The Confluence of Lean Manufacturing and Industry 4.0: A Literature Review

Markets have been evolving more rapidly, and companies need to innovate and change constantly in line with them. Efficient management has become critical for success, and, to achieve it, businesses have adopted holistic methodologies like lean manufacturing. Since its creation, it has gained popularity among manufacturing contexts due mainly to the benefits achieved with it. Moreover, the evolution of digital systems and technological applications resulted in the birth of the fourth industrial revolution, which also gathered popularity in a short time. Extensive research has proved that lean manufacturing and industry 4.0 have contributed separately to companies worldwide in and outside manufacturing contexts. Now, it is questioned what would be expected if they were merged and implemented together. The present paper aims to provide answers to this question and insights into the topic. Through a wide literature review, it was investigated conceptual frameworks and practical case applications carried out in recent years to find tendencies and advancements in the integration of the concepts of lean manufacturing and industry 4.0, as well as the combination of their constituting tools and technologies. The study demonstrates that both concepts have been progressively merging (i.e., reaching confluence) over the years, theoretically and practically. However, this confluence is still precarious, and it needs more business adoption and academic research to reach maturity. It is expected that at least the manufacturing sector will continue to adopt the integration in the future.