Personalization of Products in the Industry 4.0 Concept and Its Impact on Achieving a Higher Level of Sustainable Consumption

Abstract

Sustainability is among the most important directions in global development. The challenge today is to reconcile the fastest possible economic growth and the pursuit of prosperity with concern for the environment. One of the important problems of modern economies and societies is to reduce overall consumption and implement new patterns of sustainable consumption and production. The main aim of this article was to analyze consumer preferences in terms of purchasing personalized production offered by implementing the concept of Industry 4.0 and ensuring sustainable consumption and production (SCP). Based on the analysis of the literature and the results of our own research, an attempt was made to estimate the impact of personalized production offered by the Industry 4.0 concept on SCP and thus the sustainable development of the economy. This article presents the results of a survey conducted on a selected group of consumers, focusing on learning about expectations, consumer preferences for personalized products and conscious consumption, and the results of a survey conducted using the Servqual method, determining the level of customer satisfaction with the purchase of personalized products. The most important achievement was to demonstrate a high level of consumer satisfaction with buying personalized products and the positive impact of personalized production on sustainable consumption. At the same time, the importance of developing the Industry 4.0 concept for supporting sustainable consumption-oriented consumer behavior is emphasized.

A Theoretical Framework for Industry 4.0 and Its Implementation with Selected Practical Schedules

“…Flexible automation of production lines, thanks to the introduction of programmable controllers and computers for industrial devices, enabled the extension of the range of products to the family of predefined modules, with production costs comparable to mass production. By choosing a specific product configuration from the catalog of available options, the desired level of his customization is achieved, thus satisfying the needs of more customers than in the case of non-personalization of the offer [8,23,24,[82][83][84]. (2) Producers use additive devices (e.g., 3D printers) and a customer becomes an active participant in product design.…”

“…The mentioned variants of business development are the authors' scientific contribution to building knowledge about the way of enterprises, aimed at transforming their enterprises into Smart Factory. The practical element of the work is to present the planned period of implementation of individual stages of work in enterprises (case study) [23]. The presented companies do not constitute a representative sample of all companies in a given industry.…”

Predictive Models of Accidents at Work in the Steel Sector as a Framework for Sustainable Safety

“…According to the Boston Consulting Group's 2015 report on Industry 4.0, there are specifically nine technological advances, which have created the new industry: learning machines and robots, simulation, cloud computing, integration in Cyber Physical System (CPS), the Internet of Things, cybersecurity, additive manufacturing, augmented reality, big data and analytics [86]. With the increased capabilities of collecting vast amounts hough more robots may work in Industry 4.0, the role of human beings is significant here [89][90][91]. Not to be missed is also the role of predictive data about work accident in enterprise management.…”

“…The fewer accidents, the fewer interruptions in production continuity. And although more robots may work in Industry 4.0, the role of human beings is significant here [89][90][91]. Not to be missed is also the role of predictive data about work accident in enterprise management.…”

The Concept of Cyber-Physical Networks of Small and Medium Enterprises under Personalized Manufacturing

“…This concept is the result of the need to increase the level of industrial production in Western Europe (independence from production coming from the markets of the Middle East) on the one hand, and on the other hand the opportunities offered by the process of digitization and networking of the economy [3]. The Industry 4.0 concept is understood as a joining of intelligent resources and enterprise systems, as well as the introduction of changes in production processes' management which are able to increase production efficiency and flexibility and guarantee a high level of production personalization [4].…”