Emerging Concepts in Transportation and Logistics

Among the emerging concepts within the transportation and logistics field is reverse logistics. The concept is used in reference to the operations associated with the recycling of materials and products. While recycling has become common within the TLM field, use of reverse logistics is emerging as the means to plan, implement, and control the efficient and cost-effective raw material’s flow, completed products, inventory, and information throughout the supply chain. The concept is emerging as a means for ensuring that the surplus products are taken care of to avoid wastage. It is becoming possible for goods to move from the consumers into the production towards the goal of addressing cash flow issues. The concept will make more sense in the future as the raw materials and natural resources become more depleted (Bazan, Jaber & Zanoni, 2016). It will impact on the TLM field by ensuring no wastage of the limited resources, creating value to the consumers, producers, and distributors.

While the greening principle has become common in other sectors, it is only recently that the concept of green vehicle routing as a part of green logistics has emerged within the TLM sector. The concept is being used alongside sustainability, basically because of the continued focus on the contribution of the industry on the environment. Hence, green logistics suggest the concern of the production activities in ensuring that the sector does not contribute to further impact on the environment (Bektaş, Demir, & Laporte, 2016). Currently, there are efforts to ensure reduced negative impact on the environment, air pollution, climate change, and noise, suggesting the important role of green logistics. The future of the concept is even greater as the transport sector seeks to remedy its negative impact on the environment, globally.