A decision-making framework for automating distribution centers in the Retail supply.

Warehouse/distribution center (DC) automation technology for the retail industry promises to reduce operational costs, improve flexibility and response time for customers, and help improve network productivity, thus making it very relevant for omni/multichannel (OC/MC) settings. However, the investment required to acquire the DC automation technology is high, and hence, the investment decision must be operationally and financially comprehensive. In fact, an automated DC has a network-wide impact: it can benefit players in the network, but in turn is exposed to network risks and the investment must be safeguarded.

A comprehensive theoretical framework for sustainable network contracts: Contracting dimensions and Contract classification.

Disruptions in the supply chains/networks result in both performance failures and a poor return on investment (ROI) of network assets. We propose that addressing this situation requires the governance of exchange relationships through contracts guided by sustainability principles. Specifically, we refer to these contracts in the supply and distribution context as "sustainable network contracts", and the overall framework as the "sustainable contracting framework (SCF)/theory".