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Design of Sustainable Supply Chains and Industrial Processes

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Engineering and Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 3496

Editors


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Guest Editor
High School of Technology, Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University, Fez 30000, Morocco
Interests: supply chain; industrial engineering; healthcare and hospital logistics; urban freight transport; modelling; transport and mobility
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
High School of Technology, Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University, Fez 30000, Morocco
Interests: logistics; supply chain; healthcare; operational research; simulation; structural equation modeling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Industrial organizations create value through internal industrial processes and deliver it via external supply chains. The performance and competitiveness of these organizations depend largely on the effectiveness of both dimensions: industrial processes—which transform inputs into finished products—and supply chains—which manage the flow of goods, services, and information across various stakeholders.

Designing and enhancing these systems requires comprehensive and structured frameworks that explain how industrial processes and supply chains operate, interact, and respond to dynamic environments. These frameworks not only aid in analyzing and diagnosing existing systems, but also promote performance enhancement, risk mitigation, and strategic alignment with emerging trends such as Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0.

This Special Issue, entitled “Design of Sustainable Supply Chains and Industrial Processes”, aims to gather high-quality research that explores conceptual, methodological, and application-oriented contributions in this domain. We welcome the submission of original research articles and reviews that offer novel insights into modelling, evaluating, and enhancing industrial processes and supply chain systems through structured frameworks. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

  • Frameworks for the performance measurement and assessment of industrial processes and supply chains;
  • Frameworks identifying the key drivers, enablers, and risk factors impacting the efficiency of processes and supply chains;
  • Design frameworks supporting performance improvement strategies and continuous optimization;
  • Frameworks incorporating digitalization, automation, and sustainability in the context of Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0;
  • Case studies and applications of framework-based approaches in industrial and logistics systems.

We look forward to receiving your contributions to this Special Issue.

Sincerely,

Prof. Dr. Fouad Jawab
Dr. Youness Frichi
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 single-anonymized 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

  • modeling
  • manufacturing systems
  • optimization
  • performance
  • artificial intelligence
  • sustainability

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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29 pages, 6244 KB  
Article
Application of Long Short-Term Memory and XGBoost Model for Carbon Emission Reduction: Sustainable Travel Route Planning
by Sevcan Emek, Gizem Ildırar and Yeşim Gürbüzer
Sustainability 2025, 17(23), 10802; https://doi.org/10.3390/su172310802 - 2 Dec 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1453
Abstract
Travel planning is a process that allows users to obtain maximum benefit from their time, cost and energy. When planning a route from one place to another, it is an important option to present alternative travel areas on the route. This study proposes [...] Read more.
Travel planning is a process that allows users to obtain maximum benefit from their time, cost and energy. When planning a route from one place to another, it is an important option to present alternative travel areas on the route. This study proposes a travel route planning (TRP) architecture using a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model to improve both travel efficiency and environmental sustainability in route selection. This model incorporates carbon emissions directly into the route planning process by unifying user preferences, location recommendations, route optimization, and multimodal vehicle selection within a comprehensive framework. By merging environmental sustainability with user-focused travel planning, it generates personalized, practical, and low-carbon travel routes. The carbon emissions observed with TRP’s artificial intelligence (AI) recommendation route are presented comparatively with those of the user-determined route. XGBoost, Random Forest (RF), Categorical Boosting (CatBoost), Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM), (Extra Trees Regressor) ETR, and Multi-Layer Perception (MLP) models are applied to the TRP model. LSTM is compared with Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) models. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Squared Error (MSE), and Normalized Root Mean Square Error (NRMSE) error measurements of these models are carried out, and the best result is obtained using XGBoost and LSTM. TRP enhances environmental responsibility awareness within travel planning by integrating sustainability-oriented parameters into the decision-making process. Unlike conventional reservation systems, this model encourages individuals and organizations to prioritize eco-friendly options by considering not only financial factors but also environmental and socio-cultural impacts. By promoting responsible travel behaviors and supporting the adoption of sustainable tourism practices, the proposed approach contributes significantly to the broader dissemination of environmentally conscious travel choices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design of Sustainable Supply Chains and Industrial Processes)
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Review

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17 pages, 1517 KB  
Review
Towards Smart and Sustainable Last Mile Delivery Systems: A Scoping Review and Conceptual Framework
by Imane Moufad, Youness Frichi, Fouad Jawab and Jihad Mkhalfi
Sustainability 2025, 17(24), 11270; https://doi.org/10.3390/su172411270 - 16 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1507
Abstract
The accelerated growth of e-commerce and ongoing urban expansion have intensified the challenges associated with last-mile delivery, making it a critical issue in sustainable urban logistics. Therefore, our paper presents a scoping review to systematically delineate the current state of research on smart [...] Read more.
The accelerated growth of e-commerce and ongoing urban expansion have intensified the challenges associated with last-mile delivery, making it a critical issue in sustainable urban logistics. Therefore, our paper presents a scoping review to systematically delineate the current state of research on smart and sustainable last-mile delivery systems. We explore both innovative technologies—such as artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, the Internet of Things, and digital twins—and human-centered dimensions, including urban design, policy development, and collaborative stakeholder engagement. Using the PRISMA-ScR-based methodology, 140 peer-reviewed articles (2015–2025) have been analyzed to highlight key trends, gaps, and prospective directions. The study underlines how the technologies of Industry 4.0 have improved visibility and operational efficiency, but holistic thinking that incorporates environmental, human, and policy factors remains undeveloped. Based on these findings, this article provides a conceptual framework for smart and sustainable last-mile delivery, focusing on the intersection of digital and simulation tools and human-centric governance to achieve optimized efficiency, environmental performance, and equity. This framework helps both academics and decision-makers to advance data-driven, resilient, and integrative city logistic ecosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design of Sustainable Supply Chains and Industrial Processes)
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