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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.

Vehicle allocation problems (VAPs), which are frequently confronted in many transportation activities, primarily including but not limited to full truckload freight transportation operations, induce a significant economic impact. Despite the increasing academic attention to the field, literature still fails to match the needs of and opportunities in the growing industrial practices. In particular, the literature can grow upon the ideas on sustainability, Industry 4.0 and collaboration, which shape future practices not only in logistics but also in many other industries. This review has the potential to enhance and accelerate the development of relevant literature that matches the challenges confronted in industrial problems. Furthermore, this review can help to explore the existing methods, algorithms and techniques employed to address this problem, reveal directions and generate inspiration for potential improvements.

This study provides a literature review on VAPs, focusing on quantitative models that incorporate any of the following emerging logistics trends: sustainability, Industry 4.0 and logistics collaboration.

In the literature, sustainability interactions have been limited to environmental externalities (mostly reducing operational-level emissions) and economic considerations; however, emissions generated throughout the supply chain, other environmental externalities such as waste and product deterioration, or the level of stakeholder engagement, etc., are to be monitored in order to achieve overall climate-neutral services to the society. Moreover, even though there are many types of collaboration (such as co-opetition and vertical collaboration) and Industry 4.0 opportunities (such as sharing information and comanaging distribution operations) that could improve vehicle allocation operations, these topics have not yet received sufficient attention from researchers.

The scientific contribution of this study is twofold: (1) This study analyses decision models of each reviewed article in terms of decision variable, constraint and assumption sets, objectives, modeling and solving approaches, the contribution of the article and the way that any of sustainability, Industry 4.0 and collaboration aspects are incorporated into the model. (2) The authors provide a discussion on the gaps in the related literature, particularly focusing on practical opportunities and serving climate-neutrality targets, carried out under four main streams: logistics collaboration possibilities, supply chain risks, smart solutions and various other potential practices. As a result, the review provides several gaps in the literature and/or potential research ideas that can improve the literature and may provide positive industrial impacts, particularly on how logistics collaboration may be further engaged, which supply chain risks are to be incorporated into decision models, and how smart solutions can be employed to cope with uncertainty and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of operations.

In recent years, technology diffusion, globalization and the Internet revolution have accelerated the growth of online transactions and altered corporate operations systems. The emergence of computer technology and the Internet have changed the way businesses work. The purpose of this study is to find and identify any common patterns in the logistics and supply chain industries for job requirements using job posting content in Malaysia.

This study provides an exploratory assessment of the employability skill set required using online job posting advertisements. Online job posting advertising, also known as e-recruiting, is one field that has been significantly influenced by information technology. In addition, the current Covid-19 outbreak has created a new need for a long-term contactless talent acquisition process in the organization's operating systems.

Based on this study's findings, the top ten skills required by employers for logistics and supply chain positions are (1) supply chain analytics, (2) technological aptitude, (3) teamwork skills, (4) customer focus, (5) leadership skills, (6) interpersonal skills, (7) people skills, (8) creativity and resilience, (9) demand and supply forecasting ability, and (10) project management skills. Overall, the findings provide a road map for practitioners and academics interested in developing supply chain managers' necessary skills and competencies to manage current and future supply networks. It also allows companies to adjust their supply chain management hiring, training and retention methods.

Although the study was done in Malaysia, the supply chain skills and competencies stated in this study, as well as their categorization, can be applied in other developing countries.

This study aims to examine the effect of Industry 4.0 technology on resilience in established cross-border supply chain(s) (SC).

A literature review provides insight into the resilience capabilities of cross-border SC. The research uses a case study of operational international SC: the producers, importers, logistics companies and UK Government (UKG) departments. Semi-structured interviews determine the resilience capabilities and approaches of participants within cross-border SC and how implementing an Industry 4.0 Internet of Things (IoT) and capitals Distributed Ledger (blockchain) based technology platform changes SC resilience capabilities and approaches.

A blockchain-based platform introduces common assured data, reducing data duplication. When combined with IoT technology, the platform improves end-to-end SC visibility and information sharing. Industry 4.0 technology builds collaboration, trust, improved agility, adaptability and integration. It enables common resilience capabilities and approaches that reduce the de-coupling between government agencies and participants of cross-border SC.

The case study presents challenges specific to UKG’s customs border operations; research needs to be repeated in different contexts to confirm findings are generalisable.

Operational SC and UKG customs and excise departments must align their resilience strategies to gain full advantage of Industry 4.0 technologies.

