Search results

The advent of the digital technologies (DTs), coincided with the pandemic and global conflicts, has proven to be an unprecedented and transformative era for supply chain management (SCM). DTs are reshaping the way organizations plan, execute, and optimize their SC operations. Throughout this book, we posit that the adoption of digital supply chain management (DSCM) has become essential for staying competitive and responsive in a rapidly evolving business environment. However, amid technological advancements and digital solutions, there exists a critical factor that often goes overlooked – the significance of intangible assets, specifically intellectual capital (IC). This chapter comprehensively explores the role of an organization's IC in the adoption and performance of DSCM. We employ a comprehensive analytical approach, drawing upon existing literature from various sources to elucidate the relationship between IC and DSCM. Synthesizing insights from the literature, the chapter shows how each constituent of IC contributes to the adoption, operation, and performance improvement of DSCM. The discussion in the chapter shows that human capital (HC) forms foundations, as the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) of the employees are prerequisites essential for understanding, adopting, and capitalizing on DTs in SCM. The analysis also reveals that SC, which represents organizational processes, digital tools, and knowledge repositories, supports the seamless integration of DTs within SCs. Similarly, RC, by nurturing trust, open communication, and collaborative networks, plays an instrumental role in establishing ecosystems that help the adoption and effective functioning of DSCM. This chapter makes a convincing case to consider IC as the strategic component while DSCM adoption and performance.

This final chapter delves into the future of digital supply chain management (DSCM) amid today's dynamic business environment, shaped by technological advancements and factors like automation, artificial intelligence (AI), sustainability, and resilience. It emphasizes the crucial role of digital technologies (DTs) such as AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial IoT, and the Internet of Everything (IoET), along with blockchain, in revolutionizing supply chain operations. These technologies enable agility, flexibility, efficiency, and responsiveness, crucial for supply chains to proactively adapt to market changes. The chapter explores the trends in DSCs, focusing on real-time data analytics, end-to-end visibility, sustainability, and resilience. It highlights the growing importance of transparency in supply chains, driven by consumer demand for sustainable practices and product origins. DSCM is identified as pivotal for prioritizing sustainability, leading organizations toward green practices. Despite the opportunities in DSCM, challenges like cybersecurity, data management complexities, geopolitical uncertainties, and talent shortages are acknowledged. To overcome these, the chapter stresses strategic foresight in DSCM and the importance of robust process management, risk management, and talent development. The future-readiness of supply chain professionals is discussed, highlighting the need for change management, development of social and deep work skills, collaboration, and ethical practices. The chapter concludes by underscoring the transformative potential of DTs in the digital era, urging organizations to embrace innovation, transparency, and sustainability in their supply chains, recognizing that the future of DSC is an imminent reality.

The implementation of digital technologies shifts the way firms manage their supply chains with the objective of obtaining closer relationships with their partners. The main improvement is that each partner can access others’ information in real time. This gives rise to the concept of digital supply chain where interconnectedness is the link. Applying digital technologies has reported innumerable benefits, and despite the fact that only a few firms make full use of them, they have become a very promising future trend.

This study aims to review the literature on supply chain and digital technologies in relation to the different benefits that each of these technologies provides in the different stages of the supply chain. Eventually, this will provide a guide to determine and select those technologies that best suit the needs of a firm according to their characteristics within the supply chain.

One of the fundamental objectives of adopting digital supply chain (DSC) is to uplift the performance of an organization. Although a wide variety of literature confirms the impact of DSC on performance, it is hard to explore as to which dimensions of the performance is affected by DSC and how much. This chapter undertakes discussion on the impact of DSC on the various organizational performance indicators. The chapter also denotes some major key performance indicators (KPIs) that organization can track to gauge the impact of DSC on performance. A brief discussion on the challenges related to the development, adoption, and continuation of KPIs is also appeared in the later part of the chapter. The chapter concludes by denoting that the utilization of digital technologies (DTs) such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and complex analytics in DSC has prospects for enhancing the operational efficiency, transparency, and agility of a supply chain (SC). Organizations that adopt these DTs have experienced better demand forecasting, reduced time order fulfillment time, and higher levels of consumer satisfaction. Nonetheless, the successful use of DSC requires development and implantation of KPIs regularly.

