Suggested Topics for Dissertations and Thesis Research Projects in Lean, Six Sigma, and Sustainability in the areas of Procurement Management, Supply Chain Management, Inventory Management, and Distribution Management Keywords applicable to this article: dissertation, thesis, topics, lean and six sigma in supply chain management, sustainable supply chain management, sustainable procurement, sustainable logistics capabilities, sustainable production, sustainable transportation, sustainable warehousing, sustainable distribution By: Sourabh Kishore, Chief Consulting Officer Mobile Friendly Page Please contact us at consulting@etcoindia.co.in or consulting@etcoindia.net.in to discuss your topic or to get ideas about new topics pertaining to your subject area. I am happy to present the second part of the article on dissertation and thesis topic development in the fields of Procurement Management, Supply Chain Management, Inventory Management, and Distribution Management. This is an extension of our original article in these fields, accessible through the following link: Link to the first part of this article for topic development in the areas of logistics and supply chain performance, integration, aggregation planning, effectiveness, efficiency, IT and technologies in supply chain management, and cloud supply chains and manufacturing. The third part of this article is accessible through the following link: Link to the third part of this article for topic development on Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things, Big Data Analytics, Cloud Manufacturing, and Blockchain in the areas of logistics and supply chain management. The fourth part of this article is accessible through the following link: Link to the fourth part of this article for topic development on machine learning and artificial intelligence in Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0, smart contracts in blockchains, and additive manufacturing in cloud manufacturing ecosystem This article explores many newer topics of research in supply chain management and its associated domains categorized under four broad research areas. The article largely covers the research areas of lean and six sigma and sustainability in supply chain management. Each area presents opportunities for studying a number of practices and the factor variables (both mediators and moderators) associated with it, and their interrelationships. The studies proposed are mostly positivistic, deductive, and quantitative employing inferential statistical methods like ANOVA, MANOVA, Multiple Regressions, and advanced Multivariate Statistical Modelling and Analysis comprising of Exploratory Factor Analysis using Principal Component Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and Structural Equation Modelling. Please visit our page on Multivariate Statistical Modelling and Analysis for further details on analysing and optimising the measurement constructs. You may also consider in touch programmes (action research), organisational ethnography, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and phenomenology as appropriate qualitative methods for deriving deeper knowledge about the variables and their possible interrelationships after completing the quantitative part (I mean, employing methodology and data triangulation using quantitative data and analytics). The descriptions of the areas and their associated practices are presented as the following: (A) Lean and Six Sigma in Supply Chain Management: Lean and six sigma are two philosophical approaches that are focused on enhancing the capabilities of an organization for achieving quality excellence in cost effective ways. Lean philosophy advocates optimum use of resources, elimination of wastes, and costs reduction. Six sigma advocates elimination of defects and errors in a quality system in such a way that defects per million of opportunities shifts multiple sigmas (a sigma is the standard deviation) away from the mean of a million measurements of the target quality statistic in a normal distribution curve. At the sixth sigma from the mean of the target quality statistic, the defects per million opportunities are only 3.4 and the accuracy level of the process task is 99.9999980%. This is called the six sigma quality level. This target may not appear to be feasible in many processes because one may not be able to visualize the targeted mean of a quality statistic in a million opportunities accurately, and the targeted statistical mean of the quality statistic in a million measurements may be shifting periodically. Hence, the philosophy of six sigma is not about achieving this statistical quality target albeit is to achieve a culture of listening to the voices of customers (that is, collecting and analyzing data on the concerns raised and feedbacks provided by the customers) continuously, performing quality measurements continuously, performing continuous improvements, striving for excellence, and data-driven statistical thinking. The model for achieving these cultural changes and the resulting systems and processes is called DMAIC (define, measure, analyse, improve, and control). Lean and six sigma philosophies can be combined for achieving excellence in logistics and supply chain management with the help of the following practices: 1. Management commitment