Case study research shows how Industry 4.0 technology reduces the de-coupling between the SC and UKG, enhancing common resilience capabilities within established cross-border operations. Improved information sharing and SC visibility provided by IoT and blockchain technologies support the development of resilience in established cross-border SC and enhance interactions with UKG at the customs border.

Technology is the lifeline for the logistics industry, and it has been immensely disrupted by the emerging blockchain technology. This paper has two main objectives. The first is to explore how the current blockchain technology can be implemented in the logistics industry with the aim of improving logistic services amongst the network of logistics service providers (LSPs). The second is to propose the development of a blockchain model for the small and medium logistics service supply chain.

A prototype blockchain-based logistics system has been created and tested in a case study with a real logistics company. The primary technologies for developing a blockchain model on the Hyperledger platform as well as how the system is designed based on the logistics service flow are explained.

The study has resulted in the successful implementation of the proposed prototype blockchain-based logistics system. In particular, the case company has managed to fully utilise the developed tracking and tracing system. Whilst utilising the prototype, the participants have been able to fulfil their responsibilities in an effective manner. The performance of LSPs has improved following the World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI) criteria.

This paper contributes to current research in the application of blockchain technologies in the domain of logistics and the supply chain to progress LSPs towards Logistics 4.0. The current frameworks for Logistics 4.0 and how blockchain as a disruptive technology revolutionises logistic services are reviewed. In addition, this paper highlights the benefits of blockchain technology that LSPs can leverage to further improve their performance based on the LPI criteria.

Logistics sector is recognized as one of the core enablers of the economic development of a nation. However, inefficiency in logistics operations impedes the achievement of intended targets by increasing the cost of doing business. Also, it is difficult to improve the efficiency of a country’s logistics operations without a metric for evaluating and understanding logistics capabilities and efficiency. Therefore, the present study has developed In-country Logistics Performance Index (ILP Index) to propose a benchmarking tool to measure the in-country logistics competitiveness, particularly in the setting of emerging economies, i.e. India.

This study has developed a unified index using principal component analysis and quintile approach. In addition, the proposed index relies on several dimensions that are developed and illustrated using quantitative secondary panel data.

The findings of this study reveal that the quality of infrastructure, economy, and telecommunications are the three most important dimensions that may significantly support the growth of the transportation and logistics sector. The results reveal that Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra are the top performers whereas, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Jammu and Kashmir scores the least due to the insufficient logistics infrastructure as compared to other Indian states.

Given the extensive focus on international-level logistics index (like World Bank’s LPI) in the existing literature, this study intends to develop in-country logistics index to evaluate the logistics capabilities at the regional and state level. In addition, unlike prior studies, this study utilizes quantitative secondary data to eliminate cognitive and opinion bias. Moreover, this benchmarking tool would assist decision-makers in idealizing standard practices toward sustainable logistics operations. Additionally, the ILP index could serve the international investors in crucial decision-making, as it provides valuable insights into a country’s logistics readiness, influencing their investment choices and trade preferences. Finally, the proposed approach is adaptable to measuring the overall performance of any other industry/economy.

The scale and measure of the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on economic development has been a popular topic in the literature. The global pandemic has posed challenges to the supply chains and logistics in many countries, causing delays and disrupting supply chains and decreasing the volume of logistics flows. To ensure economic growth in the future, it is essential to acknowledge the impact the COVID-19 in order to increase the accuracy of anticipating changes during widespread pandemic. In this study, the linkage between economic development and the COVID-19 estimated and real impact is illustrated in a case study comparison between the Finnish and German logistic companies' viewpoints. The study shows how the international COVID-19 pandemic has affected to logistics organization perceptions on the changes in operational environment and continuity of business.

The empirical part of the study relies on mixed methods approach using panel data from logistics companies and expert group discussion. The panel data participants were logistics sector actors and the data was collected through a questionnaire. Numerous sources found from the literature are used to gain a holistic understanding of the attributes and impact of change in the logistics field.

This study provides an important, yet sparsely addressed viewpoint to the supply chain management literature by illustrating the changes caused be a widespread pandemic can cause to the logistics sector companies. Furthermore, the findings illustrate how different roles in supply chain actors perceived the COVID-19 in their operations, before and during the pandemic. The findings of the paper illustrate how drastic uncertainty and changes in the operational environment is seen in the logistics organizations. The findings suggest that increased uncertainty and changes in the operational environment can cause significant drop in expectations of the business development in the logistics sector depending on the actor’s role in the supply chain and international perspective.

