Citation: Qureshi, K.M.; Mewada, B.G.; Kaur, S.; Qureshi, M.R.N.M. Assessing Lean 4.0 for Industry 4.0 Readiness Using PLS-SEM towards Sustainable Manufacturing Supply Chain. Sustainability 2023, 15, 3950. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15053950 Academic Editor: Mirco Peron Received: 25 January 2023 Revised: 17 February 2023 Accepted: 19 February 2023 Published: 21 February 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). sustainability Article Assessing Lean 4.0 for Industry 4.0 Readiness Using PLS-SEM towards Sustainable Manufacturing Supply Chain Karishma M. Qureshi 1, * , Bhavesh G. Mewada 1 , Sumeet Kaur 2 and Mohamed Rafik Noor Mohamed Qureshi 3 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Parul Institute of Technology, Parul University, Waghodia 391760, India 2 Area the Quantitative Techniques and Operations Management, FORE School of Management, New Delhi 110016, India 3 Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia * Correspondence: kariq18@gmail.com Abstract: Lean 4.0 (L4.0) plays a significant role in reducing waste and enhancing productivity for a sustainable manufacturing supply chain in Industry 4.0 (I4.0). L4.0, with its soft and hard practices, may be well integrated into I4.0 to enhance its readiness. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are attempting to prepare themselves for I4.0 readiness. Hence, the present research explores L4.0 in terms of its soft and hard practices to understand its holistic relationship with I4.0’s readiness for delivering a sustainable manufacturing supply chain. To reap the maximum benefits, several traditional lean thinking practices and lean management principles should be combined with internet-enabled I4.0 technologies. The result of the present empirical analysis revealed that the soft L4.0 practices of top management leadership (TML), customer focus (CF), and employee training and learning (ETL) influence the hard L4.0 practices of total productive maintenance (TPM), statistical process control (SPC), and advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) to have a positive significant influence on operational readiness (OR) and technological readiness (TR). Keywords: Industry 4.0; I4.0 readiness; Lean 4.0; PLS-SEM; ANN; soft and hard lean practices 1. Introduction The manufacturing supply chain has experienced a paradigm shift as a result of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) [1]. Firms are integrating new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, data analytics, Lean 4.0 (L4.0), artificial intelligence, machine-to- machine (M2M) communication, and cyber-physical systems (CPS) in their manufacturing activities of production systems. The fourth industrial revolution is based on internet-based technologies. I4.0 enables the implementation of L4.0 to reduce the lead time, labor, material, and equipment resources towards reducing wastage [2,3]. I4.0 includes both major and small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) to significantly contribute to the sustainable growth of the country. Similar to large enterprises, SMEs have also been attempting to transform their activities using L4.0 to become I4.0 oriented. I4.0 is being chosen by businesses seeking improvement in productivity, enhancing economic growth, and ensuring manufacturing sustainability [4]. L4.0 and I4.0 both aim to boost productivity and flexibility in production processes [5]. Lean manufacturing seeks to get rid of all waste in the production process. Several initiatives such as identifying non-productive activities, process streamlining, and standardizing routine formulations may help in waste elimination [6,7]. In the past, lean manufacturing has put a lot of emphasis on being customer-centered. Recently, L4.0 has enabled manufacturing organizations to take a more in-depth look at waste reduction [8]. It is crucial to look at the soft and hard practices of L4.0 as they might have an impact on I4.0. The effect of soft lean practices on hard lean practices and their combined positive effect on business performance has been revealed [9]. L4.0 and green Sustainability 2023, 15, 3950. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15053950 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability