This paper presents a literature review about the application of blockchain-based systems in transportation. The main aim was to identify, through the implementation of a multi-step methodology: current research-trends, main gaps in the literature, and possible future challenges. First, a bibliometric analysis was carried out to obtain a broad overview of the topic of interest. Subsequently, the most influential contributions were analysed in depth, with reference to the following two areas: supply chain and logistics; road traffic management and smart cities. The most important result is that the blockchain technology is still in an early stage, but appears extremely promising, given its possible applications within multiple fields, such as food track and trace, regulatory compliance, smart vehicles’ security, and supply-demand matching. Much effort is still necessary for reaching the maturation stage because several models have been theorized in recent years, but very few have been implemented within real contexts. Moreover, the link blockchain-sustainability was explored, showing that this technology could be the trigger for limiting food waste, reducing exhaust gas emissions, favouring correct urban development, and, in general, improving quality of life.

Purpose: The main purpose of this article is to systematically review the papers published in the period 2005-2020 about the integration of production, inventory and distribution activities in perishable supply chains.Design/methodology/approach: The proposed research methodology is based on several steps. First, database and keywords are selected, with the aim to search and collect the main papers, dealing with the integration of production, inventory, distribution activities in perishable supply chains. Then, a bibliometric analysis is carried out, to detect: the main publishing sources, the chronological distribution, the most used keywords, the featured authors, about the selected papers. A five-dimension classification framework is proposed to carry out a content analysis, where the papers of the literature review are classified and discussed, according to: supply chain structure, objective, perishability issues, solution approach, approach validation. Findings: Interest in the application of optimization models for integrated decision-making along perishable supply chains is strongly growing. Integrating multiple stages of the supply chain into a single framework is complex, especially when referring to perishable products. The vast majority of the problems addressed are then NP-Hard. Only a limited quantity of the selected papers aims to solve real-life case studies. There is a need for further research, which is capable of modeling and quantitatively improving existing supply chains. The potentials of Industry 4.0 are currently little explored. Originality/value: Based on the analysis of the papers published, this article outlines the current state of the art on the optimization strategies for the integrated management of perishable supply chains, which are very complex to be managed. Research trends and gaps are discussed, future challenges are presented.

The advent of modern digital technologies offers new opportunities to improve the performance of manufacturing systems from design to monitoring and control during operation. At the same time, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the fragility of all global supply chains and manufacturing systems. In this paper, a simulation-based framework, exploiting the benefits of the digital model concept, is proposed. It aims at: (1) supporting manufacturing design to effectively start a new business, (2) assessing the resilience of a manufacturing system in the face of disruptions, (3) evaluating the goodness of possible strategies to deal with COVID-like crises. The validity of the proposed framework is successfully demonstrated through a real-life case study, referring to the wood sector. The results show that a lack of system preparedness can lead to productivity reductions of up to 31.8%. At the same time, having the ability to react to unexpected events can limit damage and increase productivity by 26% compared to not reacting.

The field of Human‐Robot Interaction (HRI) represents one of the fast‐growing focus areas of Digital Twins (DTs). However, the role of DTs applications in human‐robot collaborative systems is still uncertain. This review article provides a comprehensive perspective of DTs' critical design aspects (i.e. Objectives, associate technologies, and application scenarios) in the broad application areas of human‐robot systems. This article uses a multi‐faceted approach to comprehend 43 DTs' state‐of‐the‐art applications in HRI. The study investigates the literature body across two dimensions (i.e. DT roles and HRI application characteristics). The conclusion of this work draws the attention of the relevant scientific community towards potential DTs' application scenarios and provides insights into DT's future research directions.

Modern ports are pivotal to global trade, facing increasing pressures from operational demands, resource optimization complexities, and urgent decarbonization needs. This study highlights the critical importance of digital model adoption within the maritime industry, particularly in the port sector, while integrating sustainability principles. Despite a growing body of research on digital models, industrial simulation, and green transition, a specific gap persists regarding the intersection of port management, hydrogen energy integration, and Digital Twin (DT) applications. Specifically, a bibliometric analysis provides an overview of the current research landscape through a study of the most used keywords, while the document analysis highlights three primary areas of advancement: optimization of hydrogen storage and integrated energy systems, hydrogen use in propulsion and auxiliary engines, and DT for management and validation in maritime operations. The main outcome of this research work is that while significant individual advancements have been made across critical domains such as optimizing hydrogen systems, enhancing engine performance, and developing robust DT applications for smart ports, a major challenge persists due to the limited simultaneous and integrated exploration of them. This gap notably limits the realization of their full combined benefits for green ports. By mapping current research and proposing interdisciplinary directions, this work contributes to the scientific debate on future port development, underscoring the need for integrated approaches that simultaneously address technological, environmental, and operational dimensions.

Coordination of the production and distribution activities represents a significant opportunity to cut costs and limit waste in the food supply chains. In this paper, we propose two mathematical models. The first one aims to integrate the harvesting, storage, and distribution activities of an agricultural company dealing with perishable products. The second one promotes horizontal collaboration between heterogeneous agri-companies for the distribution phase, in order to achieve cost savings. Computational experiments, conducted on a set of real-life instances, confirm the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed models, which provide multi-level support. At the tactical level, managerial insights suggest the most profitable parameter setting, in terms of harvesting frequency and quality of service. At the operational level, the use of a heuristic framework can support the decision-making of the companies, suggesting when collaboration is profitable.