Abstract
In the retail industry, there are multiple products flowing from different distribution centers to brick-and-mortar stores with distinct characteristics. This industry has been suffering radical changes along the years and new market dynamics are making distribution more and more challenging. Consequently, there is a pressure to reduce shipment sizes and increase the delivery frequency. In such a context, defining the most efficient way to supply each store is a critical task. However, the supply chain planning decision that tackles this type of problem, delivery mode planning, is not well defined in the literature. This paper proposes a definition for delivery mode planning and analyzes multiple ways retailers can efficiently supply their brick-and-mortar stores from their distribution centers. The literature addressing this planning problem is reviewed and the main interdependencies with other supply chain planning decisions are discussed.

Abstract
The role of digital technologies for fostering sustainability and efficiency in forest-based supply chains is well acknowledged and motivated several studies in the scope of precision forestry. Sensor technologies can collect relevant data in forest-based supply chains, comprising all activities from within forests and the production of the woody raw material to its transformation into marketable forest-based products. Advanced planning systems can help to support decisions of the various entities in the supply chain, e.g., forest owners, harvest companies, haulage companies, and forest product processing industry. Such tools can help to deal with the complex interdependencies between different entities, often with opposing objectives and actions-which may increase efficiency of forest-based supply chains. This paper analyzes contemporary literature dealing with digital technologies in forest-based supply chains and summarizes the state-of-the-art digital technologies for real-time data collection on forests, product flows, and forest operations, as well as planning systems and other decision support systems in use by supply chain actors. Higher sustainability and efficiency of forest-based supply chains require a seamless information flow to foster integrated planning of the activities over the supply chainthereby facilitating seamless data exchange between the supply chain entities and foster new forms of collaboration. Therefore, this paper deals with data exchange and multi-entity collaboration aspects in combination with interoperability challenges related with the integration among multiple process data collection tools and advanced planning systems. Finally, this interdisciplinary review leads to the discussion of relevant guidelines that can guide future research and integration projects in this domain.

Abstract
Supply chains are complex interdependent structures in which tasks' accomplishment is the result of a compromise between all the entities involved. This complexity is particularly pronounced when dealing with chipping and transportation tasks within a forest-based biomass energy production supply chain. The logistic costs involved are significant and the number of network nodes are usually in a considerable number. For this reason, efficient optimization tools should be used in order to derive cost effective scheduling. In this work, soft computing optimization tools, namely genetic algorithms (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), are integrated within a discrete event simulation model to define the vehicles operational schedule in a typical forest biomass supply chain. The presented simulation results show the proposed methodology effectiveness in dealing with the addressed systems.

Abstract
In the global, competitive and ever-changing market it is important that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), as a significant part of the Portuguese industrial business, become competitive and, thus, it´s important to assess how the level of involvement in Electronic Commerce (EC), in Business-to-Consumer (B2C) relations, can influence the success of a microenterprise in the retail sector, focusing on the Portuguese sub-region of Pinhal Interior Norte. Being a region that is far from the big metropolises, where the young and more educated stratum distances itself, leaving it little more than the population that is getting older and with a reduced level of education, we considered it interesting to study if the microenterprises of the region are prepared to the new era of technology as a business model for their companies. Using the definition of success for a company as positive and growing financial result, it is objective of this work to know if companies with involvement in the EC, in B2C relations, have an increasing success rate due to its adoption and maintenance. Based on a research in a database with information from the companies, the sample was subsequently evaluated to find out which of the companies in the sample were involved in the EC and conducted surveys / interviews with the managers of the sample companies to assess the motivation (s) for their adoption, as well as whether they recognize the return of their investment and what they intend to do to maintain or modify their business. Initially we found several difficulties to gather data to be able to achieve proper conclusions, but with the help of some company managers, we were able to confirm that 62.50% of the analyzed companies saw their financial result increased after the adoption of the EC, which allows us to establish the existence of a relationship between the two facts. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd..

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to present the current understanding and con-ceptualization of the cargo stability constraint within the context of the Container Loading Problem. This problem is highly relevant in the transportation industry due to the increasing pressure for a more economically, environmentally and socially efficient and sustainable cargo transportation. Stability is one the most important practical relevant constraints in the Container Loading Problem due to its strong influence on the cargo arrangement. Stability is usually divided into stability during loading operations (static) and stability during transportation (dynamic). Two main contributions are made. Firstly, an overview of recent developments in the literature on the two types of stability, static and dynamic, is provided. Secondly, of opportunities for future research are identified.

Abstract
In road freight transport, a loaded vehicle with a distribution route and a compliant load balance at the depot can become non-compliant during the route, since the total weight of the cargo and its centre of gravity change with each delivery. Nowadays, vehicles circulating on our roads either undermine safety regulations or lack operational efficiency when these regulations are taken into account and cargo is extensively rearranged after each delivery. This issue has been completely ignored both in the vehicle routing literature and in the container loading literature. The aim of this work is to provide tools capable of ensuring that a cargo arrangement is load balanced along the complete distribