Digital Logistics

Dear Colleagues,

It is our great pleasure to invite you to submit an article for a high-profile Special Issue on “Digital Logistics” to be published in Logistics.

Organizations are harnessing new digital technologies and new sources of data—from big data to social media—to rethink how they design, develop and deliver their products and services to their customers. In turn, logistics is being challenged to recognize the growing convergence of logistics practice and digital technology. At its core, digital logistics embodies electronic connectivity of logistics stakeholders, leveraging real-time data to provide visibility across the logistics network, and moving to paperless processes and digital models. Increasingly, it also includes the integration of new technologies from sensors and wireless communications to robots and 3D printing. 

Digital logistics is being enabled by new cyberinfrastructure referred to as the Internet of-Things or Industry 4.0—and also referred to as the third wave of the Internet revolution. The first wave, the desktop Internet revolution in the 1990s, enabled tools like Electronic Data Interchange to provide connectivity between logistics providers and their customers. The introduction of the mobile Web in the 2000s provided virtual access to enterprise logistics applications and enabled tracking of products across global logistics networks and supply chains.  Today’s Internet-of-Things incorporates smart devices, sensors and the cloud to allow unprecedented and direct integration of the physical world into computer-based systems to transform traditional logistics processes. 

The goal of this Special Issue on “Digital Logistics” is to capture the current and future impact of these technologies on logistics performance. Digital logistics offers tremendous potential to improve productivity and customer-responsiveness. Real-time monitoring systems are allowing immediate and dynamic response to logistics events.  New digital tools are reducing energy consumption and transport emissions.  And the integration of new sensor technologies with mobile technologies is stimulating the introduction of new logistics products and services. This Special Issue responds to the critical imperative for better understanding of both the theoretical and practical implications brought about by this new wave of digital innovation on logistics.

SI Best paper award (300 CHF) will be selected from this SI.

Prof. Noel Greis
Prof. Linning Cai
Guest Editors

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 double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Logistics 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 1500 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.