This paper contributes to the supply chain management and logistics literature with insights into how widespread pandemic is perceived in different roles of the supply chain as well as in different countries where the pandemic has spread in different pace. Analyzing the differences between the expected and realized impact from the business environment can give valuable information for academics and managers in the field, and thus give insights to improve the planning and decision-making in logistics field during a global pandemic.

By introducing the mass customization service mode into the cloud logistics environment, this paper studies the joint optimization of service provider selection and customer order decoupling point (CODP) positioning based on the mass customization service mode to provide customers with more diversified and personalized service content with lower total logistics service cost.

This paper addresses the general process of service composition optimization based on the mass customization mode in a cloud logistics service environment and constructs a joint decision model for service provider selection and CODP positioning. In the model, the two objective functions of minimum service cost and most satisfactory delivery time are considered, and the Pareto optimal solution of the model is obtained via the NSGA-II algorithm. Then, a numerical case is used to verify the superiority of the service composition scheme based on the mass customization mode over the general scheme and to verify the significant impact of the scale effect coefficient on the optimal CODP location.

(1) Under the cloud logistics mode, the implementation of the logistics service mode based on mass customization can not only reduce the total cost of logistics services by means of the scale effect of massive orders on the cloud platform but also make more efficient use of a large number of logistics service providers gathered on the cloud platform to provide customers with more customized and diversified service content. (2) The scale effect coefficient directly affects the total cost of logistics services and significantly affects the location of the CODP. Therefore, before implementing the mass customization logistics service mode, the most reasonable clustering of orders on the cloud logistics platform is very important for the follow-up service combination.

The originality of this paper includes two aspects. One is to introduce the mass customization mode in the cloud logistics service environment for the first time and summarize the operation process of implementing the mass customization mode in the cloud logistics environment. Second, in order to solve the joint decision optimization model of provider selection and CODP positioning, this paper designs a method for solving a mixed-integer nonlinear programming model using a multi-layer coding genetic algorithm.

Due to e-commerce growth, technological advancements and environmental concerns, developing a more nuanced service portfolio has become a critical issue for last-mile logistics service providers. Concurrently, consumers are adopting new modes of consumption. This paper aims to investigate the potential for last-mile logistics service providers to act as intermediaries in access-based consumption and to revitalise their service offerings through product-service systems – a pioneering strategy not executed in the market yet.

This strategic customer foresight study uses a quantitative survey of 1,000 respondents and an online focus group comprising 10 early adopter consumers to investigate emerging last-mile service models. Potential service concepts were identified through the survey, and two distinct concepts were subsequently selected for evaluation and co-development within the focus group. The research was conducted in partnership with an SME logistics company in Finland.

The consumers expressed selective interest in access-based consumption related to the proposed offering of essential household goods. Young adults and consumers in early middle age living in the city centre emerged as the most potential user groups. Economic reasons and short-term needs were the primary motivations for adopting access-based consumption.

The study showed that engaging consumers in a customer foresight process is viable for SMEs innovating their offerings and demonstrates how the process works in practice.

Documented cases of customer integration into foresight processes are rare in earlier research, and this paper extends the knowledge base through a multidisciplinary examination of future consumer behaviour in the last-mile logistics domain. The paper also expands the limited literature on the role of logistics in access-based consumption.

In business-to-business interactions, conflicts are inevitable, and conflict-handling strategies that consider different variables improve the decision-making process of actors. This study aims to reveal the role of power and criticality in conflict-handling research in logistics service networks.

A 2 × 2 between-subject experimental design with four different scenarios was used. One hundred sixty logistics service actors completed an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed with ANOVA and paired sample t-tests using the SPSS 28.0 program.

In comparative scenarios involving high and low power dynamics, individuals with high power and high criticality situations are more inclined to favor the dominating strategy compared to low-power and low-criticality contexts. However, when faced with specific circumstances characterized by both high power and high criticality, actors tend to prioritize the integrating strategy initially, followed by the dominating and obliging strategies in that order. Notably, the statistical analysis revealed no significant interaction effect between criticality and power concerning the integrating, obliging and dominating conflict-handling strategies.

This study used an experimental approach to investigate criticality and power as contextual elements in determining conflict-handling strategies in an inter-firm environment within logistics service networks. This study is particularly groundbreaking in its knowledge of the relationship among power dynamics, conflict criticality and conflict-handling strategies.