Alessandro Creazza

Logistics has traditionally been seen as a poorly innovative sector and an ancillary business function aimed at reducing costs, and with severe impacts on the environment due to the emissions generated by the logistics processes. However, with new services, logistics is today becoming a strategic source of competitive advantage for organizations. In this evolution, it is unclear how innovation has driven the rise of logistics as a strategic function, and the role of innovation in the logistics sector—especially in the light of understanding the implications for sustainability. In this chapter, a Systematic Literature Review on the current state of the art of the debate around innovation management in the logistics sector is presented, with special emphasis on the scientific literature related to European countries. To shed light on this topic, we combine the Systematic Literature Review with bibliometric tools, and we identify approaches and areas where innovation in logistics has been introduced. Sustainability-oriented innovation emerges as a key topic, along with technology, transport-related innovations, and the customer’s role within innovation processes.