Modelling of an Economic Process Using Smart Technologies in Manufacturing in the Context of Industry 4.0: A Case Study

ERP-type systems emerged with companies needing to manage complex economic processes, such as supply chain management or sales e-commerce. This article benchmarks step by step how an existing business process in a complex information system such as ERP can be modelled, adapted, and implemented using emerging intelligent technologies. Based on a practical case for a factory in Romania producing subassemblies for the automotive industry, the authors seek to answer three questions: 1) What impact does integrating smart technologies have on the business environment to be competitive in an increasingly technological world? 2) Can the definition of relevant KPIs necessary to highlight the effectiveness of adopting and adapting smart technologies in day-to-day business be a factor in measuring the effectiveness of integrating emerging technologies? 3) Does reshaping business processes by integrating emerging technologies have a positive effect on the business environment? In this practical case, the research method used to remodel the economic processes was the interventionist method. Special attention was paid to how employees, the company's main resource, adapted to the changes that came with integrating these smart technologies into their way of working and how they perceived solving problems using smart technologies. The findings and results of this scientific paper support the positive correlation between the successful implementation of intelligent solutions and the contribution of employees putting them into practice. Thus, adopting and adapting intelligent solutions leads to better positioning the business in a world of constant competition. This paper provides a perspective on how companies need to rethink how they do business and apply policies that make technologies work to help business run smoothly in a changing world and an increasingly pragmatic and unpredictable business environment.