IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i21p9306-d1507234.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Proliferation of Artificial Intelligence in the Forklift Industry—An Analysis for the Case of Romania

Author

Listed:
  • Alexandru-Silviu Goga

    (Engineering and Industrial Management, The Faculty of Technological Engineering and Industrial Management, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500036 Brașov, Romania)

  • Zsolt Toth

    (Engineering and Industrial Management, The Faculty of Technological Engineering and Industrial Management, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500036 Brașov, Romania)

  • Mihai-Alin Meclea

    (Engineering and Industrial Management, The Faculty of Technological Engineering and Industrial Management, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500036 Brașov, Romania)

  • Ionela-Roxana Puiu

    (Engineering and Industrial Management, The Faculty of Technological Engineering and Industrial Management, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500036 Brașov, Romania)

  • Mircea Boșcoianu

    (Engineering and Industrial Management, The Faculty of Technological Engineering and Industrial Management, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500036 Brașov, Romania)

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the forklift industry, focusing on logistics and procurement within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Romania. Using a mixed-methods approach, including interviews with seven managers from a benchmarked company in the forklift industry (BCFI) and quantitative analysis of operational data, we examine the transformative effects of AI integration. Key findings include a 30% reduction in inventory holding costs due to AI-powered predictive analytics; a 15% decrease in procurement costs through AI-driven supplier evaluation systems; a 25% increase in operational efficiency from AI-optimized route planning; a 40% boost in overall productivity attributed to AI-enabled automation; and a projected 20% reduction in low-skilled labor requirements over the next five years. The study employs environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), balanced scorecard (BSC), benchmarking, and activity-based management (ABM) models to analyze risks and implications of AI integration. A case study of a leading Romanian SME in the forklift industry is presented, examining financial strategies using McKinsey’s 7S framework. The paper concludes that while AI offers significant operational benefits, it also presents challenges in workforce transition and ethical considerations that require careful management.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexandru-Silviu Goga & Zsolt Toth & Mihai-Alin Meclea & Ionela-Roxana Puiu & Mircea Boșcoianu, 2024. "The Proliferation of Artificial Intelligence in the Forklift Industry—An Analysis for the Case of Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-25, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:21:p:9306-:d:1507234
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/21/9306/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/21/9306/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gerda Žigienė & Egidijus Rybakovas & Robertas Alzbutas, 2019. "Artificial Intelligence Based Commercial Risk Management Framework for SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-23, August.
    2. Ruiqi Wei & Catherine Pardo, 2022. "Artificial intelligence and SMEs : How can B2B SMEs leverage AI platforms to integrate AI technologies?," Post-Print hal-04325639, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gerda Zigiene & Egidijus Rybakovas & Rimgaile Vaitkiene, 2020. "Challenges in Applying Artificial Intelligence for Supply Chain Risk Management," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(4), pages 299-318.
    2. Di Vaio, Assunta & Palladino, Rosa & Hassan, Rohail & Escobar, Octavio, 2020. "Artificial intelligence and business models in the sustainable development goals perspective: A systematic literature review," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 283-314.
    3. Raheem Bux Soomro & Sanam Gul Memon & Nisar Ahmed Dahri & Waleed Mugahed Al-Rahmi & Khalid Aldriwish & Anas A. Salameh & Ahmad Samed Al-Adwan & Atif Saleem, 2024. "The Adoption of Digital Technologies by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises for Sustainability and Value Creation in Pakistan: The Application of a Two-Staged Hybrid SEM-ANN Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-29, August.
    4. Howells, Jeremy, 2024. "Innovation intermediaries in a digital paradigm: A theoretical perspective," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    5. Harald Konnerth, 2023. "The Potential Of Ai In B2b E-Commerce: A Structured Literature Review," Economy & Business Journal, International Scientific Publications, Bulgaria, vol. 17(1), pages 114-133.
    6. Ali Nawaz Khan & Khalid Mehmood & Ahsan Ali, 2024. "Maximizing CSR impact: Leveraging artificial intelligence and process optimization for sustainability performance management," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4849-4861, September.
    7. Roxana-Maria Staneiu & Madalina-Elena Stratone & Dan-Cristian Dabija & Pompei Mititean, 2024. "Leveraging Neuroleadership and Adopting AI to Improve Human Capital Development in IT&C Business Organisations," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 26(67), pages 721-721, August.
    8. Lilian Mboya, 2021. "Augmenting Human Minds: Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Financial Risk Assessment," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 5(09), pages 307-311, September.
    9. Mohammad Rashed Hasan Polas & Valliappan Raju, 2021. "Technology and Entrepreneurial Marketing Decisions During COVID-19," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 22(2), pages 95-112, June.
    10. Jamshed Khalid & Mi Chuanmin & Fasiha Altaf & Muhammad Mobeen Shafqat & Shahid Kalim Khan & Muhammad Umair Ashraf, 2024. "AI-Driven Risk Management and Sustainable Decision-Making: Role of Perceived Environmental Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-21, August.
    11. Gerda Žigienė & Egidijus Rybakovas & Rimgailė Vaitkienė & Vaidas Gaidelys, 2022. "Setting the Grounds for the Transition from Business Analytics to Artificial Intelligence in Solving Supply Chain Risk," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-23, September.
    12. Björn Sven Ivens & Catherine Pardo & Ruiqi Wei, 2024. "Exclusion and inclusion on business markets : Impacts of the Internet-Of-Things (IoT)," Post-Print hal-04742811, HAL.
    13. Maryam Qureshi & Saima Hassan Ikram & Usman Bashir, 2024. "Role of Financial Innovation in Enhancing the Meezan Bank’s Market Share: Evaluating the Perception of Regional versus Branch Level Employees," Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 13(2), pages 647-655.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:21:p:9306-:d:1507234. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.