【Keynote Speech】Reconfigurable Seru Production Systems: Pioneering Responsiveness and Resilience in the Industry 4.0 Era

【Abstract】The advent of Industry 4.0 marks a paradigm shift towards the integration of digital and physical systems, necessitating production systems to exhibit enhanced responsiveness and resilience against fluctuating market demands and unforeseen disruptions. Traditional production paradigms like the Toyota Production System (TPS) or LEAN, while lauded for cost efficiency, exhibit inherent limitations in agility, especially in catering to innovative product segments characterized by volatile demand. This paper explores the transition towards innovative production models such as Seru Production Systems, which are designed for rapid reconfigurability, thereby enabling swift responses to dynamic market changes without sacrificing efficiency. We delve into the intrinsic ability of Seru Systems to frequently and dynamically reconfigure, aligning with the market's evolving demand for diverse and innovative products. Furthermore, the paper elucidates how such advanced production systems can navigate the trade-off between efficiency and flexibility, a central theme in achieving both responsiveness and resilience. Through a comparative analysis between conventional and advanced production systems, we underscore the significance of modular and decentralized structures in enhancing production agility. Utilizing real-time data and Industry 4.0 technologies, these advanced production systems foster a synergistic interaction between the digital and physical realms, enabling predictive analytics and real-time adjustments that are quintessential for operational excellence in today's volatile market landscape. The findings illuminate a pathway towards melding responsiveness with resilience, ushering a new era of production systems capable of thriving amidst the challenges and opportunities presented by Industry 4.0.

【Biography】Professor Yin Yong graduated with a Ph.D. from Tohoku University, Japan, in 2002. He is currently a professor at the Graduate School of Business at Doshisha University, Japan, He is the chief editor of the international journal "Asian Journal of Management Science and Applications" and serves as the deputy editor for several other international journals. He has published over 100 journal papers. Two of his award-winning papers are particularly relevant to this conference. The first, “Lessons from seru production on manufacturing competitively in a high cost environment,” was published in the Journal of Operations Management and earned the Best Paper Award mention in 2018. The second, “The evolution of production systems from Industry 2.0 through Industry 4.0,” featured in the International Journal of Production Research (IJPR), was recognized as an ESI Highly Cited Best Paper and was highlighted among the Leading Scholars in Production Research for the 55th volume anniversary of IJPR. In his presentation, he will further discuss and expand on these concepts, emphasizing Responsive and Resilient Production Systems.