Fabrizio Dallari

Purpose: Supply Chain Control Towers (SCCTs) integrate data from hardware and software technologies, enabling end-to-end visibility across the entire supply chain. Their popularity surged due to global supply chain disruptions, emphasizing the need for innovative solutions to enhance business resilience and sustainable performance. However, the specific features most valued by end-users remain unclear. To bridge this gap, this study explores current definitions of SCCTs and end-users' perceptions, to identify new implications for supply chain management. Research Approach: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with supply chain managers to expand knowledge on SCCTs, and a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) technique was applied to rank the SCCT features. Findings and Originality: By investigating the perspective of supply chain managers, it was possible to compare literature and practice on SCCTs, identifying which of the features listed in the literature are more relevant to their needs. Research Impact: By combining users' perspectives, the existing knowledge on SCCTs is broadened, and the paper's findings serve as the foundation for further discussion and empirical investigation. Practical Impact: This study is intended to guide supply chain managers while enhancing providers' understanding of the most valued features. Keywords: digital supply chain; supply chain management; supply chain sustainability; supply chain visibility; supply chain control tower.

The efficiency and effectiveness of urban waste collection systems In Italy are generally measured in terms of separate collection achieved and other relevant parameters like the interception rates of the total municipal waste and the single fractions.The results are determined by the greater or lower propensity of the various systems to encourage participation of citizens-users to separate collection. The first difference that can be found is between the systems with road and/or proximity containers, in which the adhesion to the collection system is essentially voluntary and the domiciliary systems (door-to-door)with a higher adhesion. In the first case the results in terms of qualitative-quantitative interception rates are generally lower than the door-to-door systems that have better overall performance. Door-to-door systems can be designed by providing the users with rigid containers (like tubs, bins or wheeled carriers), disposable plastic bags or a mix of the two types of equipment. The research carried out allowed us to study changes in technical performance and the adhesion to the collection system by users. We compared two homogeneous areas, managed by the same subject (Econord SpA), with the same collection frequencies, but with two different non-recyclable dry fraction collection systems: in one case with disposable bags,in the other with 40 l masters both equipped with Rfid chips. The results show how the two system, although presenting their own peculiarities, also from the logistic / operational point of view, generate comparable results, thanks also to a good communication system thet allows to mediate the effects.

Supply chain sustainability has recently gained an increasing attention in the supply chain context both from the practitioners’ perspective and as a research area. The aim of the present paper is to investigate the strategies currently undertaken by companies in the supply chain sustainability arena and to study the criteria commonly used for priority-setting amongst different initiatives within the same supply chain phase.