Naoum Tsolakis

International Hellenic University · School of Economics and Business Administration

Purpose Operational risks can cause considerable, atypical disturbances and impact food supply chain (SC) resilience. Indicatively, the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions in the UK food services as nationwide stockouts led to unprecedented discrepancies between retail and home-delivery supply capacity and demand. To this effect, this...

The study empirically examines whether increased supply chain (SC) flexibility correlates with improvements in an SC's ability to address a firm’s sustainability performance (SP). In addition, we investigate how SC visibility impacts a firm’s SP by way of enhancing SC agility in the model. SC flexibility plays a vital role in SC operations to achie...

Purpose: Amidst compounding crises and increasing global population’s nutritional needs, food supply chains are called to address the “diet–environment–health” trilemma in a sustainable and resilient manner. However, food system stakeholders are reluctant to act upon established protein sources such as meat to avoid potential public and industry-dr...

Resource shortages (e.g., microchip, water, and labor) are a key challenge for supply chains. However, despite the growing interest of the operations management community in this issue, extant research is still limited. In this regard, this study adopts a critical literature taxonomy process to (i) investigate the causes of resource shortages from...

This Special Issue aims to shed light on sustainable production, operations, and supply chains for providing meaningful managerial implications and research recommendations. The submitted articles are anticipated to act as a ‘guide map’ for both academics and practitioners in designing and (re)configuring efficient supply networks, building upon th...

In recent years, accessibility has become a topic of great interest on a global scale across the scientific, business, and policy sectors. There are two primary reasons for this growing trend. Firstly, accessibility serves as a vital indicator reflecting the social performance of communities, and the public is increasingly aware of critical social...

Water is a vital resource for both agricultural and industrial operations, which cumulatively account for more than 90% of the worldwide freshwater use. However, the overexploitation of freshwater resources has been causing alarming water scarcity issues, leading 50% of the global population to face severe droughts by 2050. In this light, the Unite...

This study explores the nature of publicly available data, big data analytics, the knowledge derived from such analytics, and their interconnections in the context of achieving supply chain visibility, traceability and transparency to uncover the blind spots in the end-to-end supply chain. This study conducts a scoping review and evaluates the rele...

The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical conceptualization of supply chain uncertainty in logistics and transport operations and their interdependence relationships. A study was conducted to investigate the supply chain uncertainty in a logistics context. Three types of supply chain uncertainty are identified. They are people-related u...

Digital transformation has unveiled new prospects for increased performance and productivity in the agricultural sector to meet rising food security needs. Continuous industrialization and unexpected disruptions (e.g., workforce mobility restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic) call for the adoption of agricultural robots. However, automated solu...

Renewable feedstocks and Industry 4.0 technologies in supply chains could operationalise circular economy and promote sustainable development. This study explores potential supply network configurations utilising microalgae feedstocks, whose bioactive morphology provides promising commercial opportunities, supported by continuous manufacturing tech...

Knowledge-based synergistic automation is a potential intermediate option between the opposite extremes of manual and fully automated robotic labor in agriculture. Disruptive information and communication technologies (ICT) and sophisticated solutions for human-robot interaction (HRI) endow a skilled farmer with enhanced capabilities to perform agr...

Technology innovations present an opportunity for the agricultural sector to leverage in-field data and inform the resource-demanding operations to ultimately promote Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly upstream of the food supply chains. The need for data-driven innovations in farming is particularly pertinent to resource-scarce reg...

Groundwater sustainability is one of the most critical issues to the State of Punjab, India. In this research, a numerical groundwater flow model (MODFLOW) was employed to simulate flow and groundwater levels in the Sirhind Canal Tract of Punjab between 1998 and 2030. Historical groundwater patterns were calibrated using reported groundwater data f...

Packaging has an enabling role in supply chains (SCs) as it facilitates a range of functions, specifically (i) marketing; (ii) logistics and SC management; (iii) food technology; and (iv) environmental protection. This study explores the appreciation towards certain food packaging factors and attributes by consumers and industrial experts for a ran...

Enterprise Information Systems (EISs) are a strategic management tool for delivering value to supply chain stakeholders by enabling end-to-end coordinated and sustainable operations. Nonetheless, fundamental challenges during the implementation process of such digital systems are the disintegration of EISs and the emergence of relevant Critical Fai...

