Digital Supply Chain and Disruptive Technologies

New varieties of disruptive technologies are transforming the world around us. Under the pressure of global competition and the emergence of unprecedented uncertainties such as the COVID-19 pandemic, we notice that those organizations with more advanced digital capability have found themselves to be more resilient and adaptive. The rapid migration to digital technologies driven by the pandemic is likely to continue. While some of the new digital technologies can be a burden for firms to adopt, there are endless commercial opportunities of the digital supply chain with IT applications to improve operations, increase profit, and create new business models and value for customers.  

The aim of this Special Issue is to explore the state-of-the-art developments in the digital supply chain, with a specific focus on IT applications and disruptive technologies that lead to incremental and radical innovations. In doing so, our authors will be encouraged to tackle established and new industrial challenges, and to explore how transformational digital technologies and services contribute to the achievement of sustainable digital supply chains and digital ecosystems.

The primary research scope and focus of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Emerging use cases for the innovative adoption of disruptive technologies in supply chains and logistics;
• Integrative use of both established (e.g., cloud computing, ERP systems) and emerging digital technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, cloud computing, and blockchain) and their impact on firm/organizational performance and innovation;
• Technology-led organizational and user behavioral changes within and between supply chain organizations;
• Theory building and/or testing in the context of disruptive technology diffusion within the context of logistics and supply chain;
• Theorization of the digital transformation of logistics and supply chains under radical uncertainties such as during the COVID-19 pandemic;
• Innovative business models and concepts enabled by digital technology, such as circular economy.

We invite submissions that present original and high-quality research work on technology-driven logistics and supply chain management. We will consider submissions that introduce new research problems and concepts, develop novel and rigorous methodologies to tackle the problems, and present innovative applications. Papers may employ a range of research methods including, but not limited to, analytic modelling, theoretical investigation, data-driven methodologies, simulation, and case studies. Successful real-world implementations are strongly encouraged.

Dr. Yingli Wang
Dr. Jeong Hugh Han
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. 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.

• digital supply chain
• disruptive technology
• IT applications
• sustainable growth of firms
• digital transformation
• digital value chain and digital ecosystem