by setting directions and allocation of funds and resources 2. Monitoring and control by top management 3. Process reforms championships for managing changes 4. Cost consciousness through skewing of the costs and the expenses incurred towards the goals aligned with the voices of customers (concerns raised and feedbacks provided by the customers), and the most essential business objectives and goals 5. Quality consciousness and orientation in the processes, tasks, and deliverables 6. Elimination of wastes: here wastes refer to the processes and tasks that poorly or do not contribute to the primary business objectives such as shareholders' wealth creation, customer satisfaction, productivity, innovation, efficiency, sustainability, and compliance 7. Elimination of defects: here defects refer to deviations from requirement specifications in execution of processes and their tasks 8. Multi-skilling of employees for expanding their working domains 9. Aligning every policy, process, and tasks to the voices of customers 10. Lean consumption of internal resources 11. Lean consumption of external and natural resources 12. Lean strategies of operations (like, maintaining transit warehouses, reducing transportation size for better volume consumption per trip, just-in-time production, just-in-time inventory replenishment, demand-linked lean distribution, etc.) 13. Strategic supplier relationships 14. Vendor-managed inventory 15. Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment 16. Quick Response 17. Efficient Customer Response 18. Just-in-time 19. Cellular manufacturing design (as against continuous flow assembly lines design) 20. Demand pull strategy 21. Flexible and agile capabilities in the final stages of production (like, delaying assembly of finished products until the orders have been confirmed) 22. Toyota Production System (TPS) and Total Quality Management (TQM) principles, and their relationships with lean and six sigma philosophies 23. Competencies and capabilities to process small / tiny batches of orders in large numbers with significantly varying specifications as demanded by the customers 24. Real time data collection and analytics 25. Big Data Visualisation revealing perception layer reflecting the events of the real layer 26. Real time monitoring and control 27. Events data synchronisation between the real and virtual worlds 28. Big Data Analytics 29. Big data mining, data matrix, and fusion 30. Information granularity 31. Predictive analytics 32. Prioritisation of flows based on demands 33. Modular network design 34. People centric automation 35. Lean Six Sigma capabilities in the Industry 4.0 era 36. Lean Six Sigma capabilities in the Industry 5.0 era 37. Multi-Party Blockchains 38. Digital Twins, Siblings, or Cousins 39. Additive manufacturing (3D printing) 40. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence 41. Time based design and synchronisation 42. Collaborative robotics and indoor GPS 43. Modular and reconfigurable manufacturing and supply chain 44. Collaborative value generation for customers 45. Multi-supplier multi-customer collaborative partnership modelling 46. Asset Administration Shells synchnonised with ERP, WMS, or DMS systems 47. Intelligent materials handling and distribution 48. Smart production and logistics systems 49. Smart packaging, transportation, and distribution 50. Smart warehousing and inventory management The above list is a representative set of practices that influence planning, adopting, implementing, operating, and controlling lean and six sigma systems and processes following their philosophies. Each of these practices may be supported by a number of underlying factor variables acting as mediators and moderators. Topics may involve overlapping concepts and hence establishing the right spotlight and focus is crucial to keep the research contribution original. One may consider studying these practices and their variables separately through in touch programmes (action research), organisational ethnography, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and phenomenology as in qualitative studies or investigating their interrelationships through hypothesis testing and testing of structural constructs (complex relationships models) in quantitative studies. Some topics may require modeling and simulations and software programming methods. This is a vast research area that requires significant contributions by students and professionals. The existing empirical knowledge of lean and six sigma in supply chain management is inadequate requiring significant research efforts as it is very valuable for achieving quality excellence in cost effective ways. Please visit our page on Multivariate Statistical Modelling and Analysis for further details on analysing and optimising the measurement constructs. In addition to the suggestions above, please contact us at consulting@etcoindia.co.in or consulting@etcoindia.net.in to get more topic suggestions and to discuss your topic. Dear Visitor: Please visit the page detailing SUBJECT AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION pertaining to our services to view the broader perspective of our offerings for Dissertations and Thesis Projects. Please also visit the page having TOPICS DELIVERED by us. Please visit the the first part of this article for topic