Exploiting Information Systems for Circular Manufacturing Transition: A Guiding Tool

Paper i proceeding, 2023

The diffusion of the circular economy (CE) paradigm in manufacturing companies, also known as Circular Manufacturing (CM), has been triggered by the intensive exploitation of natural resources and the associated negative environmental impacts generated. According to CM, natural resources consumption should be minimized, and their life cycle should be extended or reintegrated into new life cycles after usage. In this context, the digital transformation of manufacturing companies, exploiting both Industry 4.0 technologies and information systems (IS), may support them not only in their process management but also in embracing CM strategies. To take this digital and circular transformative path, the synergic exploitation of IS for CE adoption is essential. The extant literature presents scattered knowledge about the potential to exploit data collected from IS to implement CM strategies. Therefore, the research objective is to support companies in using IS to implement CM strategies, by integrating into a unique CM-IS framework. First, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify the direct correlation between specific IS and CM strategies, and also the related parameters influencing a good synergy among them. Subsequently, a maturity model has been developed to provide a practical framework to assess the current state of a manufacturing company in adopting IS for CM strategies implementation. The maturity model has also been integrated with a SWOT analysis module to define a roadmap to improve the current state of the company assessed. Last, the maturity model has been applied to an industrial use case showing the benefits from IS exploitation for CM purposes.