Logistics 4.0 : digital transformation of supply chain management

"Manufacturing and service industry has been broadly affected by the past industrial revolutions. From the invention of the steam engine to digital automated production, the first Industrial Revolution and the following revolutions conduced to significant changes in operations and supply chain management (SCM) processes. Swift changes in manufacturing and service systems caused by industrial revolutions led to phenomenal improvements in productivity for the companies. This fast-paced environment brings new challenges and opportunities for the companies that are associated with the adaptation to the new concepts such as Internet of Things and Cyber Physical Systems, artificial intelligence, robotics, cyber security, data analytics, block chain and cloud technology. These emerging technologies facilitated and expedited the birth of Logistics 4.0. The Industry 4.0 initiatives in SCM has attracted stakeholder's attentions due to it is ability to empower using a set of technologies together that helps to execute more efficient production and distribution systems. This initiative has been called Logistics 4.0 as the fourth Industrial Revolution in SCM due to its high potential. Connecting entities, machines, physical items and enterprise resources to each other by using sensors, devices and the Internet along the supply chains are the main attributes for Logistics 4.0. The context of the Internet of Things (IoT) enables customers to make more suitable and valuable decisions due to the data-driven structure of the Industry 4.0 paradigm"--