1,720,965 research outputs found
Tracing the evolution of warehouse technologies: A bibliometric study
No full textTraditionally, warehouses were primarily used for inventory storage and had several disadvantages due to manual operations. Over the years, however, the role of warehouses has evolved significantly, driven by technological innovation. This study presents a bibliometric analysis using R software package, to trace the evolution of the warehouse technology. The results demonstrate growing academic interest and cooperation between countries. Analysis of keywords and thematic evolution highlights the growing importance of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and robotics and their integration into warehouse operations. Furthermore, the analysis highlights the greater attention to efficiency and safety in warehouse management thanks to the introduction of intelligent technologies and Industry 4.0 principles
Life Cycle Costing of Food Technologies: A Case Study of a Milling Plant
No full textLife cycle costing (LCC) is a method of assessing the total cost of ownership of a durable item and has been used around the world for the last few decades. This paper investigates the issue of LCC of food technologies, and in particular of a milling plant. The main cost components of this plant are initial acquisition costs, operating costs, maintenance costs and end-of-life costs. An analytic model is developed under Microsoft ExcelTM to quantify these cost components. The application of the model is then detailed for one component (i.e., the operating cost) taken as an example, while for the remaining components, we present the main results obtained from the LCC application but omit the detailed computational procedure, for brevity. Overall, outcomes show that the highest economic impact is due to the operating costs, while the remaining costs contributes to the LCC to a limited extent
The Role of Simulation-Based Optimization in Remanufacturing and Reverse Logistics: A Systematic Literature Review
No full textThis paper deals with a comprehensive literature review on the topics of remanufacturing and reverse logistics, with a specific focus on the usage of computer simulation and optimization techniques. When dealing with the management of backward flows, challenges such as product complexity and variability, uncertainty in demand and supply, and high logistics and operational costs exists; to tackle these issues, strategies and techniques for optimizing processes have been explored; computer simulation was demonstrated to be a powerful tool for facing these issues. A total of 77 documents published from 2018 to 2023 are analysed, using advanced bibliometric and network analysis techniques. Outcomes highlight the challenges and opportunities associated with remanufacturing and reverse logistics and emphasise the role of simulation-based optimization in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of remanufacturing operations
The response to Covid-19 in logistics and supply chain processes: evidence from a review of the literature
No full textIt is well-known that the Covid-19, originated in December 2019 in China, had a huge impact not only on the population but also on supply chains, which were forced to stop their activities or quickly adapt to the changes. The severity of the impact of Covid19 on logistics and supply chain processes varied across the industrial sectors and depending on the moment in which they were observed. Often, supply chains were found to be not ready for counteracting a pandemic emergency (which is undoubtedly an exceptional event). Some early studies in the literature have analysed the extent of the Covid-19 impacts, or, alternatively, have evaluated the possibility of applying (traditional) risk management models for counteracting a pandemic emergency. Hopefully, after approximately two years of pandemic spread of the virus, we are now entering the post-Covid era. Hence, it is a good time for tracing a balance of the studies focusing on the Covid-19 and in particular, on its effects on logistics and supply chains, on modelling approaches, on strategies used for counteracting the emergency and on suggestions for making supply chains more resilient in the future. This is the focus of this paper, which analyses and classifies the literature published in 2021 and 2022 ( 70 studies) and related to Covid-19 in the supply chain. Keyword analysis helps in evaluating the key topics treated, their popularity and recurrence across the studies. Simulation appears to have been seldom used by researchers in recent times, while general modelling tools (e.g., multi-criteria decision making or structural equation modelling) are definitely more popular among researchers. Suggestions for future research activities can be easily delineated starting from these findings
Artificial intelligence in consumer preferences: Implications for health and well-being
No full textThe article explores how AI influences consumer behavior and wellbeing, addressing both the opportunities and challenges posed by AI technologies. It acknowledges the exponential growth of AI capabilities facilitated by advancements in computing power, IoT, and big data, which have revolutionized industries such as manufacturing and services. This evolution underscores the necessity for understanding AI's impacts on consumer experiences, ethical dimensions, and societal implications. The research's timely focus on AI's role in enhancing or hindering consumer health and wellbeing directly responds to current economic contexts shaped by technological advancements
Change Management in the Public Sector: A Preliminary Analysis
No full textThis paper presents a literature review of 64 studies published in the Journal of Organizational Change Management, aiming at examining the current state of research on organizational change and public sector management, with a focus on the use of change management and process optimization in public administrations. The discussion focuses primarily on a keyword analysis, based on the results obtained with bibliographic and bibliometric tools. The keywords were divided into four categories based on their frequency and persistence: intermittent, trendy, core, and emerging topics. The VOSviewer software package was used to identify the relationships between the keywords. The review highlights the importance of organizational change and change management in the public sector, emphasizing the need for careful planning, effective communication, employee involvement, and a supportive organizational culture. The results of the review provide valuable insights into the current state of research in these areas and can inform future research on change management in the public sector. This literature review focuses on change management practices with a specific focus on the public sector, which is rarely investigated in the literature. Also, it provides a detailed analysis of the existing knowledge about this topic. In addition, the use of multivariate statistical techniques provides an in-depth understanding of the relationships among keywords, thus providing an original contribution to the literature on the theme
