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The purpose of this paper is to examine the aspects of internal and external transformation that take place in each company along the supply chain when a “sustainable packaging logistics” approach is implemented. Before this can be achieved, it is necessary to identify and characterise the principal cornerstones and stages associated with this implementation.

In the paper the combination of “case study” and “action research” techniques have been chosen. It has been analysed the implementation of “sustainable packaging logistics” in the supply chain of Mercadona (one of the largest retailers in Spain), paying special attention to the implementation and evolution in one of its main food suppliers.

To adopt a “Sustainable Packaging Logistics” approach allows for a proactive integration of the efficiency and sustainability in supply chains. The proposal to implement “sustainable packaging logistics”, based on four cornerstones and three stages of evolution is particularly significant, while contributing to improved competitiveness. This implementation constitutes an evolutionary process which is conditioned by how each area, department or company along the supply chain interpret and assess different packaging features over time.

The model is based on a single supply chain analysis.

This paper may be of interest both for researchers and professionals, because the model can aid companies in improving their global vision of product and packaging design in order to jointly increase sustainability and efficiency in the supply chain.

This paper aims to investigate the bridging role of first-tier suppliers in diffusing sustainability in supply networks and how this role is facilitated by the procurement function.

The paper is based on an embedded case study of two supply networks of a coffee beans roasting company. The embedded cases focus on coffee beans and packaging supply networks.

The findings reveal less than expected involvement of the focal company and its procurement function in sustainability implementation with first-tier suppliers. Instead, sustainability diffuses upstream to lower-tier suppliers but also downstream, against the tide, as a result of the various bridging roles performed by first-tier suppliers.

This paper provides two theoretical contributions. First, it contributes to the sustainable supply network management literature by providing rich insights on sustainability diffusion to lower-tier suppliers and the role of first-tier suppliers in this process. Second, the paper contributes to structural hole theory by revealing a typology of bridging roles that actors, such as suppliers, undertake in the sustainability context.

The paper provides managers with practical insights on how sustainability can be diffused in the supply network and the different roles that first-tier suppliers can play in this direction.

This paper shows that sustainability diffusion to lower-tier suppliers is possible in the absence of focal company procurement involvement when bridging roles are undertaken by first-tier suppliers and their procurement functions are involved in the implementation process. These bridging roles facilitate sustainability diffusion both upstream and downstream.

This paper present the results of a study of material requirements planning (MRP) implementation in the packaging machinery‐building industry. The research, in particular, has addressed such issues as management and employee responses and the actual versus expected financial and production/logistics benefits. Some of the findings are that, generally, benefits of MRP packages include higher productivity and product quality, that attitudes towards the installations before installation were positive, that the majority of larger companies would purchase more advanced and integrated systems (MRP II and ERPs) in the future and that supplier involvement and project planning (this latter for larger firms) were important components of the effective management of MRP packages introduction.

The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive analysis on how the advanced work packaging (AWP) managerial paradigm could be advanced by incorporating and integrating the post-construction commissioning and startup (CSU) phases.

This study was implemented with the support of consolidated knowledge from industry subject matter experts and an exhaustive literature review to provide a knowledge foundation for the developments. The findings were further validated and strengthened by external subject matter experts.

A new operating system-oriented work package, systems work package (SWP), is devised with a set of definitions and models of how it relates to AWPs with three-dimensional visualizations. SWP-related constraints, key roles and responsibilities are thoroughly investigated.

A new SWP concept would pose potential challenges for its adoption because of inherent organizational culture and hesitation to change. A systematic reorganization of existing practices is considered as a key strategy to alleviate the limitation, and short- and long-term validity of SWP is currently being investigated by organizations.

This research provides practical implementation strategies on CSU integration which lead to benefits including: better alignment and collaboration of stakeholders, reduced costs for associating AWPs to SWP and improved predictability.

AWP-related studies have primarily focused on the construction phase, with minimal integration of CSU considerations. Highlighting the importance of the philosophy “start with the end in mind,” this research describes how the AWP managerial paradigm can be expanded to include CSU, by placing a strong emphasis on understanding CSU priorities, sequences and constraints.

This study analyzes sustainable practices adopted by Italian firms to enhance the circularity of packaging and related results in terms of environmental improvements.

The authors developed an empirical analysis using publicly available data from the National Consortium of Packaging (CONAI) in Italy, which consists of 603 circular packaging projects. The authors ran both descriptive and prescriptive analyses to determine individual sustainable practices and portfolios adopted to enhance packaging circularity and to verify related reductions in terms of CO2 emissions as well as energy usage and water consumption.

