IoT for the future of sustainable supply chain management in Industry 4.0: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Over the last decade., adopting sustainability has become an increasingly important feature for industries to remain competitive in the global market. The global digital revolution altered the physical events in the manufacturing industries., such as procurement., production/assembling, and distribution of goods. In the context of Industry 4.0, the future supply chains (SCs) on how physical objects are transported, handled, stored, supplied, realized, and used around the world can be reshaped by the Physical Internet to improve SC efficiency and sustainability, and Internet of things (IoT) allows industry-relevant items such as materials, sensors, machines, and products, or in terms of Physical Internet containers, to all be connected and communicate with one another. On the other hand, manufacturing companies are more concerned about the adoption of sustainability in the SC. Furthermore, as consumers become more concerned about purchasing environmentally friendly products, SCs are motivated to spend more on sustainability efforts and Industry 4.0 technology, resulting in a more sustainable world. Changing market conditions have compelled these organizations to examine their SC efforts to effectively penetrate sustainability through diverse strategies such as lean, green, circular, and industry 4.0, among others. This paper seeks to identify the contributions of IoT to sustainable supply chain management (SSC) through a systematic literature review of the existing literature. In the current context, one of the focus areas for researchers and practitioners in the IoT. Researchers working in the SSC and industry 4.0 will benefit from the findings of this study, while practitioners can use the prioritized solution measures to develop effective strategies to overcome sustainable supply chain adoption problems.