development in the areas of logistics and supply chain performance, integration, aggregation planning, effectiveness, efficiency, IT and technologies in supply chain management, and cloud supply chains and manufacturing. With Sincere Regards, Sourabh Kishore. Apologies for interruption; please continue reading. (B) Sustainable Supply Chain Management - Transforming Supply Chains into Value Chain Networks: Many scholars have attempted to derive definitions of sustainability. However, the stereotyped outcomes of such research studies have evolved a modern theory that there cannot be a single most valid scientific definition of sustainability. Hence, sustainability is viewed as a framework of three large areas interacting with each other for ensuring that humanity-centric problems that can challenge the long-term survival of humanity can be identified and addressed. This framework is widely referred as the Triple Bottom Line (TBL), which comprises of three large areas: Economics, Environment, and Empowerment. Some literatures also refer to it as the Triple-E model. The practices under the three areas in the Triple Bottom Line / Triple-E model pertaining to supply chain management are the following: Economics: 1. Enhancing the role of supply chain competencies in achieving business performance 2. Effective management of financial risks of supply chain management 3. Enhancing cost effectiveness by reducing costs and improving productivity 4. Enhanced effectiveness and efficiency of manufacturing plants 5. Enhancing the accuracy and timeliness of supplies and demands forecasting 6. Enhanced effectiveness and efficiency of procurement, production, logistics, transportation, and distribution 7. Enhanced controls on inventory management to meet demands effectively 8. Eliminating dysfunctional phenomena, like order rationing, beer gaming, and bullwhip effect 9. Implementing activity-based costing in supply chain management 10. Keeping the variance of key performance metrics within the tolerance limits 11. Enhancing the potential of long-term sustainable competitive advantages 12. Developing dynamic capabilities to respond to all Planet risks effectively and efficiently 13. Building local economic value by developing local suppliers, local employment, and local community involvement 14. Balancing between usage of local currency and global currencies (protecting the nation from Dollarisation) 15. Integrating production, logistics, inventory managment, and supply networking functions effectively to reduce costs and enhance sustainability 16. Developing localisation within globalisation strategy to reduce carbon footprints of long distance transportation as much as possible 17. Digitalisation of logistics, production, and inventory systems for real time data collection and performance analysis 18. Additive manufacturing technologies for economic production and logistics systems 19. Real time monitoring of proceses for timely detection and elimination of cost surges and wastages 20. Predictive analytics of economics and business performances 21. Big data systems for granular visibility into the process events 22. Closed Loop Multi-party Distributed Blockchains of suppliers and manufacturers for economic performance 23. Localisation strategies for reducing costs and supply transportation routes 24. Cloud manufacturing for operating networked economies 25. Robotics and Artificial Intelligence for economic production and logistics 27. Adopting flexible and reconfigurable manufacturing and logistics strategies 28. Segregating static and dynamic material flows for demand synchronisation 29. Flexible and adaptive material storage systems for economic performance 30. Automation and its maturity levels for economic performance Environmental: 1. Checking of and reducing the depletion of critical atmospheric layers 2. Measuring and reducing the carbon footprint on transportation channels caused by movements of freight ships, commercial vehicles, and freight airplanes 3. Measuring and reducing greenhouse emissions that may be aiding the ongoing global warming and related climate changes 4. Implementing green standards in the processes of all the echelons of a supply chain 5. Exploring, adopting, and implementing global standards for handling of hazardous materials 6. Measuring and reducing harmful radiations in a supply chain causing hazards to people, plants, and species 7. Lean approach towards consumption of natural resources 8. Measuring and reducing pollutions of all forms 9. Taking appropriate actions for preventing harms caused to species and biodiversity 10. Applying appropriate green labelling and green instructions on the packages in transit, storage, and distribution 11. Applying cooler production techniques to curb global warming 12. Enhancing energy efficiency and using cleaner environment friendly energy systems 13. Planning and deploying carbon deposition technologies 14. Using Industrial Internet of Things for environmental measurements and accounting 15. Industrial sensors, data transmission systems, and dashboards for measurements of CO, CO2, PM2.5, PM10, VOC, TVOC, Temperature, and Humidity 16. Using virtualisation for energy efficiency in data centres 17. Monitoring of heat isles and reducing them to improve HVAC environmental performance 18. Monitoring and control