Automated Supply Chain Formation – A Theoretical Framework

The purpose of this paper is to review the different concepts and approaches regarding automated supply chain formation (SCF) in order to create a theoretical framework and identify gaps in existing research in SCF regarding the complexity of practical implementation in the context of Industry 4.0. The research is conducted through analyzing three perspectives regard-ing the complexity of the SCF process: 1) the existence of a central authority, 2) the mecha-nisms employed for communication between entities in the supply chain, 3) one/multi-unit dimension for the traded goods. A theoretical framework was created and the following gaps and issues were identified in the existing research literature: 1) Parameters used in order to pair-wise suppliers/consumers are limited. 2) The resulted supply chains are assessed mainly using a profit optimization function for the end-consumer. 3) The possible risks associated with participating entities in the supply chain are not considered.