Assessing Lean barriers for Lean 4.0 implementing in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): a combinatorial approach of CoCoSo and fuzzy DEMATEL

Purpose Global competition is putting a lot of pressure on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to adopt Lean 4.0 (L4.0) into their manufacturing supply chain (SC) to reduce waste, improve production efficiency and enhance product quality to achieve reduced product costs. Because I4.0 technologies are Wi-Fi enabled, they require L4.0 tools and procedures to be digitalized for better integration, such as data from the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to Jidoka, which presents several difficulties for SMEs. The L4.0 barriers make it difficult for SMEs to easily adopt L4.0 into their production systems. The current study identifies and ranks the L4.0 barriers that SMEs face when implementing L4.0. Design/methodology/approach This research adopts the “Combined Compromise Solution (CoCoSo)” and “Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (FDEMATEL)” methodologies to identify the potential barriers to L4.0 implementation. Data were gathered from practicing managers, supervisors, section engineers, group leaders and stakeholders from manufacturing SMEs using qualitative and quantitative approaches to ensure comprehensive insights into the L4.0 barriers to its implementation in SMEs. Findings The present research uses CoCoSo for evaluating and prioritizing the L4.0 barriers. The analysis reveals three potential barriers: “High Costs of Implementation, Integration with Existing Systems, and Lack of a Skilled Workforce in I4.0 Technology”, as the most significant barriers to L4.0 implementations in SMEs. The FDEMATEL analysis classifies the L4.0 barriers into “cause” and “effect” groups to understand their causal influence. The cause group of L4.0 barriers consists of High Costs of Implementation, Integration with Existing Systems and Regulatory and Compliance Challenges. The effect group includes Lack of Skilled Workforce in I4.0 Technology, Resistance to Change and Limited Knowledge of I4.0 Technology. Controlling these L4.0 barriers will help SMEs optimize L4.0 implementation strategies. Originality/value The present research contributes to the growing knowledge of L4.0 by highlighting potential L4.0 barriers to accomplishing the manufacturing supply chain (SC) of SMEs. The manufacturing sector is most prominent in boosting economic development. The results provide SMEs with a realistic roadmap for successfully implementing L4.0 to attain operational excellence and competitiveness.