Navigating Complexity in a Changing World: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable and Resilient Supply Chains

Dear Colleagues,

In today’s rapidly evolving and sustainability-conscious global landscape, supply chains face mounting pressure to address two critical priorities: sustainability and resilience. Organizations are expected to reduce their environmental and social impact through sustainable practices while also building resilient systems that are capable of appropriately anticipating, absorbing, and recovering from disruptions. While both objectives are vital for long-term viability, their relationship is often complex—at times mutually reinforcing but frequently characterized by tensions and trade-offs that require strategic compromise.

This Special Issue invites high-quality research that addresses either sustainability or resilience or explores their interconnectedness within the context of supply chain management. We particularly welcome studies that examine synergies, trade-offs, or paradoxes between the two, as well as frameworks, tools, and strategies for managing these dynamics. Submissions using a variety of methodological approaches are encouraged, including conceptual, empirical, case-based, analytical, modeling, and mixed-method studies.

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

• Designing and managing supply chains to improve sustainability, resilience, or both, including planning methods and performance metrics.
• Exploring the trade-offs, synergies, and tensions between sustainability and resilience in supply chain strategies.
• Using data-driven methods such as AI, machine learning, and analytics to evaluate ESG performance and support sustainable and resilient supply chains.
• Managing supply chain risks through ESG-based strategies, adaptation plans, and decision support tools.
• Applying circular economy principles to strengthen supply chain sustainability and resilience.
• Examining practices tailored to specific contexts, such as developing countries, service industries, and small- or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
• Understanding how organizational structures, behaviors, policies, and regulations support sustainable and resilient supply networks.
• Sharing real-world case studies that highlight innovative solutions from different industries.

Dr. Jaeyoung Oh
Dr. Joonhwan In
Dr. Minseok Park
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. Systems 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 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.

• sustainability
• resilience
• trade-offs and synergies
• ESG strategies
• data-driven decision-making
• AI and machine leaning in supply chains
• circular economy
• supply chain risk management
• supply chains for SMEs and service industries
• policy and regulation for ESGs