This book provides an overview of important trends and developments in logistics and supply chain research, making them available to practitioners, while also serving as a point of reference for academicians. Operations and logistics are cornerstones of modern supply chains that in turn are essential for global business and economics. The composition, character and importance of supply chains and networks are rapidly changing, due to technological innovations such as Information and Communication Technologies, Sensors and Robotics, Internet of Things, and Additive Manufacturing, to name a few (often referred to as Industry 4.0). Societal developments such as environmental consciousness, urbanization or the optimal use of scarce resources are also impacting how supply chain networks are configured and operated. As a result, future supply chains will not just be assessed in terms of cost-effectiveness and speed, but also the need to satisfy agility, resilience and sustainability requirements. To face these challenges, an understanding of the basic as well as more advanced concepts and recent innovations is essential in building competitive and sustainable supply chains and, as part of that, logistics and operations. These span multiple disciplines and geographies, making them interdisciplinary and international. Therefore, this book contains contributions and views from a variety of experts from multiple countries, and combines management, engineering as well as basic information technology and social concepts. In particular, it aims to: provide a comprehensive guide for all relevant and major logistics, operations, and supply chain management topics in teaching and business practice address three levels of expertise, i.e., concepts and principles at a basic (undergraduate, BS) level, more advanced topics at a graduate level (MS), and finally recent (state-of-the-art) developments at a research level. In particular the latter serve to present a window on current and future (potential) logistics innovations in the different thematic fields for both researchers and top business practitioners integrate a textbook approach with matching case studies for effective teaching and learning discuss multiple international perspectives in order to represent adequately the true global nature of operations, logistics and supply chains.

This contributed volume combines conceptual and strategic research articles dealing with the "why" and "to what end" of sustainable operations in humanitarian logistics, as well as operational research contributions regarding the "how" from the United Nations as well as from researchers and organizations from different countries (Germany, Australia, Singapore, Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Jordan). The target audience primarily comprises research experts, decision makers and practitioners in the field, but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students.

New, global and extended markets are forcing companies to process and manage increasingly differentiated products with shorter life cycles, low volumes and reduced customer delivery times. In today's global marketplace production systems need to be able to deliver products on time, maintain market credibility and introduce new products and services faster than competitors. As a result, a new production paradigm of a production system has been developed and a supporting management decision-making approach simultaneously incorporating design, management, and control of the production system is necessary so that this challenge can be effectively and efficiency met. "Maintenance Engineering and its Applications in Production Systems" meets this need by introducing an original and integrated idea of maintenance: maintenance for productivity. The volume starts with the introduction and discussion of a new conceptual framework based on productivity, quality, and safety supported by maintenance. Subsequent chapters illustrate the most relevant models and methods to plan, organise, implement and control the whole maintenance process (reliability evaluation models and prediction, maintenance strategies and policies, spare parts management, computer maintenance management software - CMMS, and total productive maintenance - TPM, etc.). Several examples of problems supported by solutions, and real applications to help and test the reader's comprehension are included. "Maintenance Engineering and its Applications in Production Systems" will certainly be valuable to engineering students, doctoral and post-doctoral students and also to maintenance practitioners, as well as managers of industrial and service companies.

This contributed volume combines conceptual and strategic research articles dealing with the "why" and "to what end" of sustainable operations in humanitarian logistics, as well as operational research contributions regarding the "how" from the United Nations as well as from researchers and organizations from different countries (Germany, Australia, Singapore, Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Jordan). The target audience primarily comprises research experts, decision makers and practitioners in the field, but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students.

This book provides an overview of important trends and developments in logistics and supply chain research, making them available to practitioners, while also serving as a point of reference for academicians. Operations and logistics are cornerstones of modern supply chains that in turn are essential for global business and economics. The composition, character and importance of supply chains and networks are rapidly changing, due to technological innovations such as Information and Communication Technologies, Sensors and Robotics, Internet of Things, and Additive Manufacturing, to name a few (often referred to as Industry 4.0). Societal developments such as environmental consciousness, urbanization or the optimal use of scarce resources are also impacting how supply chain networks are configured and operated. As a result, future supply chains will not just be assessed in terms of cost-effectiveness and speed, but also the need to satisfy agility, resilience and sustainability requirements. To face these challenges, an understanding of the basic as well as more advanced concepts and recent innovations is essential in building competitive and sustainable supply chains and, as part of that, logistics and operations. These span multiple disciplines and geographies, making them interdisciplinary and international. Therefore, this book contains contributions and views from a variety of experts from multiple countries, and combines management, engineering as well as basic information technology and social concepts. In particular, it aims to: provide a comprehensive guide for all relevant and major logistics, operations, and supply chain management topics in teaching and business practice address three levels of expertise, i.e., concepts and principles at a basic (undergraduate, BS) level, more advanced topics at a graduate level (MS), and finally recent (state-of-the-art) developments at a research level. In particular the latter serve to present a window on current and future (potential) logistics innovations in the different thematic fields for both researchers and top business practitioners integrate a textbook approach with matching case studies for effective teaching and learning discuss multiple international perspectives in order to represent adequately the true global nature of operations, logistics and supply chains.