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Cold supply chain technology is critical for extending the shelf life of perishable leafy green vegetables. This study aims to investigate the concept of managing leafy green products using cold supply chain technology and visualise the findings.

Using expert interviews and data visualisation approaches, this study examines how organisations deal with the complexity of cold supply chain processes and networks. Thematic data analysis was conducted. Two types of software were used to accomplish the research objectives. The first software used AntConc version 3.5.8 with word frequency (N-gram) analysis, whereas the second software, VOSViewer offered co-occurrence network visualisation and cluster analysis.

The findings show that the appropriate design of cold chain technology is critical in ensuring the freshness and quality of leafy green vegetables. The primary goal of managing the complexity of the cold supply chain is to achieve product freshness and energy efficiency. Regardless of the importance of energy efficiency, cold supply chains require warehouse management solutions for transportation and storage.

This study found that proper design and selection of appropriate technology in the cold supply chain have driven the companies to improve the firms’ competitive advantage while delivering the best quality of perishable leafy green food products. In addition, the freshness, quality, safety, and health of leafy green vegetables will be determined by the company’s capacity to handle long-distance transportation and select the appropriate distribution channels and storage. Warehouse management system technology was found to be secondary compared to cold chain technology, although distribution and warehousing practices are critical for supply chain performance.

This study has established the conceptual indicators based on best practices and outcomes for the cold supply chain. This study argued that cold supply chain management and performance should be monitored independently. Furthermore, the theory of technological adoption can be expanded to include product nature as a driver. Finally, this study has established cold chain best practices based on a perishable supply chain perspective. The findings of this study can promote healthy foods to solve zero hunger and achieve sustainable development goals. Although this study demonstrates that technology improves supply chain practises, cold storage and logistics benefit the most from technological advancements. In contrast, non-cold supply chains benefit from technology-driven improvements in performance.

This research investigates how to optimize storage location assignment to decrease the order picking time and the waiting time of orders in the staging area of low-temperature logistics centers, with the goal of reducing food loss caused by temperature abuse.

The authors applied ABC clustering to the products in a simulated database of historical orders modeled after the actual order pattern of a large cold logistics company; then, the authors mined the association rules and calculated the sales volume correlation indices of the ordered products. Finally, the authors generated three different simulated order databases to compare order picking time and waiting time of orders in the staging area under eight different storage location assignment strategies.

All the eight proposed storage location assignment strategies significantly improve the order picking time (by up to 8%) and the waiting time of orders in the staging area (by up to 22%) compared with random placement.

The results of this research are based on a case study and simulated data, which implies that, if the best performing strategies are applied to different environments, the extent of the improvements may vary. Additionally, the authors only considered specific settings in terms of order picker routing, zoning and batching: other settings may lead to different results.

A storage location assignment strategy that adopts dispersion and takes into consideration ABC clustering and shipping frequency provides the best performance in minimizing order picker's travel distance, order picking time, and waiting time of orders in the staging area. Other strategies may be a better fit if the company's objectives differ.

Previous research on optimal storage location assignment rarely considered item association rules based on sales volume correlation. This study combines such rules with several storage planning strategies, ABC clustering, and two warehouse layouts; then, it evaluates their performance compared to the random placement, to find which one minimizes the order picking time and the order waiting time in the staging area, with a 30-min time limit to preserve the integrity of the cold chain. Order picking under these conditions was rarely studied before, because they may be irrelevant when dealing with temperature-insensitive items but become critical in cold warehouses to prevent temperature abuse.

This study aims to explore how sustainable business models (SBM) can be developed within agri-innovation systems (AIS) and emphasize an integration of the two with a systemic understanding for reducing food loss and value loss in postharvest agri-food supply chain.

This study conducted longitudinal qualitative research in a developing country with food loss challenges in the postharvest supply chain. This study collected data through multiple rounds of fieldwork, interviews and focus groups over four years. Thematic analysis and “sensemaking” were used for inductive data analysis to generate rich contextual knowledge by drawing upon the lived realities of the agri-food supply chain actors.

First, this study finds that the value losses are varied in the supply chain, encompassing production value, intrinsic value, extrinsic value, market value, institutional value and future food value. This happens through two cumulative effects including multiplier losses, where losses in one model cascade into others, amplifying their impact and stacking losses, where the absence of data stacks or infrastructure pools hampers the realisation of food value. Thereafter, this study proposes four strategies for moving from the loss-incurring current business model to a networked SBM for mitigating losses. This emphasises the need to redefine ownership as stewardship, enable formal and informal beneficiary identification, strengthen value addition and build capacities for empowering communities to benefit from networked SBM with AIS initiatives. Finally, this study puts forth ten propositions for future research in aligning AIS with networked SBM.

