This book provides an overview of important trends and developments in
logistics and supply chain research, making them available to
practitioners, while also serving as a point of reference for
academicians. Operations and logistics are cornerstones of modern supply
chains that in turn are essential for global business and economics. The
composition, character and importance of supply chains and networks are
rapidly changing, due to technological innovations such as Information
and Communication Technologies, Sensors and Robotics, Internet of
Things, and Additive Manufacturing, to name a few (often referred to as
Industry 4.0). Societal developments such as environmental
consciousness, urbanization or the optimal use of scarce resources are
also impacting how supply chain networks are configured and operated. As
a result, future supply chains will not just be assessed in terms of
cost-effectiveness and speed, but also the need to satisfy agility,
resilience and sustainability requirements. To face these challenges, an
understanding of the basic as well as more advanced concepts and recent
innovations is essential in building competitive and sustainable supply
chains and, as part of that, logistics and operations. These span
multiple disciplines and geographies, making them interdisciplinary and
international. Therefore, this book contains contributions and views
from a variety of experts from multiple countries, and combines
management, engineering as well as basic information technology and
social concepts. In particular, it aims to:
- provide a comprehensive guide for all relevant and major logistics,
operations, and supply chain management topics in teaching and
business practice
- address three levels of expertise, i.e., concepts and principles at a
basic (undergraduate, BS) level, more advanced topics at a graduate
level (MS), and finally recent (state-of-the-art) developments at a
research level. In particular the latter serve to present a window on
current and future (potential) logistics innovations in the different
thematic fields for both researchers and top business practitioners
- integrate a textbook approach with matching case studies for effective
teaching and learning
- discuss multiple international perspectives in order to represent
adequately the true global nature of operations, logistics and supply
chains.
