Call for Papers for a Special Issue of the Journal of General Management

 

Future Opportunities in Supply Chain Management 4.0

 

Submission Deadline: January 31, 2023

 

Guest Editors:

Byung Il Park, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, South Korea ([log in to unmask])

Shufeng (Simon) Xiao, Sookmyung Women’s University, South Korea ([log in to unmask])

Yangyan (Peter) Shi, Macquarie University, Australia ([log in to unmask])

Michael Wang, The American University in the Emirates, United Arab Emirates ([log in to unmask])

Bill Wang, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, ([log in to unmask])

Clark Luo, Wintec, New Zealand ([log in to unmask])

 

Purpose and Research Questions: 

Supply Chain Management 4.0 (SCM 4.0) is one of the newest topics of research interest nowadays. SCM 4.0 can be described as the extension of Industry 4.0 in the context of supply chain management (Frederico et al., 2019) and the next generation of the digital supply chain (Tjahjono et al., 2017). Supply chain 4.0 leverages new-age technology solutions, and competences, involving the Internet of Things, Robotics, Big Data Analytics, and Blockchain. Systems and data integration are the primary challenges but are vital for achieving optimized supply chain performance, real-time collaboration, greater efficiency, greater responsiveness, flexibility and agility, improved transparency, higher quality, faster fulfilment, and superior customer experience. Supply chain 4.0 makes a ‘clear separation between humans and machines, specifically robots’ (Frederico et al., 2019). There are fundamental changes in all business areas: strategic planning, procurement control, productions, new product/service design, inventory control, distribution, marketing and sales, reverse logistics, and the like (Ferrantino & Koten, 2019; Frederico et al., 2019).  

Concerning the changes from industry 4.0, researchers and practitioners notice the following requirements of SCM 4.0:

l  Customer-driven supply chain is the key to success (Ferrantino & Koten, 2019);

l  Development and applications of new technologies lead to the change of supply chain strategies (Frederico, 2021);

l  The traditional linear supply chain evolves to a more complicated network structure (Garay-Rondero et al., 2020);

l  The speedy development of big data and network technologies motivate more integrated data-driven decision-making (Narwane et al., 2021); and

l  The supply chain must be more flexible and resilient to deal with highly dynamic marketing demand (Mubarik et al., 2021). 

In this vein, SCM 4.0 shows a close connection to the application of cutting-edge digital technologies (e.g., the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, cloud computing, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence). Therefore, it can disruptively transform traditional supply chains (Tjahjono et al., 2017; Muthusami & Srinivsan, 2018; Stevens & Johnson, 2016). Besides, supply chain uncertainty has become a barrier for continuous improvement in the supply chain. SCM 4.0 may provide opportunities for the supply chain uncertainty management in the post-COVID-19 business environment. 

Eliminating today's digital waste and adopting new technologies together forms a significant lever to increase the operational effectiveness of supply chains (Christopher & Holweg, 2017). The potential impact of SCM 4.0 in the next few years is enormous. Expectations include up to 30 per cent lower operational costs, 75 per cent fewer lost sales, and a decrease in inventories of up to 75 per cent (Calatayud et al., 2017). This could significantly increase the supply chain agility and resilience in the supply chains. SCM 4.0 will affect all areas of supply chain management, and in the end, the improvements enable a step-change in service, cost, capital, and resilience. On the other hand, SCM 4.0 can create a competitive advantage, including increasing product offering and availability, market share while reducing overall cost (up to 30%), inventory, and lost sales (up to 75%) (Alikeet al., 2016; Frederico et al., 2019). Overall, existing studies focus on enablers, barriers, and benefits for developing and managing SCM 4.0, frameworks for Digital Supply Chain (DSC) integration, different enabling technologies, challenges for sustainability management (especially the environmental issues, & social responsibility), and supply chain uncertainty and risk management.   

