Navigating Environmental Challenges through Supply Chain Quality Management 4.0 in Circular Economy: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

The infusion of circular economy (CE) principles into supply chain management has garnered significant attention from both scholars and industry professionals. Quality management and Industry 4.0 (SCQM 4.0) have emerged as central themes due to their potential to elevate supply chain efficiency and sustainability. In pursuit of this goal, a thorough literature review is conducted, with a specific focus on quality management within circular supply chains, placing a significant emphasis on Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies. By analyzing 126 papers spanning from 1998 to 2023, this systematic review discerns prevailing trends, identifies research gaps, and charts future avenues for investigation. These results highlight the growing academic interest in utilizing I4.0 technology to improve quality control in circular supply chains. SCQM 4.0 is thus proposed to aid in a better comprehension of Supply Chain Quality Management 4.0, which incorporates infrastructure practices rooted in various disruptive technologies and supply chain operations that link with sustainable performance with three key metrics of input management, waste handling, and preservation concentrating solely on the environmental aspect. Based on this research, we offer a four-tiered SCQM 4.0 practice path to achieve a CE.