Development of a Fuzzy Logic-Based Tool for Evaluating KPIs in a Lean, Agile, Resilient, and Green (LARG) Supply Chain
No full textThis study proposes a fuzzy logic-based approach to better manage supply chain uncertainty and improve decision-making flexibility. The developed framework categorizes supply chain activities into procurement, production, distribution and reverse logistics and integrates Lean, Agile, Resilient, and Green (LARG) KPIs within a hierarchical structure. The tool was implemented using Microsoft ExcelTM to enhance usability for practitioners. To test its applicability, the model was applied to a real case study. The results show that lean and resilient practices are consistently well-established across all supply chain phases, while agility and green practices vary significantly depending on the operational area—particularly between internal function (i.e., production and reverse logistics) and external ones (i.e., procurement and distribution). These findings help to better understand how the LARG capabilities are distributed across the different operational areas of the supply chain and offer practical guidance for managers seeking targeted performance improvement. Although the numerical results are context-specific, the framework’s adaptability makes it suitable for diverse supply chain environments
Mapping LARGS criteria and relationships for supplier selection using a fuzzy hybrid approach
No full textThis paper provides a detailed mapping of the Lean, Agile, Resilient, Green, and Sustainable (LARGS) criteria for supplier selection, identifies the most relevant criteria, and evaluates the relationships between them in a decision-making process. Using fuzzy DELPHI to collect experts’ opinions, 16 key LARGS criteria were identified starting from a set of more than 50 factors derived from the literature. Then, applying a combination of fuzzy DEMATEL-ANP and gathering again the opinions of experts, the complex interrelationships among those criteria were mapped, highlighting how these connections can impact the final weighting of each criterion in a supplier selection process. From a theoretical perspective the proposed analysis aims to identify the most important criteria for supplier selection within a LARGS framework and to show how these weighted criteria connect each other in a decision-making process. The findings show that “emergency order processing” and “Environmental Management System” are the primary factors influencing the network of interrelations among criteria, while “pollution control”, “reputation” and “vulnerability” are the most critical factors in the selection of LARGS suppliers. The final weights for the criteria, obtained taking into account the relationships among the factors and LARGS perspectives, were tested in a case study, to appraise their effect in real supplier selection processes. From a practical viewpoint, the outcomes clearly show that considering the relationships among the LARGS criteria can change the ranking of suppliers, and thus, those relationships play a critical role in selection process; this confirms the importance of a comprehensive evaluation of suppliers to achieve effective and sustainable supply chain management. Valuable insights for decision-makers, to optimize potential supplier selection processes within increasingly complex, dynamic and competitive supply chains, can be derived
Life cycle costing of a milling plant: a case study in Italy
No full textThe scope of this study is to perform an economic analysis of a food system-a milling plant-through the Life cycle costing (LCC) approach. To be more precise, this paper illustrates the evaluation of the total cost of a stainless steel rollermill by means of an analytic model developed under Microsoft Excel (TM). The model takes into account the key cost components of manufacturing and using the milling plant throughout its life cycle (i.e. initial acquisition cost, operating cost, maintenance cost and end-of-life cost). The details of the computational procedure and its application are provided for all cost components of this food technology. The LCC analysis carried out on a 15, 30 and 45-year time horizon allowed the cost associated with the entire life cycle of the system to be identified and quantified. The set of analyses conducted shows that, although the initial acquisition cost remains unchanged, the operating and maintenance costs increase significantly over time, dominating the total cost. In turn, the most influential component of the operating cost is electricity, while for maintenance cost, prevention and planning activities play an increasingly important role with the increase in the duration of the lifetime. This study provides a clear and comprehensive view of costs over the entire plant cycle and helps to identify the most relevant cost components
Exploring the evolution of Industry 4.0 research: A bibliometric perspective
No full textIn this paper, the evolution of research activities targeting Industry 4.0 has been extensively studied through a set of bibliometric analyses, leveraging a wide sample of journal papers retrieved from the Scopus database using the single search term "Industry 4.0". This query yielded over 12,000 research and review papers published up to 2023. Using this sample, the study employs robust bibliometric techniques to analyze trends of research over time, citation patterns, and thematic evolution within the field of Industry 4.0. By synthesizing findings from this extensive literature corpus, the paper provides insights into the trajectory and impact of Industry 4.0 research, highlighting key advancements, research hotspots, and emerging areas of interest. Results show that research in the area of Industry 4.0 is wide and variegated. Besides highly debated and well-known scientific topics, numerous complementary, less debated or emerging topics can be identified, highlighting the expansion of the research field beyond the traditional boundaries of Industry 4.0. Sustainability-related aspects, in particular, have emerged as important topics frequently associated to Industry 4.0 themes. The set of considerations derived from the bibliometric analyses also allows deriving some preliminary conclusions about the maturity level of the research on Industry 4.0. This bibliometric study thus contributes to a deeper understanding of the evolution of Industry 4.0 and paves the way to future research directions in this field
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