and MARTIN CHRISTOPHER Cranfield University, England ___________________________________________________________With the growing acceptance of logistics and supply chain management as critical business concerns, there is an emerging realisation that more investment is needed to develop appropriate managerial skills and competencies. This paper explores the challenges for management development that arise as organisations seek to bridge the gap between current capabilities and those required for future success. The results of an exploratory research programme are summarised and, drawing on these findings, a tentative skills profile for the logistics and supply chain manager of the future is advanced.

Purpose An emerging theme in the practitioner literature suggests that the supply chain of the future – enabled especially by developments in ICT – will be autonomous and have predictive capabilities, bringing significant efficiency gains in an increasingly complex and uncertain environment. This paper aims to both bridge the gap between the practitioner and academic literature on these topics and contribute to both practice and theory by seeking to understand how such developments will help to address key supply chain challenges and opportunities. Design/methodology/approach A multi-disciplinary, systematic literature review was conducted on relevant concepts and capabilities. A total of 126 articles were reviewed covering the time period 1950-2018. Findings The results show that both IoT and AI are the technologies most frequently associated with the anticipated autonomous and predictive capabilities of future supply chains. In addition, the review highlights a lacuna in how such technologies and capabilities help address key supply chain challenges and opportunities. A new supply chain model is, thus, proposed, one with autonomous and predictive capabilities: the self-thinking supply chain. Originality/value It is our hope that this novel concept, presented here for the first time in the academic literature, will help both practitioners to craft appropriate future-proofed supply chain strategies and provide the research community with a model (built upon multidisciplinary insights) for elucidating the application of new digital technologies in the supply chain of the future. The self-thinking supply chain has the potential in particular to help address some of today’s key supply chain challenges and opportunities.

The majority of logistics research is primarily populated by quantitative research viewed through a positivist lens. Increasingly, there are calls for logistics research to more frequently employ qualitative methodologies. The trend in management research generally is increasingly to use methods and approaches which provide a middle ground between the contrasting positivist and phenomenological paradigms and perspectives. Methodological triangulation, using quantitative and qualitative methodologies, increasingly provides multidimensional insights into many management research problems. This paper urges logistics researchers to think about the paradigm through which they view the world and to explore the use of alternative methodologies. If the ultimate aim is to gain knowledge about the world then one needs to do this in the most valid way possible. This paper describes the dominant research paradigms and perspectives and their generally concomitant research methodologies and describes some research (decision-making concerning choice of ports/ferries) where methodological triangulation, using quantitative and qualitative methodologies, yielded greater insights than would have been the case if a single research methodology had been employed.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine traditional, current and emerging roles played by ports in the context of logistics and supply chain management practice and strategy. The paper also seeks to elaborate the emerging concept of port-centric logistics. Design/methodology/approach -The paper draws its insights and conclusions from a review of the literature, and an analysis of current trends and data concerning the ports and maritime transport sector. Findings -The paper shows that ports can play a variety of different roles within supply chains and that they are not restricted to their traditional role of simple transhipment point for freight.Research limitations/implications -While the paper reviews the roles played by ports in logistics and supply chain management generally, a useful next step would be to analyse specific flows and activities at/through ports within selected supply chains, thus allowing validation of a framework of roles for ports in the context of various supply chain strategies. Practical implications -The paper highlights the potential, which in many cases is still latent, for ports to engage in port-centric logistics activities. Originality/value -The paper both highlights (given the fact that the vast majority of freight at some point transits ports) and extends the understanding of the role(s) of ports within supply chains.

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