The convergence of the digital supply chain (DSC) with sustainability presents promising opportunities and notable challenges for today's enterprises. This chapter explores the relationship between digital supply chain management (DSCM) and sustainability within the context of supply chain management. It begins by providing a detailed overview of the digital transformation in supply chain management, emphasizing its rapid evolution and its profound impact on sustainability. The chapter then delves into the various sustainability challenges that manifest within DSCs, including issues related to energy consumption, e-waste management, and environmental impact. It goes beyond environmental considerations, exploring social and ethical dimensions, such as the potential consequences of digitalization on socioeconomic disparities. Moreover, the chapter presents a comprehensive framework of best practices and strategies aimed at navigating these challenges. It highlights the utilization of digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain to enhance transparency, efficiency, and responsible sourcing. Real-world case studies are included to exemplify successful implementations of sustainable practices across diverse industries. In conclusion, the chapter emphasizes the imperative of a holistic, authentically sustainable supply chain transformation, underpinned by digital technologies, to advance sustainability objectives while adeptly addressing emerging challenges in the ever-evolving landscape of supply chain management.

The unpredictable distribution of globalization has directed the world economy and revealed the need to establish cooperation in all business processes. This global structure also highlights the necessity of designing an agile supply chain that is capable of continuous information sharing during end-to-end transportation for the purpose of creating sustainable connections. In this process, various strategies enhanced with contemporary information and communication technologies have been developed to create a fast and accurate data-sharing network between logistics service providers and supply chain parties. However, unlike the short-term interruptions experienced in the past, COVID-19 has caused unprecedented problems in the dynamics of most economies. In eliminating these problems, it has been seen that information communication technologies, which provide the advantage of digital visibility in normal operations, need to be redesigned with the technology of the autonomous age. To meet this requirement, Industry 4.0, a revolutionary conceptual trend that started roughly a decade ago but that has become considerably more widespread during COVID-19, has been integrated into business models as a key concept that governs intelligent transformation in the chain. This process, which is today considered a compulsory intelligent transformation rather than an alternative method, has however led to some conflicts, especially in adaptation, expertise, and security subjects. This chapter of the book evaluates, within the scope of cybersecurity and workforce in logistics services, the conflicts created by the digital solution methods that have been integrated into business models to reduce the negative effects of COVID-19.

Industry 4.0 and the digital supply chain (DSC) are changing how things are made and moved around the world. This change is all about how smart technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain are making supply chains work better. These tools help companies react faster and more clearly to what's needed. By using these new technologies, businesses can get better at guessing what customers want, keeping the right amount of stock, and quickly adjusting to new market trends. With these advanced technologies, companies can see big improvements, like being able to match supply with demand more closely and change their plans fast when things in the market change. It is really important for businesses to get how these tech tools work together as the world of making and selling things keeps changing. This chapter examines the convergence of traditional supply chain systems with Industry 4.0, focusing on the transformative impact of technologies such as the IoT, AI, and blockchain.

The supply chain is undergoing a significant digital transformation to adapt to the increasingly digitalized and globalized business environment. To remain competitive in this evolving market, businesses must seamlessly integrate digital technologies throughout the supply chain, spanning all stages from procurement to distribution. This chapter delves into models and methodologies critical to digital supply chain (DSC) transformation, with a focus on advanced techniques such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and data analytics to boost the resilience and agility of supply chain operations. By leveraging practical examples and case studies, the chapter highlights the myriad enhancements digital transformation can introduce across diverse supply chain stages, including sourcing and after-sales service. Additionally, the chapter examines the complexities of cybersecurity, data integrity, and change management within the digital transformation framework, proposing strategies to address these challenges. The insights offered in this chapter will serve as a thorough guide for both practitioners and scholars in the supply chain field, equipping them to adeptly navigate the multifaceted arena of digital transformation.

This chapter provides an integrated overview of digital implementation in smart city ecosystems, focusing on the data ecosystem, the data value chain, and the digital implementation in smart cities. It acknowledges the opportunities and challenges presented by the growth of big data and its impact on delivering public services and coordinating local ecosystems in smart cities. This chapter introduces the concept of a smart city data ecosystem and explores the implementation of digital solutions, highlighting the role of local management and internal and external providers. It examines the digitalization of processes and services, technological infrastructure, and social media in the context of the smart city, emphasizing the interaction between local and national data ecosystems. This chapter incorporates interviews with smart city managers, policymakers, and technicians involved in the digital development process, offering valuable insights into the practical implementation and usage of data management within smart cities and the potential impact on urban development.

The implementation of circular economy (CE) initiatives has come under the spotlight in recent years with research ranging from business strategy and practices, supply chain implications, and regional or national policy developments. This highlights the multilevel nature of research and importantly the different scales of action required to move toward the CE. This chapter specifically addresses this issue of levels and scales by presenting and analyzing three complementary cases in the agri-food sector. Lessons learnt from this analysis include the need to consider value and impact across multiple levels and how companies and their supply chains can contribute to the scale of action needed.