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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.

This study aims to uncover apple preference and consumption in Indonesia, to disclose the risk of non-halal contamination of apples and the importance of maintaining the halal integrity of apples along the supply chain and to uncover the impacts of food miles of apples along supply chain segmentation.

This study adopted mixed research methods under a fully mixed sequential dominant status design (QUAN → qual). Data were collected through a survey in some Indonesian provinces (N = 396 respondents). Samples were collected randomly from individual consumers. The qualitative data were collected through interviews with 15 apple traders in Indonesia. Data were analysed using crosstab, chi-square and descriptive analysis.

First, Muslim consumers believe in the risk of chemical treatment of apples because it can affect the halal status of apples. Second, Indonesian consumers consider the importance of halal certification of chemical-treated apples and the additives for apple treatments. Third, the insignificance of domestic apple preference contributes to longer food miles at the first- and middle-mile stages (preference for imported apples). Fourth, apple consumption and shopping distance contribute to the longer food miles problem at the last-mile stage. Fifth, longer food miles have negative impacts, such as emissions and pollution, food loss and waste, food insecurity, financial loss, slow development of the local economy and food unsafety.

This research has implications for the governments, farmers, consumers (society) and business sectors.

This study proposes a framework of food miles under a halal supply chain (halal food miles) to reduce the risk of food miles and improve halal integrity. The findings from this research have theoretical implications for the development of the food mile theory, halal food supply chain and green supply chain.

Warehouse receipt-based financing (WRF), an innovative instrument with its structure embedded in the agricultural value chain can potentially address farmers' concerns about timely credit access and accessible remunerative markets. However, studies indicate farmers' exclusion from currently practiced WRF mechanisms across developing countries. Transaction cost and lack of assured remunerative markets post storage are the challenges thwarting farmers' participation. The study explores how these challenges can be addressed by analyzing a case study. The finding will help in coming up with a farmer-inclusive WRF mechanism.

The study uses a case study as an analysis tool. Primary data is gathered through farmers. Descriptive statistics and partial least squares (PLS) approach to structural equation modeling methodology has been adopted for empirical testing of the hypothesis of the study. The study uses SMART PLS 3.0 for analysis of data.

Single window offering of multiple value chain operations and technological intervention in physical handling substantially reduces transaction costs for farmers. Sustained farmers' participation in the case supports this finding. The presence of an assured market (PAM) is found to have a positive and significant relationship with WRF in the case of beneficiary farmers. The PAM is found to have a negative yet significant relationship with WRF in the case of nonbeneficiary farmers. Critical success factors of the entity KisanMitra stated in the case substantiates a farmer-inclusive WRF mechanism.

The study analyzes a case study of specific geography. However, similarities enlisted across developing countries in the introduction section provide a scope of generalization of findings across developing countries. The identified factors for a farmer-inclusive WRF mechanism will enable the governments, policymakers and development institutions to ascertain and align their WRF implementation measures to inculcate and upgrade these factors to the prospective WRF agents. Future studies can explore the replication of farmer-inclusive WRF mechanisms across other geographies. The studies also explores the role of technological interventions in further reducing the transaction cost and suitable policy modifications to encourage replication of the study in other geopgraphical context.

The study on WRF and the methodology adopted is first of its kind to identify factors for a farmer-inclusive WRF mechanism.