European legislation has created a growing interest in the field of renewable energy production in several countries, including Italy. The applications of biomass and/or biofuel for energy generation have been assumed to provide a high level of sustainability due to the perception that renewable resources are inherently sustainable. Thus, renewable fuels applied to heating and/or electricity generation are potentially carbon dioxide neutral. However, before accepting this assumption, it is essential to analyse the actual level of sustainability in the whole supply chain (SC). This requirement has been clearly identified by the recently updated European Directives on renewable biofuels for transportation. However, there is little evidence that this concern has been directed at energy production from biomass. Thus, approaches derived from Green SC Management (GSCM) methods could provide an effective tool for evaluating, from a strategic perspective, the sustainability level of a specific biomass SC. This paper examines how biomass SC activities can define the overall environmental sustainability level. The approach was based on environmental indicators and the resultant output could support more effective GSCM strategies (e.g. defining logistics carriers, evaluating new biomass suppliers, etc.) for managing biomass SCs. Moreover, the approach could be applied by competent authorities for a quick evaluation of the sustainability level of biomass energy production installations. The approach has been tested in a real case study based on an installation, located in Southern Italy, which uses liquid biomass for energy production.

Information and communication technology tools could currently contribute to support firms in increasing the environmental sustainability of their production processes: the capability to monitor data on environmental performance is a key feature. This study proposes a decision support system for estimating and assessing the environmental performance of a specific printing product. Environmental sustainability concepts are just being applied in the printing sector: a critical analysis has highlighted that environmental eco-labelling schemes are widespread for raw materials; a few of interest have been addressed by researchers and practitioners to final products. The approach proposed aims to collect and merge environmental features of raw materials with data about printing processes carried out directly by the firm. Thus, the model allows a fast but integrated assessment of the whole environmental sustainability level of a specific printing product. With this, an overall sustainability assessment could be supplied to the final customer and to firm managers by integrating economic and environmental information in a common decision system. A prototypal software tool has been developed based on the approach proposed: the tool could be applied in the design as well as in the control phase for supporting scenario analyses to improve the environmental sustainability level of such a product.

Electronic and electric devices are now applied in most human activities: their diffusion is increasing worldwide; furthermore, most of them are characterized by a high replacement rate due to technological obsolescence. Consequently, environmental problems due to their diffusion are increasing; several aspects are involved from the energy consumption derived from their manufacturing processes and their use phases to their end-of-life (EOL) management. Such legislative (e.g. the European Energy Efficiency directive for household appliances) or voluntary interventions (e.g. based on the ISO standards) have been introduced for such devices: the aim is to incorporate environmental considerations in product design and manufacturing in order to benefit the environment. Some attempts are focusing on defining standardized models for the overall lifecycle including waste management. The aim of this paper is to introduce a reference model for comparing environmental product footprint of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). All life cycles of EEE will be evaluated: a specific focus is on the EOL management process as their waste management represents a complex problem for developed and developing countries. A multi-criteria decision-making model will be developed based on the well-known analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method: differently from traditional AHP applications, an absolute model has been proposed in order to compare EEE effectively from an environmental point of view. A case study validation regarding large household appliances is proposed.

Pallets are currently the most widespread system for internal material handling and logistics of goods through a supply chain: they represent a critical asset for all firms, especially for Logistics Service Providers (LSPs). Analyzing pallet management systems according to a logistics point of view is quite a new research trend. Open or closed loop networks are now applied worldwide for pallet logistics: the latter is more complex to design and manage due to the presence of a reverse logistics process; several inbound and outbound processes have to be assessed. On the other hand, closed loop systems are the most effective, both from an environmental and an economic point of views. The aim of the paper is to outline critical factors (such as the pallet logistics network, the interchange system) in designing closed loop pallet management systems; a simulation-based tool has been developed in order to support logistic managers in designing effective organizational scenarios for these systems. Cost and time based KPIs will be estimated by the simulation model. A case study about a LSP firm has been also analyzed in order to validate the proposed model. A sensitivity analysis has been carried out aiming to evaluate impacts on supply chain performance due to context parameters. The proposed study could support both practitioners and academics in better understanding the key management aspects involved in closed loop pallet management, thus allowing a most effective design of this critical reverse logistics system.

