To digitalize or not? Navigating and merging human- and technology perspectives in production planning and control

Abstract

Contemporary manufacturing companies are navigating industrial digitalization anticipating increased production efficiency and competitiveness in a volatile environment. This study focuses on the implementation processes of digital tools for production planning and control (PPC), i.e., advanced planning and scheduling (APS) software, in relation to the application of analog planning with physical flow boards. Digital tools can support understanding the consequences of production changes and variations, hence facilitating adaptable and resilient manufacturing. However, technological changes can be daunting, and effective implementations require dynamic capabilities to remain competitive in elusive environments. The aim is to study the implementation processes of an APS software to understand the requirements of fruitfully moving from analog planning to next-generation digital tools for decision support in PPC. The paper presents an explorative case study, at a manufacturing company within the energy sector. The interview study took place over 9 months during 2020–2021, investigating current and retrospective aspects of the case across 2019–2021. The case study comprises 17 in-depth interviews with a range of company employees, e.g., logistics managers and functions responsible for digitalization development. The results highlight the challenges of implementing and especially trusting digital tools for PPC. To realize the value of digital tools for PPC, it is argued that it is imperative to simultaneously apply a human-centric perspective in decision making to ensure trustworthy, sustainable, and resilient human-data-technology nexus implementations towards smart manufacturing.

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