A critical review of optimisation models in smart supply chains: insights and future directions

The digital transformation of supply chains has driven the emergence of smart supply chains, integrating technologies such as blockchain, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence to enhance resilience, efficiency, and responsiveness. Although optimisation models are increasingly applied to support decision-making in this context, a comprehensive methodological review remains lacking. This study reviews 101 peer-reviewed journal articles on optimisation models in smart supply chains. The analysis classifies decision variables into strategic, tactical, and operational levels, and examines studies in this field in terms of their modelling characteristics and research streams. Results reveal a surge in publications over the past two years, with blockchain as the most frequently modelled technology and a growing shift toward integrated decision-making. Technology adoption dominates strategic-level decisions, pricing prevails at the tactical level, and operational decisions receive less emphasis. Economic objectives outweigh social and environmental goals, and uncertainty, particularly technology-related, remains underrepresented. Building on the review findings, we develop a conceptual framework that structures the modelling process in smart supply chains and provides a step-by-step roadmap for model development and implementation. Using the Antecedents-Scenarios-Actions-Consequences-Methods framework, we further synthesise prior insights and outline future research directions and associated research questions.