Investigating the effects of barriers and challenges on Logistics 4.0 in the era of evolving digital technology

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to reveal and prioritize the main barriers and challenges in front of the Logistics 4.0 transformation which is the extension of Industry 4.0. Also this study presents a roadmap for a company operating in developing countries to reduce and eliminate challenges and hurdles for each link in their supply chain. Design/methodology/approach: A two-stage methodology was used in this study. First a detailed literature review was conducted to identify the barriers to innovations compatible with Industry 4.0. Hence barriers have been identified including nine from the literature review. The best–worst method (BWM) is then used to determine these barriers’ weights and order of importance. To implement BWM two-stage e-surveys are applied to experts. Findings: The “Managerial and Economic Challenges” dimension is the most important and “Regulatory and social challenges” is the least essential dimension among the main dimension. Moreover financial constraints or capitals are the most critical barriers among the sub-barriers. This study gives the reader a comprehensive insight into how detected barriers affect digitalization performance. Therefore this framework is a roadmap designed with a holistic view to guide manufacturers logistics parties and even policy and decision-makers. Originality/value: Theoretically and empirically identifies the potential barriers and challenges in the digital transformation of logistics is already missing at the desired level. From this point of view to the best of the authors’ knowledge this study is the first research that determines barriers based on the Logistics 4.0 model with an industrial perspective. One of the most important limitations of this study is that a total of nine dimensions were examined under only three basic barriers. Different alternatives can be identified for future studies. © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.