Guest editorial: Empirically grounded research in logistics and supply chain management for a circular economy

The CE is driven by intentional design, aiming to drastically improve resource efficiency by restoring technical materials and regenerating biological materials to keep them in circulation instead of sending them to a landfill as in a linear economy (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2015). [...]we point to research directions for CE and CSCM. The results suggest critical enablers including supportive legislative framework, understanding CE's economic benefits and knowledge and research support. Using bibliometric analysis tools, the study maps out the development trends in the domain and identifies five prominent research clusters related to reverse channel optimization and closed-loop and circular SCM.

Blockchain implementation in pharmaceutical supply chains: A review and conceptual framework

Research on Blockchain implementation in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chains (PSC) is lacking despite its strong potential to overcome conventional supply chain challenges. Thus, this study aims to provide critical insight into the nexus between Blockchain and PSC and further build a conceptual framework for implementation within the pharmaceutical industry. Following a systematic literature review and text mining approach, 65 interdisciplinary articles published between 2010 and 2021 were studied to capture the decade long developments. Descriptive and thematic analysis showcases nascent developments of Blockchain in PSC. The drivers and barriers to adoption, implementation stages, and applications identified through the thematic analysis guide in setting the agenda for future research, primarily focussing on the use of Blockchain for drug counterfeiting, recall issues, along with other sector-specific challenges such as patient privacy, regulations and clinical trials. Research on Blockchain for PSC has been slow compared to other sectors, but has accelerated since the Covid-19 pandemic. Identified influential factors, implementation process and apparent applications are expected to influence researchers and practitioners in developing a roadmap for adopting Blockchain in the pharmaceutical industry. The proposed conceptual framework is novel and provides valuable directions to producers, regulators and governments to implement Blockchain in the pharmaceutical industry.