Industry 4.0 technologies and sustainable warehousing: a systematic literature review and future research agenda

Abstract

PurposeRobust and efficient warehouse management is pivotal to the success of contemporary logistics and business productivity. Given the recent technological revolutions and the rising pressure for sustainable warehouse activities, the recent literature continues to grow on Industry 4.0 technologies and sustainable warehousing. Following this, the review aims to explore current state-of-the-art, knowledge development, the focus of research, methodological development and knowledge gaps for more impactful future research on this important yet underexplored topic.Design/methodology/approachA widely accepted systematic literature review (SLR) methodology was employed on a sample of 46 articles retrieved from multiple search queries in the three large databases: Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar.FindingsThe authors’ analysis unveils several interesting findings: the positive linkage between various Industry 4.0 technologies and the three main pillars (economic, social, environmental) of sustainable warehousing; the paucity of large scale empirical research, specifically in the context of COVID-19; imbalance amid studies on three main aspects of warehouse sustainability; partial application of Industry 4.0 technologies; and disproportion in scholarly focus between numerous warehouse activities and Industry 4.0 technologies.Practical implicationsThe authors integrate research findings from a pool of studies, thereby improving the understanding of practitioners on how different Industry 4.0 technologies relate to sustainable warehousing.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first SLR at the intersection of Industry 4.0 technologies and sustainable warehousing. Our review expands the existing knowledge base, devises a conceptual framework and suggests avenues for fruitful future research on this emerging area.