1,721,063 research outputs found
Start-up-driven innovation for logistics: a classification framework
No full textStart-ups are often frontrunners to foster innovation, contributing to developing and spreading original thinking and solutions. In recent years, start-up ecosystems have experienced significant growth worldwide, and many start-ups have also emerged in the field of logistics. Despite this rising trend, the academic literature has underestimated start-up-driven innovation in the logistics industry so far. To act as a bridge between theory and practice, the purpose
of this study is to investigate and formalize the main directions of innovation brought by start-ups operating in the
logistics field. First, both available academic literature and secondary sources were examined, along with financial reporting data retrieved from commercial databases. As a result, 501 start-ups founded after 2015 and having logistics
services within their core business were identified worldwide. Then, a classification framework was developed,
according to start-ups’ value proposition. Four macro-categories were drawn ‒ new logistics players, logistics
platforms, software developers, and hardware developers ‒ and further subdivided into sub-categories to better
acknowledge specific peculiarities. Funding received and the number of start-ups per each category were considered
as proxies for the value of and potential for innovation. New logistics players and hardware developers emerged as the
start-ups categories offering the widest opportunities. The study offers an original approach to map and classify startup-driven innovation in logistics, simultaneously allowing for identifying the most promising directions for future
developments, also in the wake of the increasing concerns about environmental and social sustainability. On the one
hand, the growth of hardware solutions such as electric or self-driving vehicles calls for additional exploration of the
related managerial implications. On the other hand, further research could investigate how logistics service providers
could introduce innovative solutions in their daily operations, such as for urban deliveries
Assessing the environmental impact of logistics sites through CO2eq footprint computation
Full text linkThe environmental sustainability of logistics facilities is widely acknowledged as an important issue, but a comprehensive standardised methodology for assessing their environmental impact is lacking. This study proposes a structured model for quantifying both consumptions and generated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, adopting a three-phase methodology that combines multiple methods. A literature-based conceptual framework was leveraged to design an analytical model, and in-depth interviews with 11 senior logistics managers were conducted. The study offers a replicable methodology that considers heterogeneous sources of consumption and related end-use types, further splitting consumptions and emissions by warehouses' functional areas. It offers a set of Environmental Performance Indicators (EPIs) that could bolster a clearer understanding of the warehouse environmental performance. A robust tool is offered to managers to support their decision-making processes, allowing for both internal assessments and benchmarking with competitors or other players along the supply chain, thus contributing to shape company's, or even supply chain, sustainability strategies
Green warehousing: Exploration of organisational variables fostering the adoption of energy-efficient material handling equipment
Full text linkThe lithium-ion battery (LIB) represents a useful lever for reducing material handling equipment’s (MHE) environmental impact. The exploitation of opportunity charging might improve LIB adoption, which is still prevented by the high investment cost. Since opportunity charging is affected by the system organization, the relationship between LIB and organizational variables is a meaningful work direction to reduce warehouses’ environmental impact, which is underrepre-sented by the current literature. The present paper aims at filling this gap by investigating the im-plications of organisational variables on LIB adoption in warehouses where handling activities are performed with forklift trucks. Based on an in-depth review of the literature and semi-structured interviews, the research presents an input-process-output model linking organisational variables and LIB forklift related costs with an application to a real case. This paper is original as it extends findings from the research fields of production and mobility to the warehouse arena, and it opens room for further research on warehouse sustainability. The paper also offers insights to warehouse managers making decisions about LIB adoption for their electric forklift fleets. This is particularly meaningful to reduce warehouse environmental impact, since MHE power source significantly contributes to greenhouse gases emissions
A call to action: a stakeholder analysis of green logistics practices
