Journal of Industrial and Management Optimization (JIMO)
(Impact factor 0,536 according to Thomson Scientific 2013 Journal 
Citations Report)
Special Issue on
Applying Emerging Information and Communication Technologies to Support 
Service Supply Chains: New Trends and Perspectives
Call for Papers
A Supply Chain (SC) can be defined as the sequence of events that cover 
the entire life cycle of a product or service from conception to 
consumption (Blanchard, 2010). These events interact and affect each other 
according to various relationships. The most common events or tasks in a 
SC are raw materials supply, production processes, storage, marketing and 
product distribution to customers (Chopra and Meindl, 2008). Various 
factors are involved in the performance of each of these events or tasks.
Supply chains are of such importance that their execution and management 
can be crucial for some companies. For instance, the multinational 
aviation company, Airbus manufactures different plane components in 
different countries and the integration of these components is crucial for 
the company to remain competitive, with similar corporations as Boeing 
(Tang et al., 2013).
Nowadays, globalization has greatly influenced the development of a new 
type of supply chain (Tomlin, 2014). It has allowed all kinds of domestic 
companies – local, regional, or national – to stand out as suppliers of 
international supply chains despite geographical distance (Sturgeon et 
al., 2009; Caniato et al., 2013). Moreover, the great majority of these 
suppliers are companies in emerging countries. Therefore, real competition 
between enterprises may not only depend on production processes but also 
on supply chain (Ngai et al., 2011).
The major factor that has allowed integration of emerging countries such 
as China, Russia, India, Brazil, and Mexico into international supply 
chains is their ability to adapt to the demands of the markets. Moreover, 
it is said that they add value to the activities of their customers 
through proactive, timely and innovative processes (Lorentz et al., 2010; 
Sánchez et al., 2011; Silvestre, 2014).
Two other elements have also supported the integration of emerging 
countries into global supply chains. On one hand, improved means of 
transportation has allowed for a more efficient interconnectivity between 
business operations, reducing leading time and uncertainties. On the other 
hand, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have helped 
improve the synchronization and integration of key processes of a supply 
chain. For instance, some examples of systems and platforms integrating 
ICTs are the e-procurement, B2B, ERP, B2C, and EDI (Alor et al., 2014).
It is important to mention that most research about supply chain 
management focuses on analyzing manufacturing systems in different 
industrial sectors that include the automotive sector (Matsuo, 2015; 
García et al., 2014; Thome et al., 2014; Günther et al., 2014), the food 
sector (Chen, 2015; Eksoz et al., 2014), or the textile sector (Diabat, 
2014; Moon et al., 2012). However, service supply chains have not been 
deeply analyzed; yet, they may be a valuable field of research that can 
provide useful and new knowledge on supply chain performance. Moreover, a 
service supply chain is directly related to customer satisfaction, a key 
component of a company’s willingness to remain competitive.
Service supply chains are considered important since service companies 
must be able to successfully plan and manage several activities, from 
supporting functions to delivering the service to the end-user. Among the 
main service companies are airlines,
healthcare providers, banks, customer service functions of manufacturers 
as return of raw materials or components.
The aim of this Special Issue is to investigate trends among innovative 
and high-quality research regarding the implementation of conceptual 
frameworks, strategies, techniques, methodologies, informatics platforms 
and models about the ICT that can help service supply chains in emerging 
markets.
Possible topics for research papers include, but are not limited to, the 
following topics:
• Service supply chain in emerging markets
• Service supply chain design
• Service reverse logistics
• Service supply chain management
• ICTs for service supply chain
• Service supply chain performance indicators
• Knowledge management in service supply chain
• Service supply chain strategies
• Quantitative models to manage service supply chains
• Service supply chain planning
• Benchmarking in service supply chain
• Mobile applications in service supply chains
• Service supply chain security and reliability
• Service supply chains simulation
• Disruption risks in service supply chains
• Cloud computing in service supply chains
• Customer relations management in service supply chains
• Lean approach in service supply chains
• Cross-domain software innovations applied in service supply chains
• Technological and service delivery innovations and their applications in 
service supply chains
• Sustainable service supply chains
• Reconciling outsourcing/sub-contracting in service supply chain
• Service supply chain in specific service sectors (e.g. healthcare, 
telecommunications, etc.)
• Issues of resiliency and vulnerability in service supply chains
Submission Guidelines and Other Considerations
Papers submitted must not have been previously published or be under 
consideration for publication in other journals, though they may represent 
significant extensions of prior work. All submitted papers will undergo a 
rigorous peer-review process (with at least two reviewers) that will 
consider both programmatic relevance as well as scientific quality.
The acceptance process will focus on papers that address original 
scientific contributions in the form of theoretical and experimental 
research and case studies applying the ICTs to Support the Service Supply 
Chains. Also, an abstract submission is mandatory to allow editors the 
assignment of the most suitable reviewers for each
paper. Thus, authors willing to submit a paper to this Special Issue must 
contact the Lead Guest Editor before September 1, 2015 via email, 
specifying the title of the paper, the type of submission (regular paper 
or work in progress), and including the paper’s abstract.
Before submitting a paper, authors must carefully read over the journal’s 
Author Guidelines, found at https://aimsciences.org/journals/home.jsp?
journalID=5.
Prospective authors must submit an electronic copy of their complete 
manuscript to the Journal Secretary, Mrs. Sam Spinella 
([log in to unmask]), clearly indicating that the paper represents 
a potential contribution to the Special Issue. Afterwards, Mrs. Sam 
Spinella will forward the papers to the Managing Editors for a preliminary 
screening.
