industry.
Dr.‐Ing Jens Puttfarcken, President and CEO of Porsche China
Shanghai
Acknowledgments
Johannes and I were both finishing up our PhDs in Shanghai when we first met. Ironically, I was writing my dissertation on how technology will disrupt the logistics industry, and Johannes was writing his on how relationships still play a key role in the supply chain industry. Both of us came from the business world where Johannes is a supply chain consultant and I work in freight forwarding. We were both interested in academia as well though and coincidentally both taught classes at Tongji University. Recognizing that the supply chain and logistics industry needed a hybrid book that bridged the academic and business worlds to show the opportunities arising, we set about brainstorming what the book would look like. We were conscious of the fact that a lot of books that we used in our teaching were far too academic, while many of the nonfiction digital transformation books rarely touch on the intricacies of the supply chain world.
It was at this point in 2018, I met Tariq Samad in Shanghai as I hosted a group of his MS students who were specializing in the management of technology. After I gave a quick presentation on the future of logistics, Tariq shot me an email where he mentioned this series for IEEE and Wiley. Johannes and I met him on his follow‐up trip and pitched our proposed collected edition. From there, we continually worked on this project with our contributors over the past 18 months and are excited to be part of the series. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity and support that Tariq has given us throughout the process.
We want to give a big thanks to the staff of Wiley, Mary Hatcher, Teresa Netzler, Victoria Bradshaw, and Louis Vasanth Manoharan for being of tremendous help guiding us along this multi‐year process.
Walter Simpson has been with us for the past year on this project, and there is no way that we could have gotten as far as we have without his help. He has put in so much effort in coordinating, editing, and writing. We are proud to have him on the team and are excited to see his career progress.
Our more than 30 contributing thought leaders on this project who are based all over the world and come from very diverse backgrounds all share the passion for knowledge and a desire to build a stronger logistics industry by leveraging technology. We want to thank the contributors for their tireless efforts as they took time away from their work, families, and spare time to make valuable contributions to this project.
Lastly, we also want to thank the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and Descartes Systems Group for allowing us to use their glossary of supply chain and logistics definitions.
Mac Sullivan and Johannes Kern
I want to thank my beautiful wife, Rebecca, for holding down the fort while I spent hours away from the family to work on this project. I want to thank my parents, Page and Billy, for their investment in my education as they had to give up some luxuries in life to make that happen and for cheering me on throughout this writing process. To my father‐in‐law, Binfu, who watched the kids and helped us out during the past 2 years as we worked on this project, I say a big thank you. I would like to thank my boss and mentor, Jeff McDonald, for taking a chance on me years ago and bringing me into this crazy industry. Johannes, you have been a guiding light throughout this project, and I was lucky to have met you as you provided the structure and diligence needed to see this through.
Mac Sullivan
In addition to all the great people mentioned above, I would like to extend my thanks to Mac Sullivan who drove this project full of passion and dedication. Mac, your tenacity and unstoppable can‐do attitude made the book what it is today. Finally, I must thank my future wife Li Chunyou. Without her love, care and patience, this edited volume could not have been written.
Johannes Kern
A Note from the Series Editor
Welcome to the brand‐new Wiley‐IEEE Press Series on Technology Management, Innovation, and Leadership!
The IEEE Press imprint of John Wiley & Sons is well known for its books on technical and engineering topics. This new series extends the reach of the imprint, from engineering and scientific developments to innovation and business models, policy and regulation, and ultimately to societal impact. For those who are seeking to make a positive difference for themselves, their organization, and the world, technology management, innovation, and leadership are essential skills to hone.
The world today is increasingly technological in many ways. Yet, while scientific and technical breakthroughs remain important, it’s connecting the dots from invention to innovation to the betterment of humanity and our ecosphere that has become increasingly critical. Whether it’s climate change or water management or space exploration or global healthcare, a technological breakthrough is just the first step. Further requirements can include prototyping and validation, system or ecosystem integration, intellectual property protection, supply/value chain set‐up, manufacturing capacity, regulatory and certification compliance, market studies, distribution channels, cost estimation and revenue projection, environmental sustainability assessment, and more. The time, effort, and funding required for realizing real‐world impact dwarfs what was expended on the invention. There are no generic answers to the big‐picture questions either; the considerations vary by industry sector, technology area, geography, and other factors.
Volumes in the series will address related topics both in general—e.g., frameworks that can be applied across many industry sectors—and in the context of one or more application domains. Examples of the latter include logistics and transportation, smart cities and infrastructure, energy and environment, and biomedicine and healthcare. The series scope also covers the role of government and policy, particularly in an international technological context.
With 30 years of corporate experience behind me and about five years now in the role of leading a Management of Technology program at a university, I see a broad‐based need for this series that extends across industry, academia, government, and nongovernmental organizations. We expect to produce titles that are relevant for researchers, practitioners, educators, and others.
I am honored to be leading this important and timely publication venture.
Tariq Samad
Senior Fellow and Honeywell/W.R. Sweatt Chair in Technology Management
Director of Graduate Studies, M.S. Management of Technology
Technological Leadership Institute | University of Minnesota [email protected]
1 Demystifying the Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on Logistics : An Introduction
Mac Sullivan
NNR Global Logistics, Dallas, TX, USA
Introduction
Future of Work in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Throughout history, during periods of agricultural and industrial reform, society was worried that most of its population will be out of a job as a new technology is developed (Manyika et al. 2017). These fears are reinforced by documented events in modern history where technology has led to mass layoffs. A transition from a post‐industrial era into a knowledge era has brought forth the same old argument that automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are going to cause widespread disruption. Until this point, white‐collar job has been dominated by the technologies created in the past four decades with the rise of the personal computer, Internet, and widespread business software applications. There has not been a large shift in the business‐to‐business