This study contributes to understanding the interplay between AIS and SBM; emphasising the integration of the two to effectively address food loss challenges in the early stages of agri-food supply chains. The identified strategies and research propositions provide implications for researchers and practitioners seeking to accelerate sustainable practices for reducing food loss and waste in agri-food supply chains.

This study aims to discover the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the agricultural cold supply chain (ACSC) and analyze their consequences on the performance of ACSC within the bounds of Indian topography.

The KPIs have been explored based on the literature review both in global and Indian context and domain expert's opinions. The interdependency characteristics and cause–effect relationship among the KPIs have been analyzed using a fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (f-DEMATEL) approach.

The findings extracted from the empirical assessment of the problem find strong compliance with the notions of theoretical model assessment. The results highlight that the cost of product waste and operating and performance costs are the two most important performance indicators of an Indian ACSC. Furthermore, governmental policies and regulations and the effectiveness of cold chain (CC) equipment also have a high degree of influencing characteristics on ACSC performance.

To connect the study with practicalities, the assessment of the KPIs is allied with real-time practices by clustering the beliefs of Indian professionals. Therefore, the decision-making behavior of the experts might be influenced by geographical constraints. However, the key findings provide advantages to the ACSC players, a bright hope for future food security and a significant profit for farmers.

The presented paper encompasses various aspects of the ACSC, including theoretical and empirical perspectives exercised to contemplate the system dynamics, which inculcates the essence of the associated practicalities. Thus, this study has various practical contributions relevant to managerial and societal perspectives.

The digital warehouse management system is an emergence that forms a critical part of the transformation of economic structure in Industry 4.0. In the present business scenario, the warehouse management system encounters a messy layout, poor damage control, unsatisfactory order management, lack of visibility and lack of technological interventions. Digital twin (DT) based warehouse system shows the ontology and knowledge graphs for competitive advantage by consolidating and transferring goods directly from an inbound supplier to an outbound customer on short notice and with no or limited storage. There remains a lack of clarity on how the DT can be implemented successfully in warehouse management.

The current literature remains largely unstructured and scattered due to a lack of a systematic approach to integrating the research implications and analysis. This paper probes the conceptualization of the DT with the help of theoretical analysis using the systematic literature analysis method.

The study explores essential concepts such as interoperability and integrability in implementing DT. Further, it analyzes the role of a supply chain control tower (SCCT) in modern supply chain management. A research framework is proposed for practitioners and academicians by incorporating the opportunities and challenges associated with DT implementation. The research findings are mainly threefold: Conceptualization of DT, Featuring SCCT and Exploration of cross-computer platform interfaces, scalability and maintenance strategies.

This study is among the first to analyze and review DT applications in warehouse management. Moreover, the study proposes a theoretical toolbox for the practitioners to successfully implement the DT in warehouse DT-based warehouse management system: A theoretical toolbox for future research and applications.

The purpose of this study is to examine how the implementation of edge computing can enhance the progress of the circular economy within supply chains and to address the challenges and best practices associated with this emerging technology.

This study utilized a streamlined evaluation technique that employed Latent Dirichlet Allocation modeling for thorough content analysis. Extensive searches were conducted among prominent publishers, including IEEE, Elsevier, Springer, Wiley, MDPI and Hindawi, utilizing pertinent keywords associated with edge computing, circular economy, sustainability and supply chain. The search process yielded a total of 103 articles, with the keywords being searched specifically within the titles or abstracts of these articles.

There has been a notable rise in the volume of scholarly articles dedicated to edge computing in the circular economy and supply chain management. After conducting a thorough examination of the published papers, three main research themes were identified, focused on technology, optimization and circular economy and sustainability. Edge computing adoption in supply chains results in a more responsive, efficient and agile supply chain, leading to enhanced decision-making capabilities and improved customer satisfaction. However, the adoption also poses challenges, such as data integration, security concerns, device management, connectivity and cost.

This paper offers valuable insights into the research trends of edge computing in the circular economy and supply chains, highlighting its significant role in optimizing supply chain operations and advancing the circular economy by processing and analyzing real time data generated by the internet of Things, sensors and other state-of-the-art tools and devices.

