Logistics management for the future: the IJLRA framework

In this discussion paper, we aim to examine the key issues of logistics management in the Industry 4.0 era by addressing various major challenges. To be specific, we first establish an amended definition of logistics management, highlighting the new elements of cash flow, in both the cyber and physical worlds. We then review the highly relevant selected literature and propose a framework for future logistics management. Our proposed framework includes five critical areas, namely Industry 5.0, Joint-venture, Legal-concerns, Risk management, Automation and artificial intelligence (AI), and hence we call it the ‘IJLRA’ framework. For each area, we identify the major challenges that deserve further analyses. We believe that with proper logistics management under the IJLRA framework, organisations in the supply chain can achieve the crucial goals of logistics–achieving the right time, right place, right quality, and everything right–to satisfy customer needs. Finally, we also propose a future research agenda for logistics management.