of environmental parameters using Industry 4.0 designs 19. Using machine learning and artificial intelligence for predicting environmental impacts of production systems 20. Using big data analytics for data granularity, fusion, and mining of environmental data Empowerment: 1. Creating employment opportunities for the local communities in the supply chain 2. Developing healthy relationships with the local communities affected by the operations of a supply chain 3. Creating employment opportunities for the displaced people and expatriates travelling long distances in search of well being 4. Identifying and eliminating all possible unfair employment practices 5. Exploring, adopting, and implementing global standards for occupational health and safety and labour management practices 6. Exploring, adopting, and implementing global standards for protection of workers when exposed to harsh working conditions 7. Eliminating gender inequality 8. Eliminating corruption and money laundering practices 9. Multi-skilling of employees for building an efficient workforce 10. Eliminating child labour 11. People centric industrial control systems in Industry 5.0 12. Human - Robotis Collaboration in Industry 5.0 13. Human controlled robotic societies in Industry 5.0 14. Human operated Augmented Reality in Industry 5.0 15. Exoskeleton wearable devices to enhance human strength and endurance in Industry 5.0 16. Human body sensors and data collection through wearables for enhanced health and safety 17. Human controlled intelligence automation that cares for human health and safety 18. Human controlled smart operations in Industry 5.0 19. Smart human friendly manufacturing and logistics environments with continuous improvements 20. Artificial intelligence for predictive causality analysis of future accidents and disasters I suggest referring the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards document for a complete list of triple bottom line variables. The triple bottom line practices presented above form a representative set, which can be expanded through extended review of literatures. Each of these practices may be supported by a number of underlying factor variables acting as mediators and moderators. One may consider studying these practices and their variables separately through focus group discussions and interviews in qualitative studies or investigating their interrelationships through hypothesis testing and testing of structural constructs (complex relationships models) in quantitative studies. This is a vast research area that requires significant contributions by students and professionals. Latest studies have linked lean and agile practices and lean six sigma philosophies with sustainability practices of supply chain management. Hence, the practices and their corresponding factor variables in research areas A and B (explained above) can be combined in the same studies. You should be careful not to overload your study with too many practices and their factor variables. I suggest keeping the focus on one independent practice and one dependent practice in a master research. As a ballpark, such topics may comprise of six to twelve factor variables in their initial structural theoretical constructs (called initial measurement models). At PHD level, you may choose two independent and two dependent practices in your topic design. As a ballpark, such topics may comprise of fifteen to twenty-five factor variables in their initial structural theoretical constructs. These variables may include both the mediators and the moderators. Please visit our page on Multivariate Statistical Modelling and Analysis for further details on analysing and optimising the measurement constructs. Some topics may require modeling and simulations and software programming methods. Another emerging area in sustainable supply chain management is "market-orientation of sustainability capabilities for achieving competitive advantages in supply chain management". A number of studies have been conducted in past five years but this area is so much complex and in demand that many new studies can be designed. The fundamental question is raised by the business stakeholders of a company: what is the return on investments on sustainability for a business? The economics area of triple bottom line model addresses this question to a good extent, but answers need to be explored in the environment and empowerment areas, as well. Recent studies are gradually building the theoretical foundation but a lot of new studies are desired in this area. In addition to the suggestions above, please contact us at consulting@etcoindia.co.in or consulting@etcoindia.net.in to get more topic suggestions and to discuss your topic. We will be happy to assist you in developing your narrow research topic with an original contribution based on the research context, research problem, and the research aim, and objectives. Further, We also offer you to develop the "background and context", "problem description and statement", "aim, objectives, research questions", "design of methodology and methods", and "15 to 25 most relevant citations per topic" for three topics of your choice of research areas at a nominal fee. Such a synopsis shall help you in focussing, critically thinking, discussing with your reviewer, and developing your