How transitioning to Industry 4.0 promotes circular product lifetimes

Resource conservation through extended product lifetimes has emerged as a rising mantra in various domains related to the circular economy. Meanwhile, it appears that product lifetime extension (PLE) is increasingly achievable through sophisticated technological production systems encapsulated in the concept of industry 4.0. To help managers and researchers understand the potential of PLE offered by crucial Industry 4.0 technologies, this study provides a systematic literature review synthesizing conceptual and empirical research demonstrating the PLE-Industry 4.0 nexus. Using the Digital Twin as a Service (DTaaS) as an architecture reference model for Industry 4.0, we identify four key constitutive technologies of Industry 4.0 (i.e., Additive Manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence, Internet-of-Things, and Big Data) that may contribute to improved product design, access, maintenance, redistribution, and recovery. The findings provide meaningful strategies that are actionable by managers to extend product lifetimes.