With the paradigm shift in consumption habits during the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating the digital transformation of supply chain operations, Configured by Consumption offers a timely reflection on the technological evolution of production-consumption cycles since the genesis of industrialization.

Digging deeper into the theoretical underpinnings of Industry 4.0, chapters explore consumerism, consumption on demand, consumer connectivity, omnichannel retailing and social commerce to develop a general theory of supply chain operations. The book examines how logistics and supply chain operations have evolved as a discipline and practice through the combined lens of accommodating technological advancement and supporting consumption. Looking to the future of global industry, it concludes by anticipating further technological advancement and contemplates the vision, possibilities, realities and challenges of where logistics and supply chain operations will go beyond automation, robotics and artificial intelligence to meet evolving consumer demand.

Giving meaning to the coalescence of the physical supply chain and digital commerce, it will prove invaluable to students and scholars of both economics and organizational and technology studies. It also offers significant insights for decision-makers working at all levels of supply chain and operations management, revealing digital transformations at both the firm (micro) and industry and country (macro) levels.

This insightful book examines the growing role of China on the global stage by gauging the varying reactions of international spectators to Beijing's hugely significant Belt and Road Initiative. Featuring detailed studies of key geologistical projects, Peter Rimmer charts the swift transformation of China's domestic logistics systems into a global geologistics policy.   Analyses of major international logistical projects, from the Great Stone Industrial Park of Belarus, through the ports of Gwadar, Piraeus, Darwin and Sabetta to the Nicaragua Canal, illustrate the global impact of China's geologistical developments and how key logistics skills are exported through the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. This book distils China's global logistics developments into three basic models - the transcontinental, the reverse and the classic - to reflect upon the effects of the first five years of the Belt and Road Initiative. Laced with detailed empirical studies and an array of illustrative maps, Rimmer assesses the domestic impact of the Initiative thus far and offers an astute appraisal of the imperial connotations of Beijing's global logistical project.   This enlightening book provides crucial insights for academics and researchers in political science, transport studies and economics investigating China's recent policy initiatives, particularly those who examine the impact of geologistics. Policymakers and commentators will also benefit from the author's unique empirical insight into global logistics development.

Digital technology has changed the way we work, socialize, shop, play and learn. This book offers a stimulating exploration of how digitization has begun transforming the prevailing global logistics system into a self-service and sharing economy, and ultimately provides a vision of the monumental changes likely to overflow into the business landscape. Consumer Logistics thoughtfully assesses the challenges posed to businesses as the Internet of Things, 3D printing and other yet-to-come technologies start to connect humans and physical objects in forms that will further transform lifestyles. Through a review of the evolutionary journey of logistics management, this book argues that the fourth wave of global logistics is fast giving way to the fifth wave of consumer logistics, which will see consumers adapt to the seamless offline-online purchasing experience brought by Omnichannel Retailing. By considering how logistics and digital technologies will interact to redefine consumer logistics, Peter J. Rimmer and Booi Hon Kam argue that this outcome is likely to reflect the character of the sixth great logistics wave: personal logistics. Thought-provoking, and contemporary in topic, this book will be of great value to business people interested in future trends, logistics professionals and operators, as well as academics and students worldwide working on logistics, supply chains and digital transformations.

Asian-Pacific Rim Logistics presents a wide span of material, geographically and conceptually, in considerable depth. Current conditions are presented with an historical context and up-to-date detail that will satisfy the specialist reader as well as those new to logistics and to Asian conditions. The coverage of logistics and policies within and between Japan, South Korea and China is particularly strong. The examination of developments in global logistics and of conditions in the extended Rim to include Australia and India, provides an interesting base from which to speculate about future directions in logistics.' - Trevor Heaver, University of British Columbia, Canada'This book is a tour de force on the dynamic complexities surrounding logistics operations in the Asian-Pacific Rim. Writing in a highly accessible fashion, Professor Rimmer systematically probes those dynamics that mould the complex protocols through the lens of structure and institutions. This is a not-to-miss book for anyone who wants to understand how global flows of goods, finance, information and people are relentlessly reshaped by local policies and logistics practices in countries of the Asian-Pacific region./ - Booi H Kam, RMIT University, Australia Encompassing China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia, extending to Australasia and connecting with South Asia, the Asian-Pacific Rim forms the world's most dynamic economic region. Comprehending the region's logistical structure and its institutions is of pivotal importance for businesses, researchers and policy-makers. The flow of goods, people and information constitutes the global and local economic system. Through a unique analysis of this system and the transport and communications technologies that sustain it, Peter J. Rimmer provides a framework for identifying the multilayered networks and gateways in which the Asian-Pacific Rim s logistics are embedded. Highlighting important structural and institutional features, the role of corporations (money) and states (power) in configuring global and local markets is illustrated by case studies drawn from across the world s major economic regions. This book addresses evolving challenges for policy-makers, arising from the extension of manufacturing and retailing supply chains across national borders, and from globalizing logistics services. By deepening knowledge and viewpoints on these issues, the well-illustrated Asian-Pacific Rim Logistics is essential reading for students exploring global logistics, supply chain management, international business, transportation, freight logistics and development studies. Policy-makers and a new generation of logistics and supply chain professionals will also benefit from the insights into this dynamic region. Contents: Acknowledgements Preface 1. Global + Local Logistics: Asian-Pacific Rim Perspectives Part I: Global Context 2. Multinational Industrial and Global Logistics Corporations 3. Maritime Networks 4. Aviation and Telecommunications Networks 5. The Network of Networks Part II: Local Policies: Asian-Pacific Rim 6. Gateways and Corridors 7. Japan and Southeast Asia 8. South Korea 9. China 10. Northeast Asia: Regional Logistics Policy Part III: Local Policies: The Wider Rim and Beyond 11. Australia 12. India Epilogue Bibliography Index

The extended metropolitan regions of Southeast Asia are the dynamic cores of their national economies and societies and the frontiers of accelerating globalization. ""The City in Southeast Asia"" explores ways of moving beyond outmoded paradigms of the Third World City or a Southeast Asian city 'type'. It begins by contrasting the acknowledged world cities of Singapore and Hong Kong with the aspiring world city of Kuala Lumpur and the still disorganized cities of Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila, and draws comparisons with the national second cities of Chiang Mai, Surabaya, Penang and Cebu. The authors analyze the changing relationships between people and place brought about by temperature controlled environments, the industralization of consumption through large-scale shopping malls, the role of cities as platforms for the globalisation strategies of Asian multinational corporations, and the transformation of public space into private space. They also examine public policy in terms of markets, land use and urban planning, and draw out the implications for research, business and policy-makers. This joint effort by a geographer and an economist will be of interest to economists, geographers, planners, political economists and sociologists.

The City in Southeast Asia explores the ways of moving beyond outmoded paradigms of the Third World City. Under "Patterns," the authors look at the "global cities" of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur, and then the national capitals of Bangkok, Jakarta, and Manila, in relation to the second cities of Chiang Mai, Surabaya, Cebu, and Penang. "Processes" focuses upon the privitization of climate through air-conditioned environments, the industrialization of consumption in the form of large shopping malls, the role of cities as platforms for the globalization strategies of Asian multinationals, and the contest at street-level between public and private space. Finally, "Policy" addresses governance and markets with regard to key issues in urban and land-use planning. Peter Rimmer and Howard Dick jointly bring to this volume seventy-years experience of working on urban and regional development in Southeast Asia. Their multidisciplinary analysis of the urban impacts of globalization draws on geography, economics, and history to bring the cities of Southeast Asia into a wider international discourse with implications for research, business, and policy.