Ricerc@Sapienza

The rapid development and adoption of Internet and digital technologies
dramatically changed business processes, leading to a disruptive digital transformation
of the whole industry value chain. The so-called Industry 4.0 refers to a
complex evolution of the entire industrial sector that includes technological
advances in production equipment (i.e. Additive Manufacturing), smart finished
products (IoT), data tools and analytics, involving activities and stakeholders at all
levels. Therefore, companies need to completely redesign their business processes
and models in order to achieve the important benefits disclosed by these new
settings. Even though actual and potential advantages are remarkable, only a limited
number of companies has already made rapid advances by developing high digital
capabilities necessary to obtain a competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper
is to explore this emerging trend through a case study carried out with an Italian
company world leader in the food industry, aiming to shed light on opportunities
and threats connected to digital transition.