Advancing Towards Smart and Sustainable Supply Chain Management
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 June 2026 | Viewed by 106
Special Issue Editors
Interests: sustainable supply chain management; technological innovation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: cold chain management; E-retail
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Operations and supply chains are undergoing profound shifts driven by the dual imperatives of digital transformation and sustainability. The integration of smart technologies—such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and big data analytics—has emerged as a critical enabler in reimagining supply chain design and management. These technologies facilitate real-time connectivity, enhance visibility, and enable more accurate and timely decision-making across global supply networks.
Smart systems can support carbon footprint tracking, waste reduction, ethical sourcing, and circular economy practices—transforming the way sustainability is operationalized across the supply chain. However, despite these transformative potentials, significant challenges remain in aligning smart innovations with sustainability objectives across complex, multi-tier supply chains. Achieving this integration demands not only technological capabilities, but also organizational readiness, governance mechanisms, and stakeholder collaboration.
This Special Issue aims to foster scholarly and practical discourse on the integration of smart technologies and sustainability in supply chains, and invites submissions of original research articles and comprehensive review papers. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- The strategic roles of smart technologies in operations and sustainable supply chain management;
- The challenges and opportunities in smart and sustainable supply chains;
- AI-powered demand forecasting and its impact on inventory waste reduction;
- Blockchain-based sustainable and ethical sourcing;
- Smart and sustainable strategies for managing global disruptions;
- Regulatory frameworks and incentives for smart sustainability innovations;
- SG reporting and digital traceability: challenges and best practices;
- Case studies of smart sustainable supply chain practices.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Mingu Kang
Dr. Taewon Kang
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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.
Keywords
- smart technologies
- digitalization
- supply chain ESG
- sustainable supply chain management
- sustainable performance
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