Automated agricultural operations must be planned and organized to reduce risk and failure potential while optimizing productivity and efficiency. However, the diversity of natural outdoor environments and the varied data types and volumes required to represent an agricultural setting comprise critical challenges for the deployment of fully automat...

As agriculture and industry exploit more than 90% of the global freshwater resources, water overuse and degradation have emerged as critical socio-environmental challenges for both nations and corporations. In this context, the water footprint concept was introduced in order to quantify the freshwater consumption and pollution of a territory or acr...

Digitalisation is expected to transform end-to-end supply chain operations by leveraging the technical capabilities of advanced technology applications. Notwithstanding the operations-wise merits associated with the implementation of digital technologies, individually, their combined effect has been overlooked owing to limited real-world evidence....

This research identifies and assesses the added value of Circular Economy (CE) to the industrialized production of canned peaches in Greece through the valorisation of the peach kernel, as current supply chain (SC) configurations often overlook it. To this end, this study maps the SC, records manufacturing processing inputs and outputs, and reviews...

The implications of red rice on the total production of commercially cultivated rice are widely documented in the literature. Red rice, due to its genetic similarity with cultivated rice, is not affected by typical herbicides, and thus it is considered as a major weed challenge. Conventional and chemical-based solutions to address red rice are inef...

Despite manufacturing companies recognising the potential benefits associated with the adoption of Supply Chain Analytics (SCA), only a few firms adopt data-based decision-making processes due to fundamental technical, organisational and environmental challenges. In this regard, this research explores the determinants influencing SCA adoption and t...

This research introduces an integrated approach for the ex-ante analysis of technology innovations in agriculture, like unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), to foster the envisaged sustainable transformation in farming operations. The strategic foresight process of global institutions recognizes the beneficial role of “digital twins” in agriculture for...

Mobile robots are extensively used in flexible manufacturing systems and intra-logistics on a 24/7 basis to address demand fluctuations, increase productivity and promote environmental, economic and social sustainability. In this regard, routing algorithms are used to navigate mobile industrial robots for optimizing shop-floor logistics operations....

Digitalisation has provoked rapid changes in the operational landscape, thus requiring prompt decision-making across end-to-end supply chains. Notwithstanding the fact that technology is the epicentre of digital transformation, more often than not, organisations fail to effectively adopt innovative applications, harness their full potential and rea...

Digitalisation has provoked rapid changes in the operational landscape, thus requiring prompt decision-making across end-to-end supply chains. Notwithstanding the fact that technology is the epicentre of digital transformation, more often than not, organisations fail to effectively adopt innovative applications, harness their full potential and rea...

Water resource management is pivotal for sustainable operations, particularly in agriculture, as, for example, the sector accounts for about 70% of the global freshwater exploitation. Specifically, in countries like India, the prevalence of water-intensive cropping systems such as ‘rice – wheat’ in tandem with traditional irrigation methods such as...

Food demand peaks often necessitate the short-term use of additional workforce in agriculture. In addition, emergency restrictions (e.g., limited mobility during Covid-19, natural catastrophes, humanitarian crises) can further inflate agri-food needs, while abruptly disrupt farming operations due to reduced labor capacity. In this light, human-robo...

Supply chain disruptions recurrently challenge end-to-end operations owing to the ambiguous understanding of the role of governance in impacting supply network resilience. This paper scrutinises the relevant literature to understand the plethora of interpretations in the domain of supply chain governance and resilience while further provides a new...

This research introduces the idea of ‘Circular Economy 4.0’ to reflect the emergence of ‘digitalised’ sustainable supply networks. While often characterised by enhanced productivity and resource/energy efficiency, current perspectives are largely descriptive with limited practical relevance. A hierarchical decision-making framework and a multi-leve...

As freshwater overexploitation in agriculture is rising, the application of alternative farming practices, particularly in water-scarce areas, is critical for the sustainability of the sector. Organic agriculture constitutes an opportunity for freshwater conservation, further improving biodiversity and human health. Notwithstanding literature effor...

The increasing exposure of global supply chains to severe disruptions such as the ones related to the COVID-19 pandemic, clearly demonstrated the need for novel data-driven risk management paradigms that monetise data from internal and external stakeholders to support supply chain security, resilience, and sustainability. We first motivate the chal...

Global risks, regional catastrophic events and pertinent policy responses (e.g., pandemics and mobility restrictions) highlight that resilience in farming operations is pivotal for ensuring stability in agri-food supply chains whilst ensuring downstream food security and promoting upstream rural welfare. In this regard, Agriculture 4.0 and particul...

Competing and coexisting policies (CACP) may arise from the incompatibility of incentives, standards and regulatory models between a local state and a federal government, or between two government jurisdictions across which supply networks operate. Traditional studies of supply chain dynamics typically explore the impact of policy regimens as stand...

Agrifood demand spikes often necessitate the short-term use of additional workforce. However, emergency restrictions (e.g., limited mobility during Covid-19) can disrupt harvesting operations. Human-robot synergistic systems could be an alternative long-term solution. Our system dynamics model assesses how introducing robots in agriculture can effi...

Artificial intelligence and data analytics capabilities have enabled the introduction of automation, such as robotics and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), across different sectors of the production spectrum which successively has profound implications for operational efficiency and productivity. However, the environmental sustainability implicatio...

Environmental sustainability analyses of end-to-end food supply chain (SC) operations and processes need to be performed regularly to accommodate reconfiguration opportunities arising in the global business landscape. This research scrutinises the pertinent literature and identifies the challenges of data availability, data obsolescence, computatio...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate strategies to manage product recalls where shortages are a critical threat, with impacts such as loss of life. The authors aim to identify key supply chain strategies and opportunities for theoretical advancement by taking a resilience perspective on temporary supply chain design. Design/methodol...

Drones are a breakthrough technology in warehouse inventory management as they enable real-time, fast and accurate inventory listing while minimising operational costs to supply chain stakeholders. In terms of sustainability, drones at the social constituent minimise the risk of human injuries at the facility, at the environmental constituent use r...

Sustainable Development Goals present an opportunity for industries to (re)design their supply chains. It is understood that digital technologies like blockchain can be helpful in achieving certain Sustainable Development Goals linked to livelihoods, food security, and the environment, by identifying issues and implementing interventions in real-ti...

Communication software can significantly facilitate the management of large-scale, multi-disciplinary, and complex projects. However, most specialised communication software tools for project management are designed according to hierarchical structures, thus resulting in ineffective project planning and scheduling. To that end, heterarchical commun...

: The advent of mobile robots in agriculture has signaled a digital transformation with new automation technologies optimize a range of labor-intensive, resources-demanding, and time-consuming agri-field operations. To that end a generally accepted technical lexicon for mobile robots is lacking as pertinent terms are often used interchangeably. Thi...

Wine constitutes the dominant Italian agricultural product with respect to both production quantity and economic value. Italy is the top wine producer worldwide in terms of volume and the second one below France in terms of national income. As the Italian agricultural production accounts for 85% of the national freshwater appropriation, the country...

Low consumer trust and enhanced transparency are key challenges in food supply systems design. With specific regards to organic food, consumers seek to make more informed choices, requiring convincing evidence of the origin and organic status of produce such as meat and vegetables available on retailers’ shelves. This provides scope for a greater i...

This paper discusses the application of digital twin concepts, prevalent in the factory unit operations environment, to the supply chain context. While the concept of digital twin is relatively recent in the manufacturing context, its application has now emerged within a wider supply chain context. It is unclear in this broader application what mig...

This research aims to develop a farm management emulation tool that enables agrifood producers to effectively introduce advanced digital technologies, like intelligent and autonomous unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), in real-world field operations. To that end, we first provide a critical taxonomy of studies investigating agricultural robotic system...

Waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is a constantly increasing component of the total volume of municipal solid waste. E-waste streams are expected to continue escalating in the near future. The underlining paradox lies in the fact that end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment constitute a critical waste stream owing to the c...

Designing supply networks enabled by renewable chemical feedstocks presents complexities in terms of undefined markets, multiple intermediate chemical compound options and uncertain chemical conversion pathways. This research addresses this gap by developing a structured approach for designing compound class defined supply chains (SCs) through invo...

The aim of this study is to explore the impact of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies on the configuration opportunities of supply chains (SCs) within the digital manufacturing era. To this effect, we first conduct a critical taxonomy of existing research efforts and then propose an integrated decision-making process for the design and managem...

In the today's highly competitive global business landscape, customers demand personalised products and responsive distribution systems, hence fuelling the concept of Distributed Manufacturing (DM) as a paradigm that suggests the geographical distribution of manufacturing systems adjacent to the markets to enable 'production on demand'. To this end...

In today's highly competitive global business landscape, customers demand personalised products and responsive distribution systems, hence fuelling the concept of Distributed Manufacturing (DM) as a paradigm that suggests the geographical distribution of manufacturing systems adjacent to the markets enable ‘production on demand’. To this end, the o...

This research investigates principles to design Circular Supply Networks (CSN). We derive key investigative variables employing Industrial Ecology (IE) theory and Supply Network (SN) research to observe impact of product, process, and location attributes on design and assessment of CSNs. We apply a single case study design guided by a research fram...

Growing global food demand and security concerns dictate the need for state-of-the-art food production technologies to increase farming efficiency. Concurrently, freshwater overexploitation in agriculture, especially in arid and water-scarce areas, emphasises the vital role of appropriate water-saving irrigations techniques to ensure natural resour...

Autonomous systems are a promising alternative for safely executing precision farming activities in a 24/7 perspective. In this context Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) are used in custom agricultural fields, with sophisticated sensors and data fusion techniques for real-time mapping and navigation. The aim of this study is to present a simulation s...

Resource efficiency in the agri-food sector is a global urgent issue considering the urbanisation phenomena, the increased nutritional needs, and the emergence of diversified dietary norms. Despite the ongoing progress in digital technologies that could enable resource-efficient operations in the sector, their effectiveness—even in developed countr...

This paper provides a multi-stage multi-layer mapping methodology for capturing the macro-level supply chain dynamics that govern industrial systems using renewable feedstocks. The mapping approach combines the Industrial Systems Mapping and System Dynamics principles to systematically capture the interrelations across: (i) institutional players, (...

Fashion industry is one of most water-dependent production sectors. The cultivation of cotton, which is used in 40% of all clothing produced globally, is the most water-consuming stage across apparel supply chains, further considering that several cotton farming regions face water scarcity. The textile industry utilises significant freshwater volum...

Drones are considered as a breakthrough technology in warehouse inventory management as they enable fast and accurate inventory listing while minimizing operational costs and providing real-time information to supply chain stakeholders. In terms of sustainability, the value of drones is evident at: (i) the social constituent by minimizing the risk...

The purpose of this research is to introduce a qualitative sustainability performance assessment framework for food supply networks, based on the perception of their key stakeholders’ upper management. Moreover, the paper provides industry insights by exemplifying the value of the proposed framework for the UK food industry. A critical review on th...

The recent economic recession in Greece has had a detrimental impact on all national business activities, with the logistics industry being one of the most affected sectors primarily due to the significant decrease in market demand for goods and services. In this regard, the aim of this research is to identify key challenges and prospects for the G...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to discuss key challenges associated with the use of either simulation or real-world application of intelligent autonomous vehicles (IAVs) in supply network operations; and second, to provide a theoretical and empirical evidence-based methodological framework that supports the integrated applica...

Freshwater sustainability has been emerging as a critical corporate social responsibility issue for leading businesses worldwide. An increasing number of companies disclose and evaluate their water footprint, embracing an end-to-end supply chain perspective. In this work, we first propose a strategic system dynamics model for capturing the long-ter...

The principal objective of this research is to provide a framework that captures the main software architecture elements for developing highly customized simulation tools that support the effective integration of Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles (IAVs) in sustainable supply networks, as an emerging field in the operations management agenda. To that...

The purpose of this research is to explore the relationship of types of supply chain decisions, types of information and types of digital technologies in order to reduce uncertainty in supply chain operations in manufacturing companies. This study has several key findings including that the majority of information is not systematically captured by...

Chicken is the most consumed meat in the UK, accounting for 40% of meat consumption, while national production sufficiency reaches about 80%. As a farmed animal product, chicken meat is responsible for significant freshwater appropriation volumes during its production cycle. In this context, this research aims at exploring freshwater dynamics in th...

Chicken is the most consumed meat in the UK, accounting for 40% of meat consumption, while national production sufficiency reaches about 80%. As a farm animal product, chicken meat is responsible for significant freshwater appropriation volumes during its production cycle. In this context, this research aims at exploring freshwater dynamics in the...

The principal objective of this research is to provide a framework that captures the main software architecture elements for developing highly customised simulation tools that support the effective integration of Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles (IAVs) in sustainable supply networks, as an emerging field in the operations management agenda. To that...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold: (i) to discuss key challenges associated to the use of either simulation or real-world application of Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles (IAVs) in supply network operations, and (ii) to provide a theoretical and empirical evidence-based methodological framework that supports the integrated application of...

Responding to the intensified shareholders’ pressure for economic growth, stringent health regulatory schemes and increased consumers’ environmental awareness Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT) revolution provide opportunities for developing effective industrial applications that efficiently tackle the triple-helix sustainability challen...

Autonomous systems are a promising alternative for effectively executing agricultural field management strategies. Unmanned Ground Vehicles perform farming activities on custom agricultural fields, using real-time navigation. The aim of this study is to provide a software tool for optimizing accuracy and efficiency in precision farming activities,...

The aim of this research is to provide a framework for the complementary use of simulation software analysis along with emulation tools and real-world intelligent autonomous vehicles (IAVs) for exploring alternative designs for effective operations in digital supply chains. A major network design challenge considers the inability to predict the sys...

The energy landscape of the twenty-first century is dominated by ramifications necessitating critically low carbon emissions and efficient utilization of renewable energy sources. Therefore, in order to support the transition to the green energy era a myriad of policies is drafted and implemented with the most notable being the ?20-20-20? European...

The aim of the present research is to explore inventory management decisions for ‘green’ pharmacies supply chains (SCs) defined by renewable chemical feedstock platform technologies. More specifically, we develop a System Dynamics (SD) modelling approach to investigate inventory planning and control operations of crude sulphate turpentine, as the s...

The aim of this research is to investigate the role of smallholder farming in tackling food security and sustainability related challenges in the developed world. In this regard, the relevant literature is discussed and a System Dynamics modelling framework that captures self-sufficiency of cereals produced in the United Kingdom, as an indicator of...

The aim of this research is to provide a comprehensive decision-making process and a framework for exploring configuration opportunities for commercially viable supply chains (SCs) arising from renewable chemical feedstocks (RCFs), towards delivering value-added intermediates or end-products. To that end, we first introduce an inclusive hierarchica...

Although humans are not the only species that leave their footprint on the environment, they alone have the ability to reduce their environmental impact in contrast to animals. In this regard, pet owners should also "go green" on behalf of their beloved companions. At the same time, as pet food production constitutes the major hotspot of a pet's ec...

The energy landscape of the twenty-first century is dominated by ramifications necessitating critically low carbon emissions and efficient utilization of renewable energy sources. Therefore, in order to support the transition to the green energy era a myriad of policies is drafted and implemented with the most notable being the “20-20-20” European...

Electricity is an undisputed factor supporting human development, while further supporting social wellbeing and fostering economic growth of modern societies. Therefore, the electricity market provides a vivid policy-making arena for the EU regulators, where on-going structural reforms are promoted with the aim to encapsulate and accommodate sustai...

Internationalization of markets and climate change introduce multifaceted challenges for modern supply chain (SC) management in the today's digitalisation era. On the other hand, Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) systems have reached an age of maturity that allows for their utilization towards tackling dynamic market conditions and aligning SC managem...

Internationalization of markets and climate change introduce multifaceted challenges for modern supply chain (SC) management in the today's digitalisation era. On the other hand, Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) systems have reached an age of maturity that allows for their utilization towards tackling dynamic market conditions and aligning SC managem...

Water scarcity (WS), which leads to multiple environmental, social and economic ramifications, has emerged as an indisputable concern for both public and private stakeholders. In this context, the water footprint (WF) concept has been introduced for assessing freshwater consumption and pollution at national, corporate or product level. In the agrif...

Responding to the intensified shareholders’ pressure for economic growth, stringent health regulatory schemes and increased consumers’ environmental awareness Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT) revolution provide opportunities for developing effective industrial applications that efficiently tackle the triple-helix sustainability challen...

The aim of the present research is to explore inventory management decisions for ‘green’ pharmacies supply chains (SCs) defined by renewable chemical feedstock platform technologies. More specifically, we develop a System Dynamics (SD) modelling approach to investigate inventory planning and control operations of crude sulphate turpentine, as the s...