Sustainable Supply Chain and the Next-Generation Platforms

is an innovative journal aimed at bridging the gap among the various disciplines of business process management, including information systems, operations research, system engineering, management science, operations management, industry engineering, control theory, and service management. Supply chain management (SCM) as an entity spans many functional areas within a company, affecting the way various groups and departments communicate and interact with each other. The developments in advanced enterprise information systems and the Internet have enabled information to be readily accessible to multiple members of a supply chain (Lee, 2001; Lee & Lee, 2006). Many of the advances in the control and management of supply chains are driven by advances in information technology. Within the various disciplines that make up SCM, information systems address a vast range of problems, from those strategic in nature such as logistics network design to tactical problems such as the assignment of warehouses and manufacturing facilities, all the way to day-today operational problems such as production scheduling, delivery mode selection, and vehicle routing. Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky, and Simchi-Levi (2008) demonstrate that the inherent size and complexity of many of these disciplines make information systems essential for effective decision making. Information systems are key elements of most organizations. They consist of a network of communication channels used within an orga-(manual and automated), together with people trained in recoding, processing, transmitting, and providing access to information. There is an inherent risk, though, that these information systems, if not adequately developed, tested, and implemented based on user requirements, would result in operating errors and/or inefficiencies. SCM is an integrative function, with primary responsibilities for linking major business functions and business processes within and across companies, into a cohesive and high-performing business model. It drives the coordination of processes and activities across areas of marketing, sales, product design, finance and information technology. Information systems are an important enabler of effective SCM. With the advent of e-business, if there is no effective Web-based information system in place, there is essentially no business. Any company, though, can benefit from the successful implementation of SCM using different information systems options, including enterprise resource planning (ERP) and decision support systems (DSS), that are aimed to assist the different functional areas in a supply chain. Information systems have proved to be a critical element in assuring SCM excellence and success. To address the growing complexity of SCM in this environment of information expansions and technological innovations, traditional …