Industry 4.0, digitization, and opportunities for sustainability

A review of Internet of Things (IoT) embedded sustainable supply chain for industry 4.0 requirements

Purpose




Despite the variety of supply chain management (SCM) research, little attention has been given to the use of Big Data Analytics for increased information exploitation in a supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to theory development in SCM by investigating the potential impacts of Big Data Analytics on information usage in a corporate and supply chain context. As it is imperative for companies in the supply chain to have access to up-to-date, accurate, and meaningful information, the exploratory research will provide insights into the opportunities and challenges emerging from the adoption of Big Data Analytics in SCM.




Design/methodology/approach




Although Big Data Analytics is gaining increasing attention in management, empirical research on the topic is still scarce. Due to the limited availability of comparable material at the intersection of Big Data Analytics and SCM, the authors apply the Delphi research technique.




Findings




Portraying the emerging transition trend from a digital business environment, the presented Delphi study findings contribute to extant knowledge by identifying 43 opportunities and challenges linked to the emergence of Big Data Analytics from a corporate and supply chain perspective.




Research limitations/implications




These constructs equip the research community with a first collection of aspects, which could provide the basis to tailor further research at the nexus of Big Data Analytics and SCM.




Originality/value




The research adds to the existing knowledge base as no empirical research has been presented so far specifically assessing opportunities and challenges on corporate and supply chain level with a special focus on the implications imposed through Big Data Analytics.

Challenges and opportunities of digital information at the intersection of Big Data Analytics and supply chain management

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak shows that pandemics and epidemics can seriously wreak havoc on supply chains (SC) around the globe Humanitarian logistics literature has extensively studied epidemic impacts; however, there exists a research gap in understanding of pandemic impacts in commercial SCs To progress in this direction, we present a systematic analysis of the impacts of epidemic outbreaks on SCs guided by a structured literature review that collated a unique set of publications The literature review findings suggest that influenza was the most visible epidemic outbreak reported, and that optimization of resource allocation and distribution emerged as the most popular topic The streamlining of the literature helps us to reveal several new research tensions and novel categorizations/classifications Most centrally, we propose a framework for operations and supply chain management at the times of COVID-19 pandemic spanning six perspectives, ie, adaptation, digitalization, preparedness, recovery, ripple effect, and sustainability Utilizing the outcomes of our analysis, we tease out a series of open research questions that would not be observed otherwise Our study also emphasizes the need and offers directions to advance the literature on the impacts of the epidemic outbreaks on SCs framing a research agenda for scholars and practitioners working on this emerging research stream

/pdf/impacts-of-epidemic-outbreaks-on-supply-chains-mapping-a-460qwpj7tw.pdf

Impacts of epidemic outbreaks on supply chains: mapping a research agenda amid the COVID-19 pandemic through a structured literature review.

This paper presents current academic and industrial frontiers on blockchain application in supply chain, logistics and transport management. We conduct a systematic review of the literature and find four main clusters in the co-citation analysis, namely Technology, Trust, Trade, and Traceability/Transparency. For each cluster, and based on the pool of articles included in it, we apply an inductive method of reasoning and discuss the emerging themes and applications of blockchains for supply chains, logistics and transport. We conclude by discussing the main themes for future research on blockchain technology and its application in industry and services.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00207543.2019.1650976

Blockchain applications in supply chains, transport and logistics : a systematic review of the literature

Purpose – This paper aims to assess the links among these supply chain constructs by conducting a full-scale systematic review of all supply chain management (SCM) literature reviews published in ten leading logistics, SCM and operations management journals from 1989 to 2012. Collaboration and integration are as central to SCM as risk and performance management. Design/methodology/approach – The authors apply content analysis to execute the systematic literature review on the sample of 103 articles, supplemented by contingency analysis. These approaches guarantee a replicable, rigorous and transparent research process and minimize researcher bias. The analytical categories required for the content analysis are defined along the constructs of collaboration/integration and risk/performance. Findings – As can be expected, the review highlights the key role of the two constructs in SCM. In this light, the research claims to provide statistical evidence of a link between the constructs of collaboration/integra...

Florian Kache

Papers

Challenges and opportunities of digital information at the intersection of Big Data Analytics and supply chain management

Linking collaboration and integration to risk and performance in supply chains via a review of literature reviews