The manufacturing industry plays a crucial role in the economy of many countries, but there is a lack of expertise in implementing smart supply chains and smart technologies. This study aims to investigate the relationship between smart supply chains, smart technologies, and operational performance in the manufacturing industry. A survey questionnaire was conducted among registered manufacturing industries, and the results were analyzed using Smart PLS to test 10 hypotheses. Four hypotheses were supported out of 119 responses received through simple random sampling. The study suggests implementing instrumented supply chains using smart technologies can enhance operational performance. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, academics, and industry practitioners to improve the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry. This research emphasizes the importance of smart supply chains and smart technologies in achieving operational excellence, and further studies are necessary to address the identified limitations and contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of smart technologies in the supply chain’s digitalization.

This study undertakes a systematic literature review of the impact of remote and hybrid work models on the productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises in the post-COVID-19 environment. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses procedure, data were collected from Scopus and Web of Science, resulting in a final sample of 12 peer-reviewed studies published between 2020 and 2024 that were studied across diverse global contexts. The review finds that flexible work arrangements generally improve productivity by increasing employee satisfaction, reducing commuting time, and supporting work–life balance. Hybrid models emerged as the most effective, as they combine the independence of remote work with the collaborative advantages of in-person interaction, while also highlighting persistent challenges, including inadequate digital infrastructure, communication issues, and increasing cybersecurity risks in small and medium-sized enterprises. This study provides a comprehensive suggestion of critical success factors for small and medium-sized enterprises adapting to hybrid work models, offering valuable insights that can guide both small and medium-sized enterprises and policymakers. Overall, the review suggests that hybrid work models offer a sustainable path to improve productivity and flexibility, although further research is needed to evaluate long-term effects and regional differences.

Managing inventory is crucial especially for manufacturing companies as it has a direct influence on profits of the company. In order to have an efficient inventory management, inventory accuracy need to be achieved and this can be achieved by leveraging technologies and techniques that can minimize the human error. The objective of this study is to investigate the factors affecting inventory inaccuracy in Factory 21 of ABC manufacturing company. This study reveals that the inventory inaccuracy is influenced by the order received in the factory, which is due to the human misconduct during the manual counting process of cartons on pallet. This paper proposes the deployment of Arduino sensor network system in automating the carton counting process.The findings for this study show that the automation system able to improve the inventory record accuracy in ABC manufacturing company.

The purpose of the paper is to determine the importance of digital literacy (DL) in educational supply chain (EduSC) sustainability. A semi-systematic review technique was used with Google Scholar and Scopus databases. The growing use of technology and digital resources revealed a significant digital divide between people, educational processes and access to technologies and suitable infrastructures, as well as the need for DL, particularly in the EduSC in the 21st century. According to the results, just 58.6% of EduSC researchers emphasize economic sustainability, while 72.4% emphasize environmental sustainability. A total of 93.1% of scholars examine the impact of DL on society, demonstrating the significance of DL in the EduSC. DL was discovered to have the greatest impact on society, with students and educators being related to all processes in an EduSC.

This paper is centered towards examining whether innovation, social media marketing, and corporate social responsibility have any associations with firm performance in automotive sector. By reviewing the prior literature, it can be concluded that there are limited studies which focused on investigating the direct impacts of the above factors collectively on firm performance, particularly in automotive industry. Moreover, the performance of automotive industry in Malaysia has recently experienced slow growth. Therefore, a quantitative research method was employed for data collection and fulfilling the research objectives. In particular, the data were collected via survey instrument from many employees of automotive companies at the state of Pahang in Malaysia. The data was then anlayzed by SPSS Version 19 to verify and test the hypotheses. Overall, the outcomes revealed that innovation has a significant positive impact on firm performance. But the influence of social media marketing on firm performance was found insignificant. Finally, the outcomes showed that the practice of corporate social responsibility has a positive impact on firm performance.