**Meet the editor**

Dr. Evelin Krmac has a PhD in computer and information science. She is Assistant Professor in the business informatics field at the Faculty of Maritime Studies and Transport, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, where she is a course manager for Computer and Information Science, Information Science in Traffic, and Information Support of Logistics. Her research interests include the

application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in logistics, supply chains and transport, intelligent transport systems, and application of ICT in the learning and teaching process.

Through her career, she has actively been contributing in organizing various professional and scientific meetings, in co-editing international scientific journals (such as MEST and FBIM Transactions), in publishing in fields relating to her research interests, and being involved in various scientific research projects.

## Contents

#### **Preface XI**


#### **X** Contents


## Preface

**Section 2 Performance Evaluation, Modelling and Optimization 139**

Chapter 7 **Performance Evaluation for the Sustainable Supply Chain**

Chapter 9 **Energy Chains Optimization for Selection of Sustainable**

Chapter 10 **Support International Business Expansion with**

Chapter 8 **Modeling Sustainable Supply Chain Management as a Complex Adaptive System: The Emergence of Cooperation 195** Aida Huerta Barrientos and Idalia Flores de la Mota

Srđan Vasković, Petar Gvero, Vlado Medaković and Velid Halilović

**Management 141**

**VI** Contents

**Energy Supply 219**

**Sequential Reviews 247** Rui Fernandes and Carlos Pinho

Xuemei Fan and Shujun Zhang

Over the last ten years, the sustainability and the sustainable development are between the hottest topics of research and consequently also writing, in almost all fields. The point of sustainability development is to develop things, processes, and activities in such a way that they can satisfy needs of today without compromising the future. Therefore, the sustainabil‐ ity has become a requirement, a need, a "must thing" and is therefore present everywhere, especially in all those fields that are oriented to help people to meet their needs of the present. Supply chain, supply chain management, logistics, distribution, transport, and oth‐ er related activities are among them. So, the fact that there are really many studies (books, articles, reports, reviews, etc.) regarding the sustainable supply chain management and the sustainability of the supply chain already published is not surprising. Moreover, the supply chain has become a very complex process composed of many other (sub)processes, involv‐ ing many different stakeholders and actors, facing with strong need for optimization of all kinds of flows, while respecting as much as possible the environment. So, the management of, nowadays, supply chains has become very complex and thus there is a need for an ade‐ quate research and development.

This book gives an up-to-date view of various perspectives of the sustainability phenomena regarding different kinds of supply chains and related activities. Since the sustainability is defined as a union of three dimensions, namely economic aspects, environment perform‐ ance, and social responsibility, all of them are investigated by book chapters. Other impor‐ tant issues through the sustainability of the supply chain are also discussed, such as methods, models, and technologies for evaluating, monitoring, predicting, and optimizing the performance of the supply chains.

The book is therefore divided into two parts. Part I, "Economic, Environmental and Social Aspects", is a collection of chapters that investigate different supply chains and different aspects of sustainability of the supply chain and supply chain management. Part II, "Per‐ formance evaluation, Modelling and Optimization", discusses performance indicators and performance evaluation methods, optimization, and sustainability criteria, investigates sup‐ ply chain management as a complex adaptive system, and presents decision support mod‐ els.

The content of the book encompasses a wide range of topics and therefore should help to all those who are working, researching, or studying in the fields of logistics, distribution, and supply chain, that are meeting with every day stronger needs and requirements of cost and time reductions of processes, of increasing environment protection requirements, and all those who are subjected to every day more demanding decision making during supply chain management.

#### XII Preface

Finally, I would like to thank the authors of the chapters for their contributions and their willingness to share their knowledge and expertise with all others and consequently contrib‐ ute to more sustainable way of life.

#### **Assistant Professor Evelin Krmac, PhD**

Faculty of Maritime Studies and Transport University of Ljubljana Slovenia **Economic, Environmental and Social Aspects**

Finally, I would like to thank the authors of the chapters for their contributions and their willingness to share their knowledge and expertise with all others and consequently contrib‐

> **Assistant Professor Evelin Krmac, PhD** Faculty of Maritime Studies and Transport

> > University of Ljubljana

Slovenia

ute to more sustainable way of life.

VIII Preface