research proposal. To avail this service, Please Click Here for more details. (C) Sustainable Procurement: Normally, sustainable procurement should have been a part of sustainable supply chain management. However, this research area is studied separately because sustainable procurement has been standardized in the form of a structured and organized framework included in the legal and regulatory systems for public procurement in UK, EU, and Australia based on the research and analysis by Sustainable Procurement Task Force (SPTF) of HM Government (UK), Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA, UK), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), professional designs (such as IBM's Maturity Model for Sustainable Procurement and INSEAD report on sustainable procurement design), and large number of academic research studies. Sustainable procurement largely follows the lean and agile designs and the triple bottom line model of sustainability. The differences in sustainable procurement as compared to sustainable supply chain management are the following: 1. There is a structured and organised legal and regulatory framework for sustainable procurement in place. 2. Every government and public sector organisation is expected to maintain a complete documented standard for sustainable procurement. 3. The documented standard should comprise of organisational strategies and policies, operating processes and tasks, controls, criteria for decision-making, information systems, and all the additional documentation of contracts, records, communications, and suppliers' compliance reports. 4. The life cycle of each sustainable procurement project is defined and published. 5. There are clear guidelines defined by DEFRA and UNDP on measuring sustainability in the entire raw materials acquisition, production, packaging, storing, transportation, and distribution life cycle operated by suppliers. 6. The guidelines also include measures, indicators, and measurement methods for suppliers' sustainability auditing. 7. All the internal and supplier audit and assessment records and related compliance reports are published. 8. The concept of framework agreements is implemented as a part of the sustainable procurement practices. 9. Procurement officers use effective sustainability monitoring technologies and methods. 10. Sustainability practices and compliances can be tracked and traced in the entire supply chains. 11. Category management is conducted for supporting sustainability decision-making. 12. Framework agreements and competitive premiums/incentives are allowed for products having good sustainability track records. 13. Corporates producing sustainability accounting and reporting are preferred in government procurement contracts. 14. Products and companies with proven non-compliances to sustainability are discouraged and gradually phased out. 15. Backward traceability to procurement credits and certifications is enabled through blockchains. The students may like to study the effectiveness of the above practices in public sector and government organisations through qualitative studies involving in touch programmes (action research), organisational ethnography, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and phenomenology. In addition, the research topics in sustainable procurement may be designed to cover the following: 1. Various practices and factor variables related to the DEFRA and UNDP standards for sustainable procurement 2. Performance measures, indicators, and performance measurement methods in product lifecycle performance assessment and sustainable procurement standards 3. Supplier auditing and assessment for sustainable procurement 4. Sustainable procurement life cycle planning, implementation, monitoring, control, and reporting 5. Various designs and implementation of framework agreements 6. Practices and their factor variables related to sustainable procurement effectiveness and efficiency 7. Strategic supplier relationships; role of suppliers in effective sustainable procurement 8. Economics of sustainable procurement 9. Market orientation of sustainable procurement 10. Competitive advantages achieved because of sustainable procurement practices 11. Excellence in processes and tasks related to sustainable procurement 12. Continuous improvements in sustainable procurement through lean six sigma 13. Smart contracts and blockchains for sustainable procurement 14. Products traceability in blockchains for sustainability compliance evidences 15. Machine learning and artificial intelligence for sustainable procurement 16. Sustainable practices evaluation through IIoT-enabled real-time monitoring and data collection 17. Augmented reality monitoring and ontrol of sustainability practices in contracts execution 18. Sustainability designs in procurement through critical control loops monitored by procurement officers 19. Digital procurement and marketplaces for products certified and proven for sustainability compliances 20. Sustainability brand evaluation in sustainable procurement practice 21. Enabling technologies and solutions for procurement procurement standards and best practices 22. Knowledge management for sustainable procurement 23. Industry 4.0 designs for sustainable procurement and inventory management 24. Evaluating sustainable manufacturing