Logistics knowledge management: state of the art and future perspectives

Creating and Sharing Interorganizational Knowledge Through a Supply Chain 4.0 Project

Digitalization in the supply chain involves important transformations in the relationships between supply chain partners. Studies investigating these transformations underline the need to create and share new knowledge processes in order to achieve successful digital projects that improve integration and collaboration in the supply chain. This article proposes to make a parallel between the stages of the SECI model concerning knowledge conversion and the different phases of a Supply Chain 4.0 project. By using a longitudinal case study, the authors fill the gap on the dynamics of knowledge transformation in supply chain digital projects. Based on a supplier portal project, the case study presented helps to understand how to ensure that the different partners will get fully involved in the digital project. It provides five managerial recommendations for companies that wish to commit to supplier development and knowledge sharing through digital projects.

Knowledge Management Practices for Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Challenge for Business Education

In the last decades, business competition has been increasingly among supply chains (SCs) rather than individual firms. Today, considering the challenges of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, it is becoming even more vital to coordinate and co-manage company resources, activities, and innovative efforts at the SC level. Consequently, knowledge, which is a critical resource for companies, needs to be managed properly not only in single firms but also across SCs. For the education of business managers, this implies a double challenge: first, to make students and future executives become aware of the knowledge management (KM) practices that can be adopted; second, to facilitate the assimilation of these practices for the effective management of SCs, to ensure higher economic and environmentally sustainable performances. Standard definitions and classifications can be of great help, but the current studies are very fragmented. This study contributes by exploring the literature and examining the KM practices that are proposed and defined by the different authors. A systematic review and a descriptive analysis of selected papers showed the trend and focus of papers in the KM and SC fields. In addition, based on the definitions and classifications drawn from the literature, this paper discusses a possible systematization of the key KM practices in SCs. The major contribution of this paper is the effort of re-definition and re-classification of KM practices and their potential importance for effective and sustainable SC management. This analysis can be especially useful for organizing KM courses targeted to current and future business managers.

Analysing enablers of knowledge management in improving logistics capabilities of Indian organisations: a TISM approach

Purpose

This study aims to identify and analyse the main enablers of knowledge management (KM) in improving the logistics capabilities of Indian organisations and develop a model based on the contextual relationship among the identified enablers.

Design/methodology/approach

Initially, this study uses a systematic literature review and questionnaire-based survey approach to identify the enablers of KM; and later, total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) was used to evolve mutual relationships among the identified 11 enablers for developing a hierarchical model.

Findings

The results of the analysis show that enablers, namely, organisational structure and leadership, application of advanced information and communication system, collaboration with established stakeholders and organisational learning and innovative approaches are identified as main enablers for improving the logistics capabilities of Indian organisations.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides useful implications for the researchers working on exploring the role of KM enablers in improving the logistics capabilities of organisations.

Practical implications

This study provides rich practical implications for the manufacturers, supply chain managers, logistics service providers and logistics consultants involved in the decision-making process. They can focus majorly on knowledge creation and knowledge storage processes to improve the logistics performance of their respective organisations.

Originality/value

This study is an attempt to identify the enablers of KM that could improve the logistics capabilities of Indian organisations. The application of the TISM method to develop a theoretical framework is the novel contribution of this study.