Artificial Intelligence in Sustainable Supply Chains: Innovations, Applications, and Future Directions

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that this Special Issue of the MDPI journal Information is currently accepting articles on “Artificial Intelligence in Sustainable Supply Chains: Innovations, Applications, and Future Directions”.

Reducing carbon footprints, managing resource scarcity, ensuring sustainable procurement, and minimizing waste are just a few of the major concerns regarding sustainable supply chains. With the global economy becoming more integrated and dynamic, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming crucial in tackling these issues. AI-driven predictive analytics, real-time decision-making, and enhanced transparency are revolutionizing supply chain planning and management.

Even though supply chain management is progressively relying on AI, several important issues and unfulfilled research gaps remain to be considered. These include addressing ethical aspects, AI-driven decision-making, integrating AI into circular and multi-tiered supply chains, and ensuring accountability and transparency in AI applications. Additionally, the integration of AI with sustainability creates unique challenges, such as combining social, environmental, and economic objectives while supporting operational resilience and efficiency.

This Special Issue invites the submission of original research that can advance our understanding of AI’s contribution to sustainable supply chains. As existing research often overlooks this relationship, authors are highly encouraged to align their studies with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Topics of interest include but are not limited to the following:

• AI and circular economy in supply chain management.
• AI-enabled transparency and traceability in global supply chains.
• Ethical considerations in AI applications for sustainability.
• The role of AI in circular supply chains and reverse logistics.
• AI-powered tools for monitoring and reducing carbon footprints.
• Using AI to achieve economic, environmental, and social goals in supply chains.
• Applying AI in industries such as manufacturing, logistics, retail, and agriculture.
• The use of AI in risk management for sustainable supply chains.
• Case studies on AI’s impact on supply chain resilience and sustainability.
• Challenges and future directions for AI-driven sustainable supply chains.

We welcome the submission of theoretical, methodological, and applied research from academia, industry, and policymakers that focus on the topics mentioned above. Authors should demonstrate how their research contributes to and promotes the SDGs while providing practical implications from their findings. We especially encourage the inclusion of innovative frameworks or strategies that can leverage AI in the context of a circular economy and sustainable supply chain management.

Dr. Muhammad Noman Shafique
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Information is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.