The number of publications on the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0, short: I4.0) has increased exponentially. Likewise, significant investments by firms are planned. However, the link between purchasing and I4.0 is largely lacking even though procurement managers have high expectations. The fourth industrial revolution -which refers to the use of cyber-physical systems (CPSs) with autonomous machine-to-machine communication -could have several implications for purchasing processes. Support systems for purchasers are been developed, such as contract analysis software, and the possibility of digital negotiations has emerged and could revitalise e-marketplaces. Operative processes can act autonomously, with automated demand identification in CPSs. To support the development of I4.0 strategies in purchasing, this paper contributes by clearly defining I4.0, distinguishing it from the third industrial revolution, structuring the potential development paths of I4.0 in purchasing and by presenting the result of a project to develop a I4.0 maturity model for purchasing.

This study addresses the synthesis of sustainability-related considerations in packaging design curricula by means of educational interventions. The core of the research revolves around an educational module for students in packaging design and development. This research targets the current late-stage integration of sustainability considerations in product-packaging development processes. The combination of the front-end involvement of sustainability considerations with the focus on educational interventions in product-packaging development is lacking in currently available research. The educational interventions which are tested in representative educational environments-as presented in this article-address the required focus on the balance in decisions and criteria, trade-offs, and team dynamics within multidisciplinary product-packaging development teams. The educational framework targets five perspectives of packaging sustainability:(1) managerial decision making, (2) life cycle assessment (LCA), (3) consumer purchase behavior, (4) recycling efficiency and effectiveness, and (5) plastic recycling chain redesign. This research's main contribution is bridging the gap between implementing new scientific insights in the field of sustainable packaging from various perspectives, and practicing by applying the relevant knowledge in this field, by means of a design synthesis approach. This research derives findings from both an extensive introspective analysis and expert analysis of the results of the educational module.Sustainability 2019, 11, 21 2 of 37 by existing packaging. However, if we really want to address this problematic development, we need to tackle the roots of the problem, focusing on developing more sustainable product-packaging combinations. We speak of product-packaging combinations, because the packaging is in the service of the product within the complete supply chain and provides more than just the function of protecting the content, but also informing about and transporting the product [6][7][8][9].In current product-packaging development processes, sustainability considerations are mainly tackled at the end of the design process, implementing minor changes in the product design, that lead to only negligible effects on the environmental burden. This approach is known as eco-efficiency [10]. However, recent years have shown an increased interest in continuous material cycles, in which materials can be recycled without loss of quality, like Cradle to Cradle [11,12] and the concept of the circular economy [10]. These approaches can be explained as eco-effectiveness.Incorporation of sustainability considerations in an early stage of the product development process will be crucial to create more eco-effective product-packaging solutions. Furthermore, when implementing sustainability at an early stage, the early-stage environmental lock-in is key [3]. In other words: the probability of creating more eco-effective sustainable product-packaging combinations will be higher when we start thinking about su...

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