Full text linkPurpose: There is a growing body of literature discussing the green logistics practices (GLPs) that companies could introduce to reduce the logistics environmental impact. Current approaches also identify several influencing factors within firms that could serve as barriers to, or enablers of, GLPs. However, less is known about the role of extra-firm stakeholders, even though these are crucial to operationalizing green logistics effectively. This study merges current theoretical understanding with empirical evidence to provide a detailed stakeholder analysis of GLPs. Design/methodology/approach: Using stakeholder theory as a theoretical lens, the authors aimed at offering a mid-range contribution by conducting multiple embedded case studies examining Italian logistics service providers and shippers. GLPs and the related influencing factors were examined as sub-units of analysis within broader companies' environmental sustainability strategies. Findings: The authors identified cascading effects among factors influencing the adoption of GLPs (e.g. key economic factors are affected by external factors which also influence organizational and collaboration factors). These effects are moderated by interdependencies between primary and secondary stakeholders, and the study highlights the prominent involvement of secondary stakeholders, such as final consumers. Originality/value: This paper contributes to better understanding how and why companies adopt GLPs, emphasizing the wide set of stakeholders involved and illustrating how different stakeholders impact on GLPs adoption by affecting a set of influencing factors. By combining insights from the available literature with contemporary empirical data, the authors emphasize how Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) and shippers can no longer address the adoption of GLPs as “focal companies”, but only as part of a “focal network of interconnected stakeholders”, all of them influencing GLPs adoption
Greening warehouses through energy efficiency and environmental impact reduction: a conceptual framework based on a systematic literature review
Full text linkPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework of green strategies as a combination of energy-efficiency measures and solutions towards environmental impact reduction for improving environmental sustainability at logistics sites. Such measures are examined by discussing the related impacts, motivations and barriers that could influence the measures' adoption. Starting from the framework, directions for future research in this field are outlined. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed framework was developed starting from a systematic literature review (SLR) approach on 60 papers published from 2008 to 2022 in international peer-reviewed journals or conference proceedings. Findings: The framework identifies six main areas of intervention (“green strategies”) towards green warehousing, namely Building, Utilities, Lighting, Material Handling and Automation, Materials and Operational Practices. For each strategy, specific energy-efficiency measures and solutions towards environmental impact reduction are further pinpointed. In most cases, “green-gold” measures emerge as the most appealing, entailing environmental and economic benefits at the same time. Finally, for each measure the relationship with the measures' primary impacts is discussed. Originality/value: From an academic viewpoint, the framework fills a major gap in the scientific literature since, for the first time, this study elaborates the concept of green warehousing as a result of energy-efficiency measures and solutions towards environmental impact reduction. A classification of the main areas of intervention (“green strategies”) is proposed by adopting a holistic approach. From a managerial perspective, the paper addresses a compelling need of practitioners – e.g. logistics service providers (LSPs), manufacturers and retailers – for practices and solutions towards greener warehousing processes to increase energy efficiency and decrease the environmental impact of the practitioners' logistics facilities. In this sense, the proposed framework can provide valuable support for logistics managers that are about to approach the challenge of turning the managers' warehouses into greener nodes of the managers' supply chains
Measuring Environmental Sustainability at Logistics Hubs: An International Benchmark of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Full text linkWithin logistics operations, sustainable warehousing has achieved increasing attention among academics and practitioners. Practitioners like Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) have started to perceive the need for measuring the environmental performance of their logistics hubs and searching for practices and solutions towards greener warehousing processes. Besides, a rising number of academic contributions have emerged addressing sustainable warehousing, especially from a conceptual viewpoint. However, empirical evidence is still lacking on the assessment of warehouse environmental performance, and very few studies offer an in-depth discussion on the quantification of operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at logistics hubs. This paper aims at addressing this research gap. Based on an extensive international market study the paper discusses some preliminary results on energy efficiency and GHG emissions at logistics hubs. Specifically, an initial international benchmark between Italy and Germany is offered in terms of consumption and emission figures split by features of the logistics hub, thus paving the way to the definition of an initial set of relevant GHG emission indicator values that can be taken into account for measuring the sustainability performance of European logistics hubs
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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