Lean Six Sigma and Industry 4.0 combination: scoping review and perspectives

The current market is characterised by a high level of customisation, leading to aggressive competition between companies to respond to customer needs. To keep their competitiveness, companies search continually to improve their efficiency, flexibility, and performance. With the advent of Industry 4.0 (I4.0), new technologies are developed to increase connectivity and automate processes. Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is known for its capacity to solve complex problems using statistical methods. I4.0 affects almost everything including LSS. Thus, a new combination is emerging LSS4.0 aiming at further increasing the operational excellence for companies. Therefore, the aim of this paper, as the first scoping review in this field, is to present the results of existing studies on the LSS and I4.0 integration, find the gaps in the literature, and provide directions for future studies. The paper proposes a framework that categorises the findings into three main discussed directions, which are relationship, implementation, and impact on performance.