The findings reveal that firms are more accustomed to focusing on single sustainable practices than on portfolios of practices to achieve packaging circularity. Raw material saving and logistics optimization are the most frequent sustainable practices adopted by firms to improve circularity of packaging. The reuse of packaging allows firms to simultaneously reduce CO2 emissions, energy usage and water consumption. Preferences in terms of portfolio of sustainable practices are strictly linked to the types of materials used for packaging and environmental targets.

The authors investigate environmental practices that firms adopt to support packaging circularity, and the authors detect portfolios of sustainable practices that positively impact environmental performance indicators. This research extends a significant glimpse into the portfolio of sustainable practices for packaging in the circular economy implemented by firms, filling academic gaps and indicating business opportunities and avenues for economic development.

The aim of this research is to model and implement a software system for library circulation, so that all requirements of city and special libraries for electronic business with the library users can be fulfilled.

Object‐oriented methodology is used for modelling of information systems. Modelling is carried out in the CASE tool that supports the Unified Modelling Language (UML 2.0). The software architecture of the system is based on the software components and web services.

The result is a software system for library circulation. The application of the system supports the work with the local database (intranet), as well as with the remote database (internet). Also the application supports the work with different library formats (UNIMARC, MARC21 et al.).

The system is integrated into the BISIS system so that communication with the system for cataloguing is carried out via the text server of the BISIS system. For this reason integration into the other library software systems requires an additional programming. This limitation can be solved through implementation of the software package for communication with the system for cataloguing. In this case, the integration into another library system should require only the implementation of the method of the corresponding interface for work with bibliographic records.

The contribution of the paper is in the system architecture that can be configured for work in the local intranet, as well as on the internet, and that is independent of the library record format. Also, the architecture enables integration of the application in different library systems.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system solutions are currently in high demand by both manufacturing and service organisations because they provide a tightly integrated solution to an organisation's information system needs. During the last decade, ERP systems have received a significant amount of attention from researchers and practitioners from a variety of functional disciplines. In this paper, a comprehensive review of the research literature (1990‐2003) concerning ERP systems is presented. The literature is further classified and the major outcomes of each study are addressed and analysed. Following a comprehensive review of the literature, proposals for future research are formulated to identify topics where fruitful opportunities exist.

Customer relationship management (CRM) packaged software has become a key contributor to attempts at aligning business and IT strategies in recent years. Throughout the 1990s there was, in many organisations' strategies, a shift from the need to manage transactions and toward relationship management. Where enterprise resource planning packages dominated the management of transactions era, CRM packages lead in regard to relationships. At present, balanced views of CRM packages are scantly presented, instead relying on vendor rhetoric. This paper uses case study research to analyse some of the issues associated with CRM packages. These issues include the limitations of CRM packages, the need for a relationship orientation and the problems of a dominant management perspective of CRM. It is suggested that these issues could be more readily accommodated by organisational detachment from beliefs in IT as utopia, consideration of prior IS theory and practice and a more informed approach to CRM package selection.

Under increasing pressure, many industrial enterprises are seeking means to improve their performance. Years of rationalizations led to the conclusion that no one‐time improvement will enable continuing success. Thus companies realize that their edge lies in the transformation of knowledge to action. The field of knowledge management addresses a broad range of aspects but still is rooted in a rather technical methodology. Establishing knowledge management is a process of organizational innovation. As the implementation of application software packages is now considered the major driving force of organizational innovation, a close look at IT implementation projects as a means to establish integrated knowledge management at operational business levels seems promising. The paper will present the knowledge network concept as a means of establishing an integrated approach to knowledge management and will highlight it using observations made during system implementation in SMEs.

Knowledge management is crucial for enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems implementation in real industrial environments, but this is a highly demanding task. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of knowledge identification, categorisation and prioritisation that contributes to achieving ERP implementation success.

This study adopts a mixed methods approach; a qualitative phase to identify and categorise knowledge types and sub-types; conducting in-depth interviews with ERP clients and implementation partners; plus a quantitative phase to prioritise knowledge types and sub-types based on their contribution to achieving ERP success for business performance improvement. An analytic hierarchy process-based questionnaire was used to collect empirical data for the quantitative phase.

This study has been able to identify, categorise and rank various types of ERP-related knowledge based on in-depth interviews and survey responses from both ERP clients and implementation partners. In total, 4 knowledge types and 21 sub-types were ranked based on their contribution to achieving ERP success; 4 variables of information quality, systems quality, individual impact and organisational impact were used to measure ERP success.

The empirical findings demonstrate exactly what kinds of knowledge need to be managed, enabling knowledge prioritisation when a client organisation or an implementation partner steps into an ERP implementation, in a real industrial environment.