Journal of Systems Science and Information (JSSI)

Smart logistics, increasingly flourishing in academia and industry, has been widely accepted as the main development tendency of logistics in the future. As well known, the concept of “logistics” implies the goal of “having the right product at the right time at the right place and in the right condition”. However, fulfilling this goal is getting more and more complex in a dynamically changing logistic environment, with a shift from traditional supply chains to open supply networks, long-lasting business relationships overrun by short-term business connections. The highly dynamic and complex market requires band new logistics service featuring flexibility, adaptability and proactivity. This can only be achieved by applying the ubiquitous technology, i.e., the integration of all kinds of new technologies like big data, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) and so on, which renders the popularity of smart logistics.

Smart logistics has seen exciting improvement in both academic research and practical applications, but there are still three categories of important problems unsolved. Firstly, academia has not got the unanimous agreement on the prospect of logistic, including “the implication of smart”, “how to be smart”, the economic and social impact and optimized development policy of smart logistics. Secondly, the overall map of smart logistics innovations is not totally unveiled yet, which implies that we are unware of the efficient way of developing new technology, integrating various technologies to improve the smart abilities. Thirdly, smart logistics has shown its power in some practical application like in China’s fighting the pandemic of COVID-19, but it actually acted in the unmanned way, in other words, it was automatic rather than smart.   

The purpose of this SI is to publish high-quality original research and review papers that explore various research topics on Smart logistics: theory and applications. We invite original research works that employ quantitative and/or qualitative methodologies, such as empirical surveys, case studies, event studies, mathematical modelling, optimization, and simulation. This SI will adhere to JSSI’s standard of publishing cutting-edge, relevant, and rigorous scholarship that plugs existing research gaps. As such, we welcome novel submissions that are neither published nor currently under review elsewhere. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

l   The concept model and overall technique framework of smart logistics

l   The innovative map and development policy of smart logistics

l   Empirical study on the social and economic implications of smart logistics

l   The role of technology facilitating smart logistics

l   The integration model of new technologies for smart logistics, such as block chain, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality(AR)

l   Designing innovative products and services enabled by smart logistics such as new tools and new business models.

l   Designing fast algorithms for large-scale optimization problems in smart logistics

l   Using technology and operational innovations to improve the efficiency of different stages on the supply chain, such as demand forecasting, warehousing, smart transportation and distribution.

l   The role of smart logistics in an emergency, like the epidemic of COVID-19.

l   Applications of block chain facilitating smart logistics

l   Operational challenges and solutions, like balance between smartness and personal data privacy, efficiency and unemployment and social stability.

Manuscript preparation and submission

Authors should submit a cover letter and a manuscript by February 28, 2021, via the Journal’s online submission site (http://www.syssci.ac.cn). Please specify the submission to “Smart logistics: theory and applications” when uploading your paper. Manuscripts submitted after the deadline may not be considered for the special issue and may be transferred, if accepted, to a regular issue. Please see the Author instructions on the web site if you have not yet submitted a paper through web-based system.

All submissions will be subject to a rigorously peer review process under the supervision of the Guest Editors by June 15, 2021. Accepted papers will be published by August 30, 2021.

For further enquiries, please contact any of the SI guest editors.

Guest editors:

Anqiang Huang [Managing Guest Editor]

Associate Professor

School of Economics and Management

Email: aqhuang@bjtu.edu.cn

T.C.E. Cheng

Professor

Faculty of Business, Hong Kong Polytechnic University,

Hong Kong, China

Email: edwin.cheng@polyu.edu.hk

Guowei Hua

Professor

School of Economics and Management

Beijing Jiaotong University

Beijing, China

Email: gwhua@bjut.edu.cn

Francisco Saldanha da Gama

Professor

Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon

Lisbon, Portugal

Email: fsgama@ciencias.ulisboa.pt