and logistics practices in sustainable procurement 25. Sustainability practices evaluation in food and agriculture sector 26. Sustainability practices evaluation in clothing and footwear sector 27. Sustainable procurement of products emerging out of recycling and circular economy 28. Success factors and barriers to sustainable procurement in the Industry 4.0 era 29. Sustainable procurement in the small and medium scale enterprises 30. New models for sustainable procurement practices in government and public sector purchasing 31. Sustainable procurement practices in Materials Requirements Planning 32. Knowledge and skills required for effective sustainable procurement 33. Managing volatility and supplier negatiation power in sustainable procurement 34. Building negotiation power in sustainable procurement 35. Supplier profiling and complexity issues in sustainable procurement 36. Digital culture development for sustainable procurement 37. Risk-based approaches for sustainable procurement 38. Governmental support and policies for sustainable procurement 39. Legal and regulatory challenges in sustainable procurement 40. Alignment of suppliers with corporate sustainability policies for sustainable procurement 41. Advanced analytics and analytical tools for sustainable procurement 42. Industry 4.0, Industry 5.0, and automation maturity in sustainable procurement 43. Technological innovations for sustainable procurement practices 44. Enhanced and accelerated innovation for sustainable procurement 45. Proactive prevenbtion of non-sustainable products induction in sustainable procurement practices 46. Supplier responsiveness to sustainability issues raised in sustainable procurement 47. Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle for sustainable procurement 48. Human and technology interactions' and usage considerations in sustainable procurement 49. Technology linked health and safety issues' considerations in sustainable procurement 50. Modern engineering practices, equipment, and elements' evaluation in sustainable procurement Currently, this research area has been addressed by a number of qualitative studies following in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and critical literature analysis. This research area requires a number of quantitative studies for investigating the interrelationships between practices and their factor variables. As recommended above, master studies may comprise of one independent practice and one dependent practice, and their corresponding factor variables; and PHD studies may comprise of two independent and two dependent practices, and their corresponding factor variables. Please visit our page on Multivariate Statistical Modelling and Analysis for further details on analysing and optimising the measurement constructs. In addition to the suggestions above, please contact us at consulting@etcoindia.co.in or consulting@etcoindia.net.in to get more topic suggestions and to discuss your topic. We will be happy to assist you in developing your narrow research topic with an original contribution based on the research context, research problem, and the research aim, and objectives. Further, We also offer you to develop the "background and context", "problem description and statement", "aim, objectives, research questions", "design of methodology and methods", and "15 to 25 most relevant citations per topic" for three topics of your choice of research areas at a nominal fee. Such a synopsis shall help you in focussing, critically thinking, discussing with your reviewer, and developing your research proposal. To avail this service, Please Click Here for more details. (D) Sustainable Logistics Capabilities for Industrial Engineering Excellence in Production, Transportation & Warehousing, and Distribution: Sustainable logistics capabilities study is a part of sustainable supply chain management. However, there are many research topics related to industrial engineering in achieving sustainable logistics, which may not be covered in the triple bottom line framework studies under sustainable supply chain management. The following is a representative list of topics on industrial engineering excellence for sustainable logistics capability development in the fields of production, transportation, warehousing, and distribution: 1. Sustainability in different phases of plant logistics operations 2. Impact of sustainability on logistics costing (such as lot quantity, inventory carrying, transportation and warehousing, and order processing costs) 3. Sustainability in reverse logistics for returns, warranty claims, and recycling 4. Sustainability in manufacturing cycle, jobs, buffering, and assembly planning 5. Sustainability in enterprise resources planning 6. Sustainability in materials requirements planning (MRP II) 7. Sustainability in inter-stage material feeds, job preparation tasks, buffers, and machine operations 8. Sustainability in management of loading / unloading areas, docking stations, internal transportation, spaces and cubes, storage and retrieval systems (like, conveyor belts), heating, cooling, boilers, water circulation, power supplies, power distribution, pipelines and valves, other similar industrial systems, and the end-to-end infrastructure of machines and tools 9. Sustainability in transportation networking