The growing production of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) justifies the increasing attention of both institutional and industrial organisations. The fast adoption of legislations, rules, and practices leads to a great dis-homogeneity in the technical, organisational and cost models adopted world-wide. The paper proposes a scientific literature analysis about WEEE design and management processes. A three-level taxonomy has been proposed in order to classify research papers: The basic logic is to propose a comparison between a WEEE system and an typical industrial engineering problem. The two first levels refer to the most critical issues characterising the design as well as the management of a typical WEEE reverse chain. The last one analyses different approaches/tools/methods currently applied in the scientific literature for WEEE design and management. A discussion is proposed to support waste practitioners as well as researchers in developing more effective and efficient WEEE management systems.

New business models are emerging in the FMCG retail sector due to the wide diffusion of digital technologies; innovative tools-such as Pervasive Retailing Information Systems-are wide spreading all over the world aiming to increase customer loyalty and retailer performance. Furthermore, the recent mass diffusion of mobile technologies is also contributing to modify customer satisfaction towards the shopping process. In this context, new generations of self-service systems-i.e. mobile Self-Checkout Systems (mSCSs)-are becoming widely adopted by FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) retail companies: the aim is to both speed up the customer-shopping trip and increase customer satisfaction. A mSCS is a selfcheckout system based on mobile technology. Traditionally, self-checkout systems have been applied to speed up the customer purchase process; impacts on retailer performance could also be evaluated in order to optimize labor force at store level. The paper proposes a comparison analysis about the application of different types of mSCSs at FMCG retail stores: the study will focus on analyzing quantitatively impacts on time based metrics both from the customer and the retailer points of view. The study will be helpful for practitioners in designing their own mSCS; furthermore, a structured model for evaluating potential impacts of innovative technologies at the retail sector as a result. Finally, a discrete-event simulation model has been developed to quantitatively compare different mSCSs in a case study.

RFID technology is no longer an experimental technology but is now widely applied in business processes aiming to increase performance both in public and private sectors. Together with traditional sectors (e.g. logistics, retail), the large potentiality of this technology is supporting its adoption in completely new emerging sectors (e.g. entertainment, payment). Thus, several challenges are still open: one critical point is the application cost; furthermore, as several research studies have pointed out operational as well as strategic benefits, this is yet an open research topic. The aim of the proposed study is to “measure” the adoption level of RFID technology by critically analyzing field study applications: a survey has been performed on case studies published by RFID Journal – a well-known media company – in two years (from January 2010 to January 2012). A specific taxonomy – based on main critical points characterizing RFID application – has been proposed in order to support potential RFID adopters in designing their own application. Results have showed as RFID technology is really pervasive in several sectors and geographical areas, even if the level of diffusion is quite different from one area to another.

Mass customization combines the contrasting elements of mass production and customization. This provides industrial organizations with a high level of flexibility and effectiveness, enabling them to gain a competitive advantage. In this field, control technologies could play a key role in supplying automatic access to information. One of the emerging technologies is radio frequency identification (RFID). RFID system now represents one of the technologies which could transform processes across supply chains (SC). Major benefits of RFID applications in SC management are oriented toward sharing information with partners, tracing objects, and share information. While an increasing interest in RFID technology can be found in scientific literature, few studies are focused on the performances of RFID technology applications in SC management. First, this chapter proposes, a classification of papers found in a scientific database from 2000 to 2008. Second, a general framework based on the Supply Chain Operations References (SCOR) model, which aims to define a standardized tool for evaluating performances in SCs of RFID applications.