Is South African Manufacturing SMMEs Ready for the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

Abstract

The fourth industrial revolution is unquestionably resulting in significant changes in the workforce landscape, technological advancements, industry relations and it affects all aspects of society and the economy. This research paper is based on results from an earlier study focused on the challenges faced by small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), sharing results from survey data and in-depth interview analyses conducted. A sample of 66 SMMEs was selected purposefully from the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA)’s database where manufacturing SMMEs alluded to some of the critical challenges they are facing. A key finding from the research was that technological advancement and digital manufacturing are significant challenges for manufacturing SMMEs in South Africa. Small businesses are critical to South Africa’s ability to participate profitably in the fourth industrial revolution. The research shows that there are significant challenges for manufacturing SMMEs and that should be urgently addressed if South Africa is to participate advantageously in the fourth industrial revolution. This study recommends embedding technology into education and embracing new advancements and machinery within the education system. A change in the education system will help create a supply for future skills needed in the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing SMMEs contribute to a stronger economy and should embrace automation and artificial intelligence; this requires determined and collaborative efforts from government, its agencies and private sector through broader information sharing, planning for future skills and a dedicated fund for technology and modern machinery funding across various industries, particularly manufacturing.

Emerging Roles of Small and Medium Enterprises in the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Africa

“…For SMEs, resource limitation, low bargaining power, and the existing business model unsuitable for 4IR are prime (Muller & Voigt, 2016;Muller, Kiel & Voigt, 2018). Further, the process of technology diffusion by large organisations differs from that of small and medium scale businesses (Mabotja, 2018;Manda & Dhaou, 2019;Xu et al, 2018). Like many scholars suggested, Menon & Fink (2019) added that developing countries like Africa have the opportunity to leap-frog and bypass the traditional phases of industrial development through the adoption of the technology of the 4IR.…”

“…As noted by Asghar et al (2020), developing countries lack technical manpower that can drive the 4IR; therefore, in responding to the 4IR, Africa needs an adequate supply of knowledgeable scientific, technical, and decision manpower in industry 4.0 technologies. Although, countries like South Africa, Mauritius, Botswana, and a few others have relatively high numbers of skilled workers compared with the majority of countries in the region (Mabotja, 2018). However, these few countries cannot successfully implement the 4IR in Africa; hence establishing a regional strategy may be necessary.…”

Social Innovation in the Academic Curricula of Chemical Science Degrees in South Africa

“…Discussion in government forums in South Africa has not focused on social entrepreneurship and the quality of life (Littlewood and Holt, 2018). However, the economic crisis has resulted in a growing number of social entrepreneurship initiatives in the country (Manyaka, 2015) in the form of small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) (Mabotja, 2019). This was also the case in Latin America, where Galego, Amorim, Dias, and Sarmento (2018a) noted that the economic crisis led to the adoption of social innovation to create jobs for the youth.…”

Moulding information systems components and agitations for the adoption of enterprise application architecture for supply chain management

“…In the global economy, enterprises focus on competitive strategies which include engagement in real-time SC planning, developing a collaborative SC strategy, adopting innovative SC automation solutions, implementing agile process improvements and considering cost drivers and business impacts, thus small and medium enterprises (SMEs) counsel within Capricorn District Municipality (Andriole 2020;Monroy 2020). A recent study by Mabotja (2019) exhibits significant challenges faced by SMEs because of the low participation rate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The objectives of SCM include shaping the SC from strategic innovation, 1 creating seamless SC operations by coordinating and integrating all activities and processes, implementing long-term relationships, managing SC information and evaluating the performance of the entire SC.…”