management and vehicle routing (both internal and external) 10. Sustainability in configurations and assembly of finished products 11. Sustainability in safety stock and forecasting management 12. Sustainability in managing arrivals, departures, and internal lead times of transit buffers 13. Sustainability in procurement planning and inventory replenishment 14. Sustainability in assembly and disassembly networks 15. Sustainability in third party and fourth party logistics management and in vendor managed inventory management 16. Sustainability in automotive parts warehousing 17. Sustainability in automotive manufacturing 18. Sustainability in energy generation, transmission, and distribution 19. Sustainability achievement through data collection from IIoT sensors and modeling 20. Sustainability in food and beverages supply chains 21. Sustainability in additive manufacturing of plastics, ceramics, metals, and cementituous materials 22. Sustainability in clothing industry 23, Sustainability in food processing industries 24. Sustainability in computers and mobile phones manufacturing processes 25. Sustainability in mining industry 26. Sustainability designs through recycling and circular economy 27. Sustainability in international logistics, production, and supp;ly chains 28. Sustainability quantitative modelling for supply chain and logistics 29. Sustainability practices adoption in manufacturing and supply chains of emerging economies 30. Sustainability Values and Ethics in Shareholder to STakeholder engagements 31. Sustainability in warehousing, packaging, and flow management 32. Sustainability considerations in modern supply network designing 33. Key barriers and enablers to sustainable supply network design and operations 34. Life cycle assessment for sustainability in products' design 35. Analytical Hierarchy Process for sustainability evaluation in manufacturing processes 36. Multi-criteria decision-making for sustainability considerations in products' and production designs 37. Equilibrium modelling between sustainability and business performance 38. Production planning and designing for circular economy marketplaces 39. Sustainability considerations in hospitality and travelling industry 40. Sustainability considerations in by-products in production systems 41. Sustainability considerations in project management 42. Sustainability considerations through collaboration and communications in supply chain management 43. Interactions and conflicts between sustainable practices and supply chain management 44. Sustainability monitoring and control through machine-to-machine communications in the Industry 4.0 era 45.Sustainability monitoring and control through Multi-Party Blockchains 46. Sustainability monitoring and control through Digital Twins, Siblings, or Cousins 47. Sustainability monitoring and control through additive manufacturing (3D printing) 48. Sustainability monitoring and control through Big Data Analytics and Data Mining 49. Sustainability monitoring and control through Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence 50. Sustainability monitoring and control through Blockchains Many more topics of sustainability in industrial engineering excellence can be added. ISO 14000 series standards, OHSAS 18000 series standards, and many academic studies cover about sustainability in industrial engineering excellence. These topics can be researched through detailed process modelling, process layout study, system dynamics modelling, and Taguchi's method. Some of the tools recommended for these studies are ARENA, VENSIM, MATLAB, and Taguchi's templates. Please feel free to contact us at consulting@etcoindia.co.in or consulting@etcoindia.net.in to get recommendations of your research topics or discuss the research topic you have chosen. We will be happy to assist you in developing your narrow research topic with an original contribution based on the research context, research problem, and the research aim, and objectives. Further, We also offer you to develop the "background and context", "problem description and statement", "aim, objectives, research questions", "design of methodology and methods", and "15 to 25 most relevant citations per topic" for three topics of your choice of research areas at a nominal fee. Such a synopsis shall help you in focussing, critically thinking, discussing with your reviewer, and developing your research proposal. To avail this service, Please Click Here for more details. In the first part of this article, you will find many more research areas and opportunities that are still highly pursued in higher education in the field of supply chain management and its associated domains. You may like to access the article by clicking the following link: Link to the first part of this article for topic development in the areas of logistics and supply chain performance, integration, aggregation planning, effectiveness, efficiency, IT and technologies in supply chain management, and cloud supply chains and manufacturing. Link to the third part of this article for topic development on Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things, Big Data Analytics, Cloud Manufacturing, and Blockchain in the areas of logistics and supply chain management. PreviousArticle Next Article Copyright 2020 - 2026 ETCO INDIA. All Rights Reserved