Sustainable Logistics 4.0: A Study on Selecting the Best Technology for Internal Material Handling

Abstract

Logistics is a vital activity for the economic growth of an organization as it manages the flow of materials and information within, into, and out of the organization, as well as reverse flow. Like many other industrial processes, logistics has also been impacted by the rise of Industry 4.0 technologies, which has highlighted the significance of Logistics 4.0. However, Logistics 4.0 is mainly focused on economic benefits, while overlooking environmental and social concerns. To address this, a method is proposed that takes into account the three goals of sustainable development when selecting the best technology for internal material handling activities. Firstly, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to examine the application of 4.0 technologies in logistics processes and their impact on economic, environmental, and social sustainability. Secondly, based on the findings of the review, a three-level analytic hierarchy process was proposed to identify the optimal 4.0 technology for internal logistics. To demonstrate the practicality of the proposed method, it was tested on three companies. The results showed that additive manufacturing, exoskeletons, and collaborative robots are the most suitable options for achieving sustainable development goals within Logistics 4.0.

Trends and Recommendations for Enhancing Maturity Models in Supply Chain Management and Logistics

“…The methodology of this study employs a three-step approach [48], consisting of a literature search, a bibliometric analysis, and a content analysis (Figure 1). The literature search begins with identifying the topic and determining the relevant databases to be used.…”

Assessing the adequacy of transportation overall vehicle effectiveness for sustainable road transportation

“…The activities can be grouped following the classification of the logistics macro-phases which are inbound logistics, internal logistics, and outbound logistics. 36 Within this context, activities such as unloading goods, shelf allocation, picking, and delivery are carried out by the operators. Once the activities and their flow have been identified, it is therefore necessary to identify whether these activities are conducted in the most appropriate manner.…”

A Model for an Order-Picking Problem with a One-Directional Conveyor and Buffer

“…Logistics 4.0 primarily emphasizes financial gains. Ferraro et al (2023) [25] demonstrated that exoskeletons, collaborative robots, and additive manufacturing are the best means of attaining sustainable development objectives within Logistics 4.0. The researchers provided an improved analysis of logistics technologies, including effects on economic, environmental, and social sustainability on the one hand.…”

“…The researchers provided an improved analysis of logistics technologies, including effects on economic, environmental, and social sustainability on the one hand. On the other hand, the study by Ferraro et al (2023) [25] suggested a user-friendly multi-criteria decision-making technique based on the well-known analytic hierarchy process for choosing the most promising 4.0 technology to be deployed in businesses [25].…”