In the supply chain oriented to Industrial 4.0 Scenario the scarcity of studies on Technology Transfer (TT) can be easily observed. TT is a fundamental process, because it steers the absorption and dissemination of technologies towards the various stages of supply chain. The objective of this study is to contextualise TT in the supply chain of Industrial 4.0 Scenario, focusing on the supply, manufacturing industry and final consumer stages. A review of the literature was carried out, using a structured protocol and criteria to compose the bibliographic portfolio. To support the questions presented in this study, the most relevant articles related to the researched topic were thoroughly analyzed. The results infers that in the Industrial 4.0 Scenario, the supply chain will go through changes, such as real-time visibility throughout the entirety of the supply chain, continuous collaboration between the stages of the chain, among other significant changes.

Technological and scientific advances set out the expanding of new opportunities for intelligent industries. The concept of Industry 4.0 is observed by expert groups as an important industrial configuration approach, however, much is still under discussion, especially in the emerging countries. There is a lack of practical studies and procedures on the implementation of this concept in companies. This paper aims to present intrinsic scientific contributions to Industry 4.0 deployment in companies, so that this concept can be set in motion. A literature review was elaborated in the Scopus, Web of Science and Science Direct databases, using structured protocols to select scientific articles. Only empirical studies were considered – empirical evidences – interview with experts on Industry 4.0 themes, case studies in companies, among others. As result, the barriers were reported, such as lack of financial resources and lack of infrastructure, the challenging impacts, such as relocation of people in the labour market, and benefits, respectively, and finally the basic technological and managerial requirements for Industry 4.0.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to explore the new concept of TQM 4.0 as a way of adapting quality management (QM) in Industry 4.0 (I4.0), guiding industries to this new phase, which has generated adaptations in numerous areas, one of which is QM and human resources.Design/methodology/approach: A systematic review of the literature was carried out. Methodi Ordinatio was applied to build the portfolio of articles with scientific relevance, which is the source of data collections and content analysis. To help out in the analysis, NVivo 12 and VOSviewer software programs were used.Findings: The results demonstrate that when adapting the QM to the technologies of I4.0, the result is an ecosystem that supports the integration between technology, quality and people in the industrial scenario.Research limitations/implications: This article presents a systematic review of the literature, but without delving into specific issues such as the different industrial sectors and the culture of countries in which industries may be inserted, for example, which characterizes a limitation of this research.Practical implications: This study provides an ecosystem model that can guide future research, regarding the concept of TQM 4.0, in addition to pointing out some ways of combining technologies, quality and people in the industrial context.Originality/value: This is one of the first articles to employ a systematic review of the literature using Methodi Ordinatio to build a bibliographic panorama on the intertwining of the themes total QM (TQM) and I4.0, focusing on the emerging concept of TQM 4.0.

The purpose in this paper is to develop a systematic literature review aiming to reveal innovation opportunities associated with the thematic collaboration and trust in the reverse logistics field. The authors adopted a parallel analysis approach segregating the systematic literature review papers in two groups at NVivo®, collaboration and trust in the supply chain and collaboration and trust in reverse logistics, aiming to explore in the first group of papers insights for innovation on collaboration and trust in reverse logistics. The content analysis strategy was supported by the knowledge exchange theory described in Gravier et al. (2008). Reverse logistics is hardly dissociated from broader sustainable supply chain management approaches, which make all considerations on collaboration and trust designed for such approaches valuable and valid for reverse logistics. Collaboration and trust concepts in supply chain and in reverse logistics contexts are quite similar, while collaboration/trust is mandatory for managing networks in sustainable approaches and in reverse logistics, as well. Downstream and upstream, the chain disruptive innovation business models may be developed between focal companies and returns system third-party logistics providers, fourth-party logistics providers or end-customers, in a business-to-customer collaboration approach. Several collaboration technologies are listed in three perspectives: knowledge sharing, knowledge generation and knowledge implementation. This study uses a specific protocol for the systematic literature review, and due to inclusion and exclusion criteria, other protocols can provide different results. The strategy of analysis under the knowledge exchange perspective may give a type of result different from other perspectives. This research systematizes the existing knowledge on the collaborations and trust, which is a priority basis for reverse logistics, providing insights to researchers and practitioners in the area and identifying an agenda for future studies.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to develop a systematic literature review (SLR) aiming to identify reverse logistics (RL) concepts and practices applied to the end-of-life (EOL) and end-of-use (EOU) of pharmaceuticals and to identify and synthesize, through bibliometric indicators, research opportunities on RL, considering the analysis of publications in the periodical Supply Chain Management: An International Journal (SCMij). Design/methodology/approach: The SLR followed two steps, namely, search for articles on the subject and content analysis of selected material and bibliometric analysis of publications using VOSviewer®. Findings: The SLR allowed the compilation of evidences regarding pharmaceutical RL in the groups: environmental risk, the RL evolution and regulatory and stakeholder’s educational perspective. Despite the timid specific literature on pharmaceutical RL, it was also possible to point out research gaps and opportunities. Pharmaceutical RL seems to be influenced by studies from traditional RL including mathematical modeling, managerial strategies and technologies but prescind of a systemic solution. Besides reducing environmental impact, the motivation to implement pharmaceutical RL resides in its potential for revenue. Considering integrated logistics as a trend and an emerging issue, RL for the pharmaceutical industry needs to be addressed more thorough and broadly. Research limitations/implications: The limited number of papers returned in this SLR of pharmaceutical RL impaired the bibliometric analysis of them, leading to the inclusion of papers on general RL. Originality/value: This study provides an overview of the evolution of RL in the pharmaceutical industry, it also clarifies concepts and EOL/EOU practices, particularly directed to the pharmaceutical industry RL.