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The application of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has the potential to transform supply chain management (SCM) practice. This study focuses on the role of GenAI, specifically large language models (LLMs), in enhancing the training efficiency and outcomes for supply chain employees.

An intervention-based research approach is used to implement a novel LLM-based methodology for improving both the training process for new employees and the continuous knowledge acquisition experience for existing staff in the supply chain function of an eyewear company.

The preliminary findings show that incorporating an LLM significantly improved the efficiency of the training process and reduced the training cost for employees by 25%. New employees could access relevant information swiftly, reducing training time and enhancing the quality of training. Notable outcomes included faster knowledge acquisition, personalized learning pathways and continuous improvement through user feedback.

This study contributes to the literature by establishing a foundational framework for leveraging LLMs for knowledge management and process automation within SCM. It offers actionable insights for SCM practitioners, highlighting opportunities to adopt LLM-powered methodologies for optimizing training processes, improving decision-making and automate SCM tasks.

Customer service provision is a growing phenomenon on social media and parcel shipping companies have been among the most prominent adopters. This has coincided with greater interest in the development of analysis techniques for unstructured big data from social media platforms, such as the micro-blogging platform, Twitter. Given the growing use of dedicated customer service accounts on Twitter, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness with which parcel shipping companies use the platform.

This paper demonstrates the use of a combination of tools for retrieving, processing and analysing large volumes of customer service-related conversations generated between parcel shipping companies and their customers in Australia, UK and the USA. Extant studies using data from Twitter tend to focus on the contributions of individual entities and are unable to capture the insights provided by a holistic examination of the interactions.

This study identifies the key issues that trigger customer contact with parcel shipping companies on Twitter. It identifies similarities and differences in the approaches that these companies bring to customer engagement and identifies the opportunities for using the medium more effectively.

The development of consumer-centric supply chains and relevant theories require researchers and practitioners to have the ability to include insights from growing quantities of unstructured data gathered from consumer engagement. This study makes a methodological contribution by demonstrating the use of a set of tools to gather insight from a large volume of conversations on a social media platform.

The coronavirus pandemic led to supply chain disruptions resulting in adverse economic impacts on global supply chains. Nationwide lockdowns in countries that play key roles in global manufacturing restricted freight movements through air, ocean, and land routes resulting in delivery delays, higher freight rates and congestion. At the same time, the pandemic has accelerated the growth of the e-commerce sector. Concern around infections has led to a surge in first-time online consumers for categories such as health and pharmaceuticals and fast-moving consumer goods. Companies have had to rethink their approaches to optimising warehouse locations and inventory to meet customer demand. From a freight perspective, the focus has shifted from a single-mode model towards multi-modal logistics to reduce costs and dependence on any one mode. This chapter will review recent developments, long term impacts and opportunities for growth in the context of this important sector and illustrate some of the key impacts of the pandemic using the example of the emerging economy in India. It concludes by synthesising key takeaways and reflecting on the future of the sector.

Transport and pandemics are interlinked given the ubiquitous nature of modern transport systems. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided much evidence for both virus contagion but also containment and how transport plays a role in both. As the world and its cities experienced lockdowns, there were travel restrictions, physical social distancing rules, transport systems shut down, changed operations, a re-opening with lower demands in some sectors (e.g., air transport and urban public transport services) and an increased demand in others (e.g., freight and home deliveries). These changes brought about a series of reactions at all levels, from governments and local authorities, operators of all transport modes but also personal and individual behaviour. This volume provides evidence on an array of transport and pandemic experiences through a collection of works from around the world, each chapter discussing a mode, a region and possible future outcomes. This introductory chapter provides the context for this volume with an overview of literature that looks at transport and pandemics, a timeline of events that marked the COVID-19 pandemic developments across different parts of the world, and finally an overview of the chapters in the volume. It concludes with some insights from the editors on the future of transport in a post-COVID world.