A systematic review of machine learning in logistics and supply chain management: current trends and future directions

Abstract

Purpose

This paper presents a review of the existing state-of-the-art literature on machine learning (ML) in logistics and supply chain management (LSCM) by analyzing the current literature, contemporary concepts, data and gaps and suggesting potential topics for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic/structured literature review in the subject discipline and a bibliometric analysis were organized. Information regarding industry involvement, geographic location, research design and methods, data analysis techniques, university, affiliation, publishers, authors, year of publications is documented. A wide collection of eight databases from 1994 to 2019 were explored using the keywords “Machine Learning” and “Logistics“, “Transportation” and “Supply Chain” in the title and/or abstract. A total of 110 articles were found, and information on a chain of variables was gathered.

Findings

Over the last few decades, the application of emerging technologies has attracted significant interest all around the world. Analysis of the collected data shows that only nine literature reviews have been published in this area. Further, key findings show that 53.8 per cent of publications were closely clustered on transportation and manufacturing industries and 54.7 per cent were centred on mathematical models and simulations. Neural network is applied in 22 papers as their exclusive algorithms. Finally, the main focuses of the current literature are on prediction and optimization, where detection is contributed by only seven articles.

Research limitations/implications

This review is limited to examining only academic sources available from Scopus, Elsevier, Web of Science, Emerald, JSTOR, SAGE, Springer, Taylor and Francis and Wiley which contain the words “Machine Learning” and “Logistics“, “Transportation” and “Supply Chain” in the title and/or abstract.

Originality/value

This paper provides a systematic insight into research trends in ML in both logistics and the supply chain.

Citation

Akbari, M. and Do, T.N.A. (2021), "A systematic review of machine learning in logistics and supply chain management: current trends and future directions", Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 28 No. 10, pp. 2977-3005. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-10-2020-0514