Data and information management for circular economy in the manufacturing industry

Purpose: Information systems are essential for ensuring the efficient and effective operations of manufacturing firms, both internally and along the supply chain. Digital technologies have been recognized by the literature as a key enabler for a transition to a circular economy (CE) [1]. Data and information are needed to operate both information systems and digital technologies. Despite the optimistic view on digital technologies to enable a CE, the knowledge of which data and information are needed is scarce. The purpose of this work is to shed light on the linkages among data, information, and supply chain processes to enact circular strategies in the manufacturing industry. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic literature review has been conducted, and 111 articles were selected, analyzed and categorized. Inspired by the smart CE framework [2], we categorize the literature based on the Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom (DIKW) pyramid [3]. Based on the Supply Chain Operations Reference – Digital Standard (SCOR DS) [4], the literature was categorized based on which SCM process the literature covered; i.e., orchestration, plan, order, source, transform, fulfil, and return. The literature was also categorized based on which circular strategies they supported. For that we used the circular strategies framework for manufacturing companie developed by Blomsma et al. [5]. On a technology level the research was divided into which digital technology they covered. Findings – The study identifies gaps related to data and information needs for CE in the literature. The scientific literature indicates that more research on data is needed to be able to utilize digital technologies in general, and specific information systems for a CE transition in the industry. The study also sees an overoptimistic view on artificial intelligence (AI) to solve identified challenges within data and information management. Practical implications – Findings can be used by manufacturing companies for understanding their data needs and master data requirements in the process of applying one or more CE strategies. Findings can also be useful for information system providers, in a way to help them structuring software more suitable for supporting circular redesign strategies. Relevance/contribution – The relevance of this study relies on understanding of data requirement for a circular transition in the manufacturing industry, both present, and for the future.