About the section

The International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management has launched a new section dedicated to research articles that detail emerging problems, challenges, lessons learnt and the future potential of major innovations and transformations in the logistics and supply chain management field. This section encourages co-creating articles with practitioners who drive innovations and transformative opportunities for the future supply chains.

The section encourages research that addresses supply chain issues related to global challenges such as sustainable development, inequality, hunger, and industrial strategy. The section welcomes articles that explore emerging problems and innovations that can potentially address the problems and lead to transformational changes in the ways physical distribution and logistics are managed. It serves as a platform to facilitate future meaningful research that can eventually benefit the field, society, economy, or help achieve UN sustainable development goals or the world to address global challenges. 

Studies of supply chains recently recognized as innovative are welcome. One could consider for example Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Supply Chain Hall of Famers, awards given by other professional bodies e.g., Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) and Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) Excellence Award winners, European Operations Management Association (EurOMA) Fellows, International Purchasing and Supply, Education and Research Association (IPSERA) lifetime achievement award winners and CSCMP Innovation award winners.

The section also encourages looking back at history to understand and learn from major supply chains innovations, transformative leadership and consider its potential into the future. The supply chain field is sometimes said to be “historically challenged.” While perhaps a young field, our history does feature amazing innovations and leadership transformations many of which still hold relevance today and for tomorrow. These include the Henry Ford’s assembly line, JB Hunt’s intermodal, Michael Dells postponement application and George Lauer’s UPC code. The Supply Chain Management (SCM) field is also a highly relevant and practical field making co-creation of insights and transformations between industry and academia invaluable. Concepts such as Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) were invented during close collaboration between academics and practitioners. 

To read more about what we're looking for from an Innovators and Transformers paper, take a look at this editorial written by Remko van Hoek: From impact and relevance to learning faster and innovating forward – introduction of a new paper category.

To view an example of an Innovators and Transformers paper, take a look at these articles: 

• Robotic process automation in Maersk procurement–applicability of action principles and research opportunities.
• Innovators and Transformers: Is wasted food just waste? Reconceptualising food loss and waste in operations and supply chain management research and practice (open access)
• Innovators and Transformers: Revisiting the gap between academia and practice: insights from the green logistics phenomenon (open access)

Submitting to the section

• The new section welcomes short articles (4,000 to 6,000 words including figures, tables, references, and appendix) aiming to benefit the SCM research agenda, the SCM field and societal impact of SCM. The articles may:
• Detail the history, lessons learned and future potential of breakthrough in supply chain innovations and transformative leadership accomplishments in industry and/or research and their impact on the supply chain. 
• Detail co-creation between business practitioners and academics to drive innovation in the logistics and supply chain management field with transformative potential.
• Delineate emerging problems, challenges, innovations in the logistics and supply chain management field that hold transformative potential and represent substantial future research opportunity.
• Involve real world developments and challenges that are best served by an interdisciplinary approach and as such represents substantial future research opportunity. 

The main role of this section is to drive and stimulate research that can be published as full research articles (later in the regular or special issue). The new section is NOT for the following types of regular research articles: 

• Research articles involve the construction or testing of a model or framework, testing of hypotheses, market research or surveys, empirical, scientific, or clinical research. 
• Literature review articles that analyze and/or critique existing literature in a subject area.
• Viewpoint articles that discuss the opinion or interpretation of the authors about a topic.
• Technical and modelling articles that describe and evaluate technical products, processes, or services.

Articles can be submitted to the special section anytime. The aim is to publish 3-6 articles annually. The articles will be double-blind reviewed and subjected to the same quality expectations as those submitted to regular issues. A short and conscience description of methods and data is desirable for articles involved empirical data. You may contact the section editors if there is any question. 

Section editors

Professor Remko van Hoek
The Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, USA.
Email: [email protected]

Mr. David Loseby
Director of Procurement, Rolls-Royce PLC., UK.
Email: [email protected]

Prof. Chee Yew Wong
Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds, UK.
Email: [email protected]