Assessing the potential of emerging DIGITAL technologies to transform the production sector

The article proposes an approach to assessing the impact and potential of use of emerging digital technologies in the manufacturing sector, as part of the digitalization process intended to increase the competitiveness of companies. The methodology employed makes use of techniques such as focus groups, TOPSIS (using the HELDA software) and Balanced Scorecard to aggregate online and real-world inputs for achieving a ranking of emerging technologies based on a set of five relevant criteria. The results are then projected for implementation in production companies (especially SMEs) through a series of guidelines and recommendations that managers can act upon.