ADOPTING SMART MANUFACTURING: SPECIFIC NEEDS AND CHALLENGES OF SMALL, MEDIUM, AND MICRO ENTERPRISES (SMMES)

• Kazeem Bello Department of Mechanical Engineering, Durban University of Technology, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2543-2590
• Rendani Maladzhi Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7475-2131
• Mukondeleli Grace Kanakana-Katumba Department of Mechanical Engineering, Durban University of Technology, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3773-8538

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7166/35-3-3101

Abstract

Smart manufacturing (SM) promotes a company’s key performance indicators (KPI) and provides a competitive advantage for business owners who successfully adopt it. This paper aims to evaluate the current conditions of South Africa small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs), their frameworks, specific requirements, and problems. To achieve the goal of this study, a literature review was conducted to identify research gaps that needed to be addressed in order to support SMMEs successfully in their progress towards the adoption of SM. The results show that no specific SM frameworks are available to reflect the specific requirements and challenges of SMMEs. This study provides insights that would aid in developing realistic SM adoption requirements for SMMEs that precisely reflect their business realities. SMME stakeholders could clearly define their SM-specific goals with the assistance of an SM framework that is specifically tailored to support their needs.