Abstract
Supply chain 4.0 (SC4.0) is one of the most emergent topics of interest to researchers and practitioners nowadays. SC4.0 concerns the various aspects of end-to-end logistics and supply chain management in the context of Industry 4.0 (Frederico et al., 2019) and the next generation of the digital supply chain. SC4.0 is closely related to the application of new technology (Pournader et al., 2019; Wang et al., 2021), such as 5G, Blockchain, Internet of Things, the use of advanced robotics, and the application of advanced analytics of big data in supply chain management, it has the potential to transform traditional supply chains disruptively (Koh et al., 2019; Muthusami and Srinivsan, 2018; Stevens & Johnson, 2016).
SC4.0 is an advanced framework with interconnected procedures that grows from detached applications to a wide relationship, coordinated and effective between the supply chain stages (Merlino and Sproge, 2017). Smart supply chains leverage data and digital technology’s ability to attain low cost and capital through data across the demand to the supply value chain. SC4.0 can create a competitive advantage, including increasing product offering and availability and market share while reducing overall cost (up to 30%), inventory, and lost sales (up to 75%) (Frederico et al., 2019). However, there is limited research in the supply chain 4.0 area.
This special issue focuses on the opportunities of SC4.0. Modern supply chains have become much more complex and dynamic. As climate changes, emerging technologies, the COVID-19 pandemic, the US-China trade war, the Russia-Ukraine war, environmental fluctuations, etc. brought many new opportunities, challenges, and uncertainties into supply chains, the firms need to capture these opportunities, manage these challenges, and mitigate these uncertainties. We have accepted several key papers:
Roh and Xiao (2024) outline how advanced technologies interactively address the challenges of the supply chain. It is imperative to provide the key opportunities between digital transformation and supply chain management.
Oh and Park (2024) discuss the linkage of supply chain ecosystems in the supply chain management 4.0 era. The authors provide a comprehensive framework to discuss supply chain ecosystems by focusing on technological platforms.
Wang (2024) examines the effect of blockchain technology on supply chain risk and new product development. The data collection is from 355 Chinese manufacturing firms to test a positive relationship between adopting blockchain technology and new product developments.
Khan et al. (2024) examine the timely information sharing on financial performance in supply chain finance through collected data from 261 firms. The findings show that supply chain finance significantly influences financial performance and that timely information sharing.
Benabdellah et al. (2024) provide a comprehensive literature review in relation to supplier selection in the Industry 4.0 era. The finding proposes three important dimensions: resilience, sustainability, and digitalisation.
Wu et al. (2024) discuss the working capital management under supply chain disruption. It is interesting to provide a guideline for policymakers to support supply chain resilience during the pandemic.
Wang et al. (2024) present supply chain capabilities in the three-stage circular model through data collected from 187 firms in New Zealand. The three-stage model helps firms to learn, respond, and reconfigure to the continuous improvement in supply chains.
Industry 4.0 is causing fundamental changes in supply chain management. It has drawn the attention of Supply Chain Management 4.0 (SCM 4.0). Digital technology facilitates the evolution of the supply chain into ecosystems by changing the value creation, delivery, and capture process. Digitally enabled supply chains, particularly operating in uncertain environments, have offered emerging research domains.