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Climate change and digitisation are unquestionably the two defining features of this era. Both present immense challenges with unimaginable consequences for humankind while promising enormous rewards for those who can adequately address their adverse effects. These two critical factors must be considered while establishing strategies for the businesses' future operations. Hence, post-pandemic, especially with the rise of online commerce, packages and documents are delivered around the globe nearly every day, propelling the logistics industry's growth. This is not the critical challenge in logistics, the issue of sustainability, particularly as the returns are increasing exponentially, leading to a significant impact on transportation is and its reliance on fossil fuel has made it a prime target for society's growing environmental concerns. Thus, real-time visibility, collaboration and integration in reverse logistics (RL) are imperative for business sustainability. The most applicable Industry 4.0 technologies in RL are the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, blockchain and digital twin that enable the defragmentation of the RL market.

This chapter analyses the technological impact of Industry 4.0 on RL. This research investigates the challenges faced by the logistics industry in the context of sustainability and how digital transformation can bring many potential benefits across the entire value chain. This chapter also presents a guidance for a framework based on the literature review that tends to favour the development of elastic logistics, implying improved company responsiveness to market conditions. The study contributes to the body of literature and the establishment of the framework for planning on the application of various Industry 4.0 technologies in developing eco-friendly and sustainable reverse logistics framework.

The purpose of this paper is to achieve intelligent superstore site selection. Yonghui Superstores partnered with Cardinal Operations to incorporate a tremendous amount of site-related information (e.g. points of interest, population density and features, distribution of competitors, transportation, commercial ecosystem, existing own-store network) into its store site optimization.

This paper showcases the integration of regression, optimization and machine learning approaches in site selection, which has proven practical and effective.

The result was the development of the “Yonghui Intelligent Site Selection System” that includes three modules: business district scoring, intelligent site engine and precision sales forecasting. The application of this system helps to significantly reduce the labor force required to visit and investigate all potential sites, circumvent the pitfalls associated with possibly biased experience or intuition-based decision making and achieve the same population coverage as competitors while needing only half the number of stores as its competitors.

To our knowledge, this project is among the first to integrate regression, optimization and machine learning approaches in site selection. There is innovation in optimization techniques.

Significant advances in digital technologies impact both organisations and knowledge workers alike. Organisations are now able to effectively analyse significant amounts of data, while accomplishing actionable insight and data-driven decision-making through knowledge workers that understand and manage greater complexity. For decision-makers to be in a position where sufficient information and data-driven insights enable them to make informed decisions, they need to better understand fundamental constructs that lead to the understanding of deep knowledge and wisdom. In an attempt to guide organisations in such a process of understanding, this research study focuses on the design of an organisational transformation framework for data-driven decision-making (OTxDD) based on the collaboration of human and machine for knowledge work. The OTxDD framework was designed through a design science research approach and consists of 4 major enablers (data analytics, data management, data platform, data-driven organisation ethos) and 12 sub-enablers. The OTxDD framework was evaluated in a real-world scenario, where after, based on the evaluation feedback, the OTxDD framework was improved and an organisational measurement tool developed. By considering such an OTxDD framework and measurement tool, organisations will be able to create a clear transformation path to data-driven decision-making, while applying the insight from both knowledge workers and intelligent machines.

With the advent of the intelligent environment, as novice researchers, graduate students face digital challenges in their research topic selection (RTS). The purpose of this paper is to explore their cognitive processes during data-driven decision making (DDDM) in RTS, thus developing technical and instructional strategies to facilitate their research tasks.

This study developes a theoretical model that considers data-driven RTS as a second-order factor comprising both rational and experiential modes. Additionally, data literacy and visual data presentation were proposed as an antecedent and a consequence of data-driven RTS, respectively. The proposed model was examined by employing structural equation modeling based on a sample of 931 graduate students.

The results indicate that data-driven RTS is a second-order factor that positively affects the level of support of visual data presentation and that data literacy has a positive impact on DDDM in RTS. Furthermore, data literacy indirectly affects the level of support of visual data presentation.

These findings provide support for developers of knowledge discovery systems, data scientists, universities and libraries on the optimization of data visualization and data literacy instruction that conform to students’ cognitive styles to inform RTS.

This paper reveals the cognitive mechanisms underlying the effects of data literacy and data-driven RTS under rational and experiential modes on the level of support of the tabular or graphical presentations. It provides insights into the match between the visualization formats and cognitive modes.

The purpose of this research paper is to study the digital accelerators in conjunction with lean manufacturing enablers in the technology driven Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and understand their interrelationship dynamics with a goal to accelerate the pace of manufacturing excellence.

Literature review coupled with the focus group approach facilitated to cull the key accelerating enablers to lean in I4.0. Thereafter, application of the multi criteria decision making methodology–DEMATEL (Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) was carried out for analysis.

