INDUSTRY 4.0 TECHNOLOGIES AND OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF UNILEVER KENYA AND L’OREAL EAST AFRICA

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies and applications on FMCGs manufacturers in Kenya, with specific reference to L'Oréal East Africa and Unilever. Design/Research method: The two companies were selected for the study because they are among the largest FMCGs manufacturers in Kenya, thus the size of their operations is almost equal. Therefore, the study was conducted through a case-study design. Data was collected using an interview guide and the information interpreted through descriptive statistics. Finding: The study established that Industry 4.0 technologies (autonomous robots, big data and analytics, augmented reality, cloud computing, and operations) helps in enhancing operational performance in FMCGs specifically in predicting demand, understanding consumer behavioural patterns, minimizing errors and enhancing flexibility for effective decision making. Limitation: There was the lack of previous studies on Industry 4.0 adoption in Kenya to provide a foundation for the research this being a new area of technology adoption in organization since the study was limited to people working in Unilever and L'Oréal East Africa, thus the findings cannot be generalized to all the other manufacturing companies in the country. Implication: The companies can improve the integration of the technologies in their operations by developing an updated industry 4.0 implementation plan and communicate the information to employees to improve their readiness for the change.