With the application of new technologies in SCM 4.0, new techniques and skills are compulsory to implement SCM 4.0 successfully. However, from existing SCM 4.0 studies, we know little about a clear roadmap showing how to implement SCM 4.0. The roadmap should exhibit a comprehensive concern about different resources: technologies, skilled people, financial, legal, ethics, and the like. In addition, existing SCM 4.0 research focuses on the pros and cons of new technologies. It lacks discussion about the requirements of relevant SCM techniques and skilful staff. Many studies either concentrate on theory only or one particular company. This means that there are no extant examinations exploring outcomes of developing SCM 4.0 in different industries; what the unique characteristics of SCM 4.0 are in various industries.   

Current research focuses more on barriers and enablers of applying new technologies in SCM 4.0. The superficial understanding of how to implement technologies properly, deal with the challenges of implementing new technologies, and optimize SCM 4.0 performance via new technologies. Furthermore, although sustainability is a popular research trend, studies on the impact of digitalization on economic and social sustainability are far fewer than the studies on the impact on environmental sustainability. A study investigating impacts on human beings performances is also in its infancy. From the view of supply chain risk management, existing SCM 4.0 studies are too general. There is a lack of research about developing a different risk management system and processes for different supply chain stages.  

In sum, some SCM 4.0 studies mention the necessity of companies developing SCM 4.0. However, SCM 4.0 leads to a fundamental transition from a traditional supply chain to a more complicated supply network. Therefore, the challenges, solutions, and processes of transferring traditional supply chains to complicate SCM 4.0 deserve to gain more research focus in the future. Concerning SCM 4.0 having received scant attention, this special issue seeks both theoretical and empirical studies that may address, but are not limited to the following list of potential research questions: 

●      What is the role of SCM 4.0 in dealing with various industry uncertainties? 

●      What is the role of innovative strategies for more sustainable supply chain process management?

●      How can understanding and applying various cutting-edge technologies (e.g., AI, big data analytics, cloud computing, IoT, machine-learning) help firms enhance and achieve effective and successful management of the supply chain?

●      What are digital supply chain management's unique features and characteristics compared to conventional supply chain management?

●      What are the particular challenges firms may encounter in their supply chain management? 

●      How can firms use digital technologies to minimize and overcome cyber security issues or other potential risks that they may face in managing their supply chains? 

●      What is the role of digital supply chain management for new business value creation? To what extent do digital supply chains help firms create new forms of business value and contribute to business model innovation?

●      What are the effects of new technologies (e.g., blockchain & 3D-printing) on the strategy and management of SCM 4.0? 

●      What factors contribute to the rapid transformation from supply chains to supply ecosystems?

●      What is the role of IT technologies in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of e-commerce logistics and supply chain management?

●      How can firms develop unique capabilities to make a supply chain more resilient? How can the firms mitigate the effect of disruption on supply chain resilience?

●      What is the role of supply chain risk management's capabilities in helping firms manage environmental dynamism or uncertainty and achieve better financial performance? 

●      How can data-driven supply chain capabilities and strategies contribute to sustainable innovation in the era of SCM 4.0 and Covid-19? 

●      How can firms achieve sustainable supply chain management by taking into account disruption in a dynamic and rapidly digitalizing business world?

●      What is the role of cutting-edge technologies (e.g., blockchain & AI) in improving and enhancing supply chain management in healthcare during the current Covid-19 pandemic or in the post-Covid-19 era?

●      What factors will shape the efficiency and effectiveness of supply chain management in smart manufacturing and smart logistics?

●      How can firms achieve sustainable supply chain management in the sharing economy? What is the role of successful supply chain management for sharing economy platforms or sharing economy-based firms?

 

Important Schedule and Timeline

1. Preliminary Proposal (July 15, 2022): The preliminary proposal should specify the targeted data source and format, develop intended research questions, and justify the motivation. The initial proposal should be within five pages (single-spaced). Please submit proposals to Dr. Byung Il Park ([log in to unmask]) with the subject line: “Journal of General Management SI Future Opportunities in Supply Chain Management 4.0”.

