Internet of things and supply chain management: a literature review

Abstract

This paper explores the role of Internet of Things (IoT) and its impact on supply chain management (SCM) through an extensive literature review. Important aspects of IoT in SCM are covered including IoT definition, main IoT technology enablers and various SCM processes and applications. We offer several categorisation of the extant literature, such as based on methodology, industry sector and focus on a classification based on major supply chain processes. In addition, a bibliometric analysis of the literature is also presented. We find that most studies have focused on conceptualising the impact of IoT with limited analytical models and empirical studies. In addition, most studies have focused on the delivery supply chain process and the food and manufacturing supply chains. Areas of future SCM research that can support IoT implementation are also identified.

Keywords:

• Internet of Things (IoT)
• supply chain management
• industry 4.0
• supply chain processes
• smart supply chain

Acknowledgement

The authors are grateful to four reviewers for their careful reading of the paper and their valuable feedback.