A total of 18 factors from the integration of lean in I4.0 were identified from the focus group approach. The analysis from DEMATEL approach reflected that big data analytics and technology driven talent were the two most important factors in the manufacturing excellence journey. Leadership standard work and continuous improvement culture were the two key cause category factors, while, just in time the critical effect category factor.

Analysis from DEMATEL approach has provided useful insights to industry leaders with the details of the degree of importance and type of influencing factors. It has given them direction in areas of investment to face the challenges of smart factories of tomorrow for sustainability.

Application of DEMATEL approach for analyzing the dynamics of the 18 factors in the integrated lean systems in I4.0 for manufacturing excellence.

This work aims to review past and present articles about data-driven quality management (DDQM) in supply chains (SCs). The motive behind the review is to identify associated literature gaps and to provide a future research direction in the field of DDQM in SCs.

A systematic literature review was done in the field of DDQM in SCs. SCOPUS database was chosen to collect articles in the selected field and then an SLR methodology has been followed to review the selected articles. The bibliometric and network analysis has also been conducted to analyze the contributions of various authors, countries and institutions in the field of DDQM in SCs. Network analysis was done by using VOS viewer package to analyze collaboration among researchers.

The findings of the study reveal that the adoption of data-driven technologies and quality management tools can help in strategic decision making. The usage of data-driven technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning can significantly enhance the performance of SC operations and network.

The paper discusses the importance of data-driven techniques enabling quality in SC management systems. The linkage between the data-driven techniques and quality management for improving the SC performance was also elaborated in the presented study.

With production systems become more digitized, data-driven maintenance decisions can improve the performance of production systems. While manufacturers are introducing predictive maintenance and maintenance reporting to increase maintenance operation efficiency, operational data may also be used to improve maintenance management. Research on the value of data-driven decision support to foster increased internal integration of maintenance with related functions is less explored. This paper explores the potential for further development of solutions for cross-functional responsibilities that maintenance shares with production and logistics through data-driven approaches.

Fifteen maintenance experts were interviewed in semi-structured interviews. The interview questions were derived based on topics identified through a structured literature analysis of 126 papers.

The main findings show that data-driven decision-making can support maintenance, asset, production and material planning to coordinate and collaborate on cross-functional responsibilities. While solutions for maintenance planning and scheduling have been explored for various operational conditions, collaborative solutions for maintenance, production and logistics offer the potential for further development. Enablers for data-driven collaboration are the internal synchronization and central definition of goals, harmonization of information systems and information visualization for decision-making.

This paper outlines future research directions for data-driven decision-making in maintenance management as well as the practical requirements for implementation.

The growing turbulence of the external environment has progressively led to the necessity by organizations of exploiting new opportunities provided by data-driven approaches for supporting the even more complex decision-making processes. The new digital environment has led to the development and adoption of innovative approaches; also in the urban context which has always been characterized by different, interconnected, and dynamic dimensions. Urban governance models have been enhanced by smart technologies, which act as enablers of advanced services and foster connections between citizens, public and private organizations, and decision-makers. In this context, the objective of this chapter is to examine the role of data-driven approaches in the urban context during the chaotic and high variable circumstances related to the diffusion of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Thanks to the adoption of the co-evolutionary perspective, a cycle in urban governance decision-making approach based on digital technologies is depicted and its contribution for managing the ongoing Covid-19 is traced. The results of the analysis highlight how the data-driven approach supports urban decision-making process and shed light on the co-evolutionary perspective as heuristic device to map the interactions settled in the networks between local governments, data-driven technologies, and citizens. In this sense, this chapter offers interesting insights, potentially capable of generating useful implications for both researchers and professionals in the public sector.

Digitalization accelerates the need of tourism and hospitality ecosystems to reframe business models in line with a data-driven orientation that can foster value creation and innovation. Since the question of data-driven business models (DDBMs) in hospitality remains underexplored, this paper aims at (1) revealing the key dimensions of the data-driven redefinition of business models in smart hospitality ecosystems and (2) conceptualizing the key drivers underlying the emergence of innovation in these ecosystems.

The empirical research is based on semi-structured interviews collected from a sample of hospitality managers, employed in three different accommodation services, i.e. hotels, bed and breakfast (B&Bs) and guesthouses, to explore data-driven strategies and practices employed on site.

The findings allow to devise a conceptual framework that classifies the enabling dimensions of DDBMs in smart hospitality ecosystems. Here, the centrality of strategy conducive to the development of data-driven innovation is stressed.

The study thus developed a conceptual framework that will serve as a tool to examine the impact of digitalization in other service industries. This study will also be useful for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) managers, who seek to understand the possibilities data-driven management strategies offer in view of stimulating innovation in the managers' companies.

The paper reinterprets value creation practices in business models through the lens of data-driven approaches. In this way, this paper offers a new (conceptual and empirical) perspective to investigate how the hospitality sector at large can use the massive amounts of data available to foster innovation in the sector.