Table 1 Summary of Industry 4.0 technologies that may mitigate supply chain issues caused by COVID-19 [13, 22–25]

Lack of supply chain flexibility

Big data analytics [22]

Lack of government support

Blockchain [22]

Lack of trust

Blockchain [22] and Digital connectivity [25]

Communication issues

IoT, Cloud Computing [22] and supply chain automation [25]

Lack of security and safety

Robotic and automated devices [22]

Shortage of manpower

Cloud-based systems (for training and education) [22]

Consumer Behavior

Big data analytics and AI [22]

Lack of balance in supply and demand

Data Analytics [22]

Poor infrastructure

Flexible layout [22]

Lack of medical facilities

AI, blockchain and IoT [22]

Lack of viability

Simulation [13] (i.e. digital supply chain twins [23])

Lack of access

Cybersecurity (high levels of remote access to core systems) [24] and localization of sourcing [25]