are also very diverse from optimization to multi-criteria decision-making methods to
descriptive methods.
Overview of the Book
There are nine chapters in this book excluding this introductory chapter. The book
covers the work of several international contributors from different fields of study
who share their research in sustainability in different industrial networks. The two
main themes of the book (sustainability and strategic decision-making) are too broad
to provide an exhaustive cover of all relevant topics. The book is rather providing a
sample of such strategic and managerial decision-making in some particular contexts. Although there is some overlap among the chapters, care was taken to make
each chapter standing alone. Below a short summary of each chapter is given.
Chapter 1 (Beames, Claassen, Akkerman) discusses the logistics challenges in
the context of circular economy (CE) with a particular focus on circular business
innovations, servitization, and open business models. Three key strategic decisionmaking problems for businesses for the transition towards circular business models
are discussed: (i) the extent to which the logistics network is centralized, (ii) the
extent to which the product is servitized, and (iii) the extent to which logistics
services are coordinated. The chapter presents a theoretical overview of the three
trade-offs and what their potential implications are.
Chapter 2 (Tavasszy) discusses the decarbonization of freight transport systems
through internalizing the environmental costs of transport, by means of carbon
emission-based taxes. The impact mechanisms of carbon taxes are explored by
investigating the reorganization responses of freight decision-makers. A series of
empirical cases of recent modelling studies at city, corridor, country, continent, and
global levels are used to draw lessons concerning the impacts of logistics decisions
on the policies and identify needs for further research which includes decisions in
specific areas or logistics, but also on decision processes, to better understand the
dynamics of impact pathways.
Chapter 3 (Sharif Azadeh, Maknoon, Chen, Bierlaire) discusses the impact of
collaborative scheduling and routing for interconnected logistics system which plays
an important role towards having a more sustainable green freight transport. Building on the concept of Physical Internet (PI), the chapter studies the last mile delivery
as well as vehicle dispatching problems under the assumptions of collaborative
supply chain networks. An efficient resource planning with the minimal number of
empty vehicle movements running on roads that ultimately leads to decrease carbon
dioxide emission is proposed and tested by real data successfully.
Chapter 4 (Salimi) discusses the challenges of implementing CE in agri-food
systems. The chapter starts with a discussion on the need of using CE in agri-food
systems. Then by identifying the characteristics of agri-food systems, the challenges
that the actors in these systems face provide solutions from CE principles to handle
those challenges. It further discusses some of the protentional policies, practices, and
Strategic Decision-Making for Sustainable Management of Industrial Networks
ix
descriptive methods.
Overview of the Book
There are nine chapters in this book excluding this introductory chapter. The book
covers the work of several international contributors from different fields of study
who share their research in sustainability in different industrial networks. The two
main themes of the book (sustainability and strategic decision-making) are too broad
to provide an exhaustive cover of all relevant topics. The book is rather providing a
sample of such strategic and managerial decision-making in some particular contexts. Although there is some overlap among the chapters, care was taken to make
each chapter standing alone. Below a short summary of each chapter is given.
Chapter 1 (Beames, Claassen, Akkerman) discusses the logistics challenges in
the context of circular economy (CE) with a particular focus on circular business
innovations, servitization, and open business models. Three key strategic decisionmaking problems for businesses for the transition towards circular business models
are discussed: (i) the extent to which the logistics network is centralized, (ii) the
extent to which the product is servitized, and (iii) the extent to which logistics
services are coordinated. The chapter presents a theoretical overview of the three
trade-offs and what their potential implications are.
Chapter 2 (Tavasszy) discusses the decarbonization of freight transport systems
through internalizing the environmental costs of transport, by means of carbon
emission-based taxes. The impact mechanisms of carbon taxes are explored by
investigating the reorganization responses of freight decision-makers. A series of
empirical cases of recent modelling studies at city, corridor, country, continent, and
global levels are used to draw lessons concerning the impacts of logistics decisions
on the policies and identify needs for further research which includes decisions in
specific areas or logistics, but also on decision processes, to better understand the
dynamics of impact pathways.
Chapter 3 (Sharif Azadeh, Maknoon, Chen, Bierlaire) discusses the impact of
collaborative scheduling and routing for interconnected logistics system which plays
an important role towards having a more sustainable green freight transport. Building on the concept of Physical Internet (PI), the chapter studies the last mile delivery
as well as vehicle dispatching problems under the assumptions of collaborative
supply chain networks. An efficient resource planning with the minimal number of
empty vehicle movements running on roads that ultimately leads to decrease carbon
dioxide emission is proposed and tested by real data successfully.
Chapter 4 (Salimi) discusses the challenges of implementing CE in agri-food
systems. The chapter starts with a discussion on the need of using CE in agri-food
systems. Then by identifying the characteristics of agri-food systems, the challenges
that the actors in these systems face provide solutions from CE principles to handle
those challenges. It further discusses some of the protentional policies, practices, and
Strategic Decision-Making for Sustainable Management of Industrial Networks
ix