Papers to be considered for external review will then be forwarded to the 
Guest Editors who will handle the reviewing process. The Editorial Office 
will promptly inform authors whose submissions will not be considered for 
the Special Issue due to lack of alignment with the issue’s topic.
Timeline
Abstract submission: September 1, 2015
Manuscript submission deadline: October 15, 2015
First review to be completed (includes author notification): November 15, 
2015
Deadline for receipt of revisions: December 15, 2015
Second review to be completed (includes author notification): December 31, 
2015
Final version: January 15, 2016
Publication: To be Announced
Lead Guest Editor
Cuauhtemoc Sanchez-Ramirez, Division of Research and Postgraduate Studies, 
Instituto Tecnológico de Orizaba, Oriente 9 #82 Emiliano Zapata, Orizaba, 
Veracruz, México. Mail: [log in to unmask]
Guest Editors
Jorge Luis Garcia-Alcaraz, Deparment of Industrial Engineering and 
Manufacturing, Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez. Av. Plutarco Elías 
Calles #1210, Fovissste Chamizal, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México. C.P. 
32310. Phone. (+52) 688 – 2100 ext. 5433. Mail: [log in to unmask]
Giner Alor-Hernandez, Division of Research and Postgraduate Studies, 
Instituto Tecnológico de Orizaba, Oriente 9 #82 Emiliano Zapata, Orizaba, 
Veracruz, México. Mail: [log in to unmask]
Aide Aracely Maldonado Macias, Deparment of Industrial Engineering and 
Manufacturing, Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez. Av. Plutarco Elías 
Calles #1210, Fovissste Chamizal, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México. C.P. 
32310. Phone. (+52) 688 – 2100. Mail: [log in to unmask]
References
• Alor, G., Sánchez, C., Cortes-G. Rodríguez-A., García-J., Cedillo, M. 
(2014). BROSEMWEB: A brokerage service for e-Procurement using Semantic 
Web Technologies. Computers in Industry, Vol 65, pp: 828–840.
• Blanchard, D. (2010). Supply Chain Management Best Practices (2nd. 
Edition ed.): John Wiley & Sons
• Caniato, F., Golini, R., Kalchschmidt, M. (2013). The effect of global 
supply chain configuration on the relationship between supply chain 
improvement programs and performance. International Journal of Production 
Economics, Vol 143, pp: 285-293
• Chen, R. (2015). Autonomous tracing system for backward design in food 
supply chain. Food Control. Vol 51, pp: 70-84.
• Chopra, S., & Meindl, P. (2008). Supply Chain Management (5 edition 
ed.): Prentice Hall
• Diabat, A., Kannan, D., Mathiyazhagan, K. (2014). Analysis of enablers 
for implementation of sustainable supply chain management - A textile 
case. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol 83, pp: 391-403.
• Eksoz, C., Mansouri, A., Bourlakis, M. (2014). Collaborative forecasting 
in the food supply chain: A conceptual framework. International Journal of 
Production Economics, Vol 158, pp: 120-135.
• García, J., Aracely, A., Alvarado, A., Cortes, G., Alor, G (2014). A 
systematic review/survey for JIT implementation: Mexican maquiladoras as 
case study. Computers in Industry, Vol 65, pp: 761-773.
• Günther, H., Kannegiesser, M., Autenrieb, N. (2014). The role of 
electric vehicles for supply chain sustainability in the automotive 
industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, In Press, Corrected Proof.
• Lorentz, H., Ghauri, P. (2010). Demand supply network opportunity 
development processes in emerging markets: Positioning for strategy 
realization in Russia. Industrial Marketing Management, Vol 39, pp: 240-
251
• Matsuo, H. (2015). Implications of the Tohoku earthquake for Toyota׳s 
coordination mechanism: Supply chain disruption of automotive 
semiconductors. International Journal of Production Economics, Vol 161, 
pp: 217-227.
• Moon, K., Yi, C., Ngai, E. (2012). An instrument for measuring supply 
chain flexibility for the textile and clothing companies. European Journal 
of Operational Research, Vol 222, pp: 191-203.
• Ngai, E. W. T., Chau, D. C. K., & Chan, T. L. A. (2011). Information 
technology, operational, and management competencies for supply chain 
agility: Findings from case studies. The Journal of Strategic Information 
Systems, Vol 20, pp: 232-249.
• Sanchez, C., Cedillo-M., Perez, P., Martinez, J (2011). Global economic 
crisis and Mexican automotive suppliers: impacts on the labor capital. 
Simulation: Transactions of the Society for Modeling and Simulation 
International, Vol 87, pp: 711-725.
• Silvestre, B. (2014). A hard nut to crack! Implementing supply chain 
sustainability in an emerging economy. Journal of Cleaner Production, In 
Press, Corrected Proof,
• Sturgeon, T. et al (2009). Globalisation of the Automotive Industry: 
Main Features and Trends. International Journal Technological Learning, 
Innovation and Development. Vol 2, pp: 7-24.
• Tang, Z. E., Goetschalckx, M., & McGinnis, L. (2013). Modeling-based 
Design of Strategic Supply Chain Networks for Aircraft Manufacturing. 
Procedia Computer Science, Vol 16, pp: 611-620
• Thomé, A., Scarvada, L., Pires, S., Ceryno, P., Klingebiel, K. (2014). A 
multi-tier study on supply chain flexibility in the automotive industry. 
International Journal of Production Economics, Vol 158, pp: 91-105.
• Tomlin, B. (2014). Managing supply-demand risk in global production: 
Creating cost-effective flexible networks. Business Horizons, Vol 57, pp: 
509-519.

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