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This paper aims to uncover the key enablers of an agile supply chain in the manufacturing sector amidst disruptions such as pandemics, trade wars and cross-border challenges. The study aims to assess the applicability of existing literature to manufacturing and identify additional industry-specific enablers contributing to the field of supply chain management.

The research methodology is comprehensively described, detailing the utilization of extent literature and semistructured interviews with mid- and top-level executives in a supply chain. The authors ensure the robustness of the data collection process and results interpretation.

The study identifies six essential dimensions of an agile supply chain: information availability, design robustness, external resource planning, quickness and speed, public policy influencing skills and cash flow management. The study provides valuable insights for industry professionals to develop agile supply chains capable of responding to disruptions in a rapidly changing world.

This study is limited by its focus on the manufacturing sector, and future research may explore the applicability of these findings to other industries. By focusing on these essential dimensions identified in the study, managers can develop strategies to improve the agility and responsiveness of their supply chains. In addition, further research may investigate how these enablers may vary in different regions or contexts.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced executives to reconsider their sourcing strategies and reduce dependence on suppliers from specific geographies. To ensure business continuity, companies should assess the risk associated with their suppliers and develop a business continuity plan that includes multisourcing their strategic materials. Digital transformation will revolutionize the supply chain industry, allowing for end-to-end visibility, real time insights and seamless integration of business and processes. Companies should also focus on creating a collaborative workforce ecosystem that prioritizes worker health and well-being. Maintaining trust with stakeholders is crucial, and firms must revisit their relationship management strategies. Finally, to maintain business leadership and competitiveness during volatile periods, the product portfolio needs to be diversified and marketing and sales teams must work in tandem with product teams to position new products accordingly.

This work contributes substantially to the literature on supply chain agility (SCA) by adding several new factors. The findings result in a more efficient and cost-effective supply chain during a stable situation and high service levels in a volatile situation. A less complex methodology for understanding SCA provides factors with a more straightforward method for identifying well-springs of related drivers. First, the study contributes to reestablish the factors such as quickness, responsiveness, competency, flexibility, proactiveness, collaboration and partnership, customer focus, velocity and speed, visibility, robustness, cost-effectiveness, alertness accessibility to information and decisiveness as applicable factors for SCA. Second, the study suggests a few more factors, such as liquidity management, Vendors’ economic assessment and economic diversity, that are the study’s unique contributions in extending the enablers of SCA. Finally, public policy influencing skills, local administration connects and maintaining capable vendors are the areas that were never considered essential for SCA. These factors have emerged as a vital operational factor during the lockdown, and academicians may consider these factors in the future to assess their applicability.

This study provides new insights for decision-makers looking to enhance the resilience and agility of their supply chains. The identification of unique enablers specific to the manufacturing industry contributes to the existing body of literature on agile supply chains in the face of disruptions.

The purpose of this paper is to review the nutritional and food value of pumpkin Cucurbita, along with different health benefits. Cucurbita (pumpkin) is an herbaceous vine, member of Cucurbitaceae family. It is an edible, heat-sensitive plant, which has an abundant amount of active compounds such as carotenoids, alkaloids, flavonoids, polyphenols, tannins, tocopherols, phytosterols and cucurbitacin, accounted for numerous health benefits, namely, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, hypotensive, hyper protective activities.

Major well-known bibliometric information sources such as Web of Science, Scopus, Mendeley and Google Scholar were searched with keywords such as nutrition value of Cucurbita, Cucurbita utilization, bioactive compounds of pumpkin, health benefits, processing, food formulations and current scenarios were chosen to obtain a large range of papers to be analyzed. A final inventory of 105 scientific sources was made after sorting and classifying them according to different criteria based on topic, academic field, country of origin and year of publication.

The comprehensive review of different literature, data sources and research papers seeks to find and discuss various nutritional benefits of pumpkin. It contains all necessary macro- and micro-nutrients, amino acids, vitamins, antioxidants and bioactive compounds with a relatively low amount of antinutrients. The recent upsurge in consumer interest for health-promoting products has opened up new vistas for plant products containing bioactive compounds in different food formulations.

This paper contains information regarding the chemical composition, nutritive value, phytochemical studies, pharmacological properties, bio-accessibility, food and industrial applications of pumpkin. Worldwide, pumpkin is used as food additive in various food products such as candy, weaning mix, corn grits, kheer, jam, crackers, bread, etc. Effect of different processing methods such as high temperature, pH, blanching, oven drying, freeze-drying to retain or minimize its losses in case of color, texture, flavor, and the carotenoids are of concern. The review paper highlights the nutritional, therapeutic, potential and processing attributes.

This paper aims to update with information about edible coating on minimally processed and fresh fruits, focussing on the composition, active ingredients, antimicrobial concentration and their effect on ripening rate, phytonutrients retention and shelf-life of fruits. In future, the data will be helpful for the processors to select the best coating material and its effective concentration for different fresh and minimally processed fruits.

Major scientific information was collected from Scopus, Web of Science, Mendeley and Google Scholar. Several key words such as postharvest, edible coating, phytonutrients, shelf-life enhancement, bioactive compounds, minimally processed fruits and antimicrobial compounds were used to find the data. Relevant information was collected by using 90 recent research and review articles.

The main findings of this comprehensive review are to improve the quality of fruits, to meet the next-generation food security needs. However, in the process of achieving the goal of improving quality of food produce, embrace of synthetic, non-biodegradable packaging materials have increased, creating serious pollution problem. Amidst several alternatives for replacement of synthetic packaging, the option of biodegradable films and coatings showed promising results.

The paper represents recent information about the edible coating used for the enhancement of shelf-life of fresh and minimally processed fruits.