Nowadays, the agri-food industry is called to face several sustainability challenges that require the development of new sustainable models. The adoption of new technological assets from Industry 4.0 supports the companies during the implementation of sustainability practices. Several models design the operation management of the food supply chains (FSCs). Because none extant models resulted complete in technological and sustainability elements, this paper aims to propose an innovative and sustainable agri-food value chain model, contributing to extend understating of how supply chains can become more sustainable through the Industry 4.0 technologies.

Thanks to a well-structured and replicable systematic literature review and sequent content analysis, this work recognized and compared the extant FSC models, focusing on the interaction of five key elements: activities, flows, stakeholders, technologies and sustainability. The output of the comparison leading in the definition of the proposed model is discussed in a focus group of 10 experts and tested in a case study.

Fifteen extant models were recognized in literature and analysed to discover their features and to putt in light peculiarities and differences among them. This analysis provided useful insights to design and propose a new innovative and sustainable agri-food value chain model; an example for the olive oil business case is provided.

The adding value of the work is the proposed model which regards innovative elements such as recirculation flows, external stakeholders and Industry 4.0 technologies usage which allows enhancing the agri-FSCs operational efficiency and sustainability.

Despite the growing interest in the field, the literature overlooks how supply chains influence or interact with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To fill this gap, this study aims to assess the influences of Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) on the implementation of the UN SDGs.

A systematic literature review of 97 publications was carried out by using the Web of Science database and the support of ATLAS.ti software. In addition, this research also explored how the top 20 Forbes companies are aligned with the SDGs by analysing their sustainability reports.

The findings suggest that the literature and the analysed companies primarily concentrate on certain SDGs while neglecting others, revealing potential areas of interest for future research. Based on the findings, the study provides valuable insights into the connections between SSCM and the UN SDGs, highlighting the potential benefits of SSCM in reducing environmental, social and economic pressures and contributing to sustainable development. It also identifies areas where further research and policy development are needed to maximise the potential benefits of SSCM.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, no other studies have conducted a comprehensive exploration of the literature linking SSCM and the SDGs framework. Moreover, the study differs from others since it combines research data with practical information from company reports, to identify specific issues related to supply chain management.

This study investigates the supply chain efficiency of selected companies in the Indian food processing sector. Additionally, it explores the relationship between supply chain efficiency and firm performance.

To determine the supply chain efficiency, the study uses supply chain efficiency measures, such as supply chain length, inefficiency ratio and working capital productivity. Secondary data were collected from the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) Prowess database for the years 2011–2017. Various return measures, such as Return on Net Worth (RONW), Return on Total Assets (ROTA) and Return on Capital Employed (ROCE), were used to measure firm performance. Collected data were analyzed to investigate the relationship between supply chain efficiency and firm performance.

Findings of the study reveal the prevalence of inefficient supply chains in the context of the selected companies. There is a significant negative correlation between supply chain efficiency and firm performance. RONW has a significant negative correlation with the length of supply chain as well as supply chain inefficiency.

This study expands the limited existing research perspective; the study helps to understand the supply chain efficiency and firm performance.

This is an original piece of work and provides valuable insight into the relationship between supply chain efficiency and firm performance.

Amidst compounding crises and increasing global population’s nutritional needs, food supply chains are called to address the “diet–environment–health” trilemma in a sustainable and resilient manner. However, food system stakeholders are reluctant to act upon established protein sources such as meat to avoid potential public and industry-driven repercussions. To this effect, this study aims to understand the meat supply chain (SC) through systems thinking and propose innovative interventions to break this “cycle of inertia”.

This research uses an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the meat supply network system. Data was gathered through a critical literature synthesis, domain-expert interviews and a focus group engagement to understand the system’s underlying structure and inspire innovative interventions for sustainability.

The analysis revealed that six main sub-systems dictate the “cycle of inertia” in the meat food SC system, namely: (i) cultural, (ii) social, (iii) institutional, (iv) economic, (v) value chain and (vi) environmental. The Internet of Things and innovative strategies help promote sustainability and resilience across all the sub-systems.

The study findings demystify the structure of the meat food SC system and unveil the root causes of the “cycle of inertia” to suggest pertinent, innovative intervention strategies.

This research contributes to the SC management field by capitalising on interdisciplinary scientific evidence to address a food system challenge with significant socioeconomic and environmental implications.