Model of Logistics Factors and their Impact on the Competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises within the Industry 4.0 Paradigm

Abstract

The creation of new actions that promote the competitiveness of Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME) is due to SME expansion. In Mexico, according to data provided by the National Institute of Geography and Statistics (INEGI), there are about 4 million 15 thousand business units, of which the 99.8% are SME that generate 52% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 72% of the jobs in the country. This means that choosing a right logistics and supply chain strategy requires using a creative process to develop an appropriate corporate strategy, using logistical factors that help to increase the SMEs competitiveness within the Industry 4.0 paradigm. The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of every logistical factor on the SME competitiveness in the plastics injection field. The methodology applied in this research consists of first carrying out a literature review of many databases in order to identify the logistical factors, then, each one of these factors will be operationalized and thus, an instrument with 33 items will be produced. This instrument was validated according to content and criterion. To conclude, a first order factor model will be used to know the effect of each one of the logistical factors. The results of the theory review were 7 factors: transportation, distribution, inventory management, production, customer service, storage and supplying and purchases. In the validation stage, the Kendall Index and Cronbach’s alfa were 0.366 and 0.907 respectively, which are acceptable ratings. Likewise, the factorial model presents acceptable adjustment indexes, being the customer service factor the most meaningful with a standardized weight of 0.906. Keywords: Competitiveness, logistical factors, Multivariate Analysis