To Achieve “Optimizing Logistics and Supply Chain for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute to a Special Issue of Sustainability entitled “Optimizing Logistics and Supply Chain for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.

Firms face challenges such as resource shortages, environmental pollution, climate change, ecological deterioration, the COVID-19 pandemic, etc. The sustainability literature is starting to challenge existing meanings and definitions regarding the implementation of sustainability within companies and SCs (Elkington, 2018; Huang and Huang, 2022; Pereira, Silva, and Hendry, 2021, Sun et al., 2022 ). For example, Fritz and Silva (2018) have suggested that the United Nation’s sustainable development goals should be used to analyze supply chain sustainability, as these provide greater breadth and depth than is typically achieved using the triple bottom line (TBL). Enterprises must be able to optimize business processes and distribution channels from suppliers to customers. Optimization techniques and procedures are widely used in the complex issues of logistics and supply chains. Integration and collaboration requirements for logistics and supply chains have become increasingly sophisticated. This is why high-efficiency logistics and supply chain management are key factors required for survival in the market.

Enterprises worldwide are gaining awareness about developing sustainable businesses and paying attention to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), resulting in changes in the logistics and supply chains of organizations. For instance, organizations are sourcing eco-friendly components that may lead to a change in supplier or lead to suppliers changing their suppliers (Jha and Veeramani, 2021). Furthermore, organizations may change where they purchase their raw material or start collaborating with different partners to explore new ways of production or delivery (Dzhengiz, 2020; van Hille et al., 2020). Such changes make organizations re-evaluate or re-design their supply chains and/or logistics, ultimately requiring organizations to pay attention to the optimization of their supply chain and logistics. For example, Nandi et al. (2021) provide insights from the COVID-19 pandemic for making supply chains more resilient, transparent, and sustainable. These insights include supply chains needing to develop localization, agility, and digitization (LAD) characteristics. They link LAD to a potential solution using blockchain technology and circular economy principle capabilities. For instance, Pereira, Silva, and Hendry (2021) demonstrated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chain (SC) sustainability learning. Drawing on the theories of experimentalist governance and deliberation, Soundararajan et al. (2021) propose a processual framework suited to developing agile sustainability governance mechanisms. In sum, in recent years, the requirements customers have for companies providing sustainable logistics and supply chains have risen continuously. By improving the competitiveness of logistics and supply chain management, enterprises can obtain important benefits in ensuring supply, reducing costs, improving efficiency and controlling risks, and further integrating sustainability into enterprise strategy and operation management. Therefore, this Special Issue aims at delving into how organizations re-design, re-organize or re-structure their supply chain and logistics to meet SDGs needs.

This Special Issue focuses on the strategic actions organizations take to optimize their supply chain and logistics after changing to meet SDGs goals. The purpose of this Special Issue is to enhance our understanding of challenges concerning supply chain and logistics that organizations pursuing to meet SDGs needs confront and how these challenges are resolved. We invite you to contribute to this Special Issue by submitting research articles, including case studies and empirical surveys of production and service sectors, addressing the alignment of all kinds of logistics and supply chain optimization in the context of sustainable development and the resulting impacts. The Special Issue is focused on (but is not limited to) the following topics:

• The optimization of sustainable logistics;
• The optimization of a sustainable supply chain;
• The antecedents and consequences of sustainable logistics/sustainable supply chain;
• The risks issues for sustainable logistics/sustainable supply chain;
• The resilience for sustainable logistics/sustainable supply chain;
• The innovation for sustainable logistics/sustainable supply chain;
• The organizational learning for sustainable logistics/sustainable supply chain;
• The collaboration in cross-organizations (sectors) for sustainable logistics/sustainable supply chain;
• The success case of developing localization, agility, and digitization (LAD) characteristics for sustainable logistics/sustainable supply chain;
• The success case of business for sustainable logistics/sustainable supply chain.

Reference:

Dzhengiz, T. (2020). A literature review of inter-organizational sustainability learning. Sustainability, 12(12), 4876.

Elkington, J. (2018). 25 years ago I coined the phrase triple bottom line, here’s why it’s time to rethink It, Harvard Business Review, https://hbr.org/2018/06/25-years-ago-i-coined-the-phrase-triple-bottom-line-heres-why-im-giving-up-on-it.

Fritz, M.M.C. and Silva, M.E. (2018), Exploring supply chain sustainability research in Latin America. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 48(8), 818-841.

Huang, Y. C. and Huang, C. H. (2022). Examining the antecedents and consequences of sustainable green supply chain management from the perspective of ecological modernization: Evidence from Taiwan’s high-tech sector, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 65(9), 1579-1610. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2021.1941809

Jha, S. K. and Veeramani, S. (2021). Sorting Responsible Business Practices in Fast Fashion: A Case Study of Zara. Journal of Management and Public Policy, 12(2), 54-58.

Nandi, S., Sarkis, J., Aref Aghaei Hervani, A. A. and Marilyn M. Helms, M. M. (2021). Redesigning Supply Chains using Blockchain-Enabled Circular Economy and COVID-19 Experiences. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 27, 10-22. doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.10.019 2352-5509/

Pereira, M. M.O., Silva, M. E. and Hendry, L. C. (2021). Supply chain sustainability learning: the COVID-19 impact on emerging economy suppliers. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 26/6 (2021) 715–736, DOI 10.1108/SCM-08-2020-0407

Soundararajan, V, Sahasranamam, S., Zaheer Khan, Z. and Jain, T. (2021). Multinational enterprises and the governance of sustainability practices in emerging market supply chains: An agile governance perspective. Journal of World Business, 56, 101149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2020.101149

Sun, X., Yu, H., Solvang, W. D., Wang, Y. and Wang, k. (2022). The application of Industry 4.0 technologies in sustainable logistics: a systematic literature review (2012–2020) to explore future research opportunities. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29, 9560–9591. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17693-y

van Hille, I., de Bakker, F. G., Ferguson, J. E. and Groenewegen, P. (2020). Cross-sector partnerships for sustainability: How mission-driven conveners drive change in national coffee platforms. Sustainability, 12(7), 2846.

Prof. Dr. Yi-Chun Huang
Dr. Chih-Hsuan Huang
Dr. Danwei (Marian) Wen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• sustainability
• sustainable development goals (SDGs)
• sustainable logistics
• sustainable supply chain
• sustainable logistics services
• supply chain agility
• supply chain learning
• optimization procedure