 

2. Proposal Development Workshop (August 15, 2022, Online): Accepted proposals will be invited to a developmental workshop to further refine the focused research questions based on the secured data source. At the end of the workshop, we will extend invitations to some promising proposals to submit a revised version of the proposal (In view of the current COVID-19 situation and growing Omicron variant cases, the Proposal Development Workshop will be held virtually).

 

3.  Paper Submission and review process (February 28, 2023): Submission process and papers must adhere to the normal author guidelines of Journal of General Management, which can be found at: https://journals.sagepub.com/author-instructions/GEM. All submissions to the Special Issue should be submitted via the online submission system. When you submit your paper to the Special Issue, please choose the article type “Future Opportunities in Supply Chain Management 4.0” otherwise your submission will be handled as a regular manuscript.

Papers submitted to the Special Issue will be subjected to a normal thorough double-blind review process.

 

4.  Paper Development Workshop for shortlisted papers (end of June 2023, location TBD): Revise the paper with known results and findings.

 

5. More Information:

 

To obtain additional information, please contact the guest editors:

Byung Il Park, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, South Korea ([log in to unmask])

Shufeng (Simon) Xiao, Sookmyung Women’s University, South Korea ([log in to unmask])

Peter Shi, Macquarie University, Australia ([log in to unmask])

Michael Wang, The American University in the Emirates, United Arab Emirates ([log in to unmask])

Bill Wang, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, ([log in to unmask])

Clark Luo, Wintec, New Zealand ([log in to unmask])  

 

References

Alicke, K., Rexhausen, D., & Seyfert, A. (2017). Supply Chain 4.0 in consumer goods. Mckinsey & Company.

Calatayud, A., Mangan, J. & Christopher, M. “The Self-thinking Supply Chain,” Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, forthcoming; World Economic Forum, Impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on Supply Chains, 2017.

Christopher, M. & Holweg, M. (2017). Supply chain 2.0 revisited: A framework for managing volatility-induced risk in the supply chain, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 47(1), 2-17.

Ferrantino, M. J., & Koten, E. E. (2019). Understanding supply chain 4.0 and its potential impact on global value chains. Global Value Chain Development Report 2019, 103.

Frederico, G. F. (2021). From supply chain 4.0 to supply chain 5.0: Findings from a systematic literature review and research directions. Logistics, 5(3), 1-49.

Frederico, G. F., Garza-Reyes, J. A., Anosike, A., & Kumar, V. (2019). Supply Chain 4.0: concepts, maturity, and research agenda. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal. 25(2), 262-282.

Garay-Rondero, C. L., Martinez-Flores, J. L., Smith, N. R., Morales, S. O. C., & Aldrette-Malacara, A. (2020). Digital supply chain model in Industry 4.0. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management. 31(5), 887-933.

Mubarik, M. S., Naghavi, N., Mubarik, M., Kusi-Sarpong, S., Khan, S. A., Zaman, S. I., & Kazmi, S. H. A. (2021). Resilience and cleaner production in industry 4.0: Role of supply chain mapping and visibility. Journal of Cleaner Production, 292, 126058.

Muthusami, S., & Srinivsan, M. (2018). Supply chain 4.0: Digital transformation, disruptions, and strategies. Review of Business and Technology Research, 14(2), 32-35.

Narwane, V. S., Raut, R. D., Yadav, V. S., Cheikhrouhou, N., Narkhede, B. E., & Priyadarshinee, P. (2021). The role of big data for Supply Chain 4.0 in manufacturing organisations of developing countries. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 34(5), 1452-1480.

Stevens, G. C., & Johnson, M. (2016). Integrating the supply chain 25 years on. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 46(1), 19-42.

Tjahjono, B., Esplugues, C., Ares, E., & Pelaez, G. (2017). What does industry 4.0 mean to the supply chain? Procedia Manufacturing, 13, 1175-1182.