transformation: • Intellectual property and data sensibility, that prevents information from being seamlessly shared along the supply chain • The customization of the products delivered (capital projects such as dams, ships or highways can hardly ever become standardized products) • The low margins on which to base investments, that hence become high-risk investments. The aim of this Master of Science thesis is to develop the framework for the digital transformation in the EPC supply chain, intended to support firms operating in this sector to implement effectively the digital transformation. The retrieval of the documents from the existing literature has been the first step of this research for performing a systematic analysis of the phenomenon. The primary version of the framework for the digital transformation has been built basing on the systematic analysis of the findings obtained in this step. Later, case studies with industrial representatives of the EPC sector were performed with the aim of enriching the model of empirical information from the professional side. Such a deep exploration of the phenomenon has allowed to refine the primary model, obtaining a version that has been used to map the case studies.
La digitalizzazione della “supply chain” è un fenomeno di trasformazione che sta avvenendo in molti settori industriali. “Industry 4.0” è un esempio di cambiamento radicale nel settore manifatturiero, ma una fase di cambiamento e innovazione è attesa in ogni settore industriale (European A.T. Kearney/WHU Logistics Study 2015). È estremamente importante non solo essere consapevoli del cambiamento, ma anche saper sfruttare l’avanzamento tecnologico per una effettiva crescita del sistema “supply chain”. Questo è particolarmente importante per il settore EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction), che realizza progetti ingegneristici e opere di costruzione nel settore industriale (Toole T.M., Chinowsky P., Hallowell M.R., 2010). Le società attive in questo settore spesso operano in una intricata rete di fornitori e clienti, con un alto grado di frammentazione e di complessità. Questo può presentare diversi ostacoli, come rapporti problematici con i diversi attori della “supply chain”, e una sproporzionata percentuale di rischio (McKinsey, 2017). Alcune particolarità intrinseche al settore EPC possono contribuire a ostacolare la trasformazione digitale: • Proprietà intellettuale e sensibilità dei dati in uso, che complicano la possibilità di condividere dati con immediatezza attraverso la “supply chain” • La personalizzazione dei prodotti realizzati, che possono essere raramente standardizzati • I margini ridotti su cui si basano gli investimenti, che quindi sono considerati ad alto rischio. L’obiettivo di questa tesi di Laurea Magistrale è lo sviluppo di un “framework” per la trasformazione digitale nel settore EPC, teso al supporto delle società che operano in questo settore, e che ambiscono a implementare in maniera efficace la trasformazione digitale. L’ottenimento dei documenti dalla letteratura esistente è stato il primo passo di questa ricerca, volta ad analizzare in maniera sistematica il fenomeno. La versione iniziale del “framework” per la trasformazione digitale è stata costruita basandosi su una sintesi delle conclusioni di questa prima fase. In secondo luogo, sono stati svolti dei casi studio con dei rappresentanti del settore EPC, al fine di arricchire il modello iniziale con informazioni empiriche provenienti dal lato professionale. Questa dettagliata analisi del fenomeno ha permesso di rifinire il modello, ottenendo una versione finale che è stata utilizzata per mappare i casi studio.
Digital transformation in the EPC supply chain
MORGANTI, IGNAZIO SAVERIO
2017/2018
Abstract
Supply chain digitalization is a transformative phenomenon taking place nowadays in many industrial sectors. Industry 4.0 is an example of radical change in the manufacturing industry scenario, but innovation is expected to occur across the board (European A.T. Kearney/WHU Logistics Study 2015). It is extremely important not to just keep up with change, but to exploit technological advancement for an effective systemic growth of the supply chain. This is critical for the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) industry, that “provides engineering and architectural design, construction procurement and construction services in the industrial, infrastructure and building construction markets” (Toole T.M., Chinowsky P., Hallowell M.R., 2010). Companies active in this sector often operate in an intricate network of suppliers and clients, with a high degree of fragmentation and complexity. This might display several obstacles, such as the problematic links between the actors, and a disproportionate share of risk (McKinsey, 2017). Some peculiarities embedded in the EPC industries (e.g. construction and mining) may contribute to obstruct digital transformation: • Intellectual property and data sensibility, that prevents information from being seamlessly shared along the supply chain • The customization of the products delivered (capital projects such as dams, ships or highways can hardly ever become standardized products) • The low margins on which to base investments, that hence become high-risk investments. The aim of this Master of Science thesis is to develop the framework for the digital transformation in the EPC supply chain, intended to support firms operating in this sector to implement effectively the digital transformation. The retrieval of the documents from the existing literature has been the first step of this research for performing a systematic analysis of the phenomenon. The primary version of the framework for the digital transformation has been built basing on the systematic analysis of the findings obtained in this step. Later, case studies with industrial representatives of the EPC sector were performed with the aim of enriching the model of empirical information from the professional side. Such a deep exploration of the phenomenon has allowed to refine the primary model, obtaining a version that has been used to map the case studies.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/142935