Industry 4.0 application framework for sustainable reverse logistics: A systematic literature review

Abstract

The significance of sustainability necessitates organizations to implement technological solutions in their business practices. Integrating Industry 4.0 with current business practices enables the organization to enhance forward logistics sustainability. However, its integration is complex and unpredictable in reverse logistics due to the nature of reverse logistics activities. This research aimed to investigate the existing literature to understand the utilization of Industry 4.0 in reverse logistics to achieve triple-bottom-line sustainability. By using two strings of keywords, 134 articles from the Scopus database were finally considered for the full-text analysis to perform a systematic literature review with bibliometric and content analysis. The study’s outcome denotes an increasing trend of publications on this domain over the years, and India appeared as the primary contributor, both in terms of volume of publications and overall citations. The analysis identified Bag Surajit as the most prolific author with five documents between 2020 and 2022, and ‘circular economy’ is the most occurring author keyword. The study further underscores the widespread applications of Industry 4.0 for sustainable reverse logistics, providing academicians with a knowledge base at the intersection of Industry 4.0, reverse logistics, and sustainability. This research helps managers to transform reverse logistics activities with sustainability objectives, and it supports policymakers in formulating strategies for the adoption of these technologies for better reverse logistics operations. The study is intriguing as it provides a comprehensive examination of Industry 4.0 in reverse logistics for sustainability, while also uncovering the potential synergies of its integrated application. The study concluded with limitations and suggested the future scope of this research domain.