Nicolò Saporiti

Lean and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) mutually reinforce operational excellence. Recently, however, companies have been urged to move beyond efficiency towards Industry 5.0 (I5.0), centred on sustainability, resilience, and human-centricity. Since I5.0 builds on I4.0 technologies, and Lean-I4.0 synergies are well established, scholars have suggested that their integration could support the transition to I5.0. Yet research remains limited and fragmented, often addressing the three pillars separately and discussing Lean and I4.0 at a high level, without identifying concrete practice-technology pairings for implementation. This study addresses this gap through a systematic literature review and proposes a framework showing how Lean practices and I4.0 technologies contribute to the three I5.0 pillars. The findings reveal multiple pairings, while also showing that several Lean practices remain underexplored, some relevant I4.0 technologies lack Lean integration, and current links focus mainly on manufacturing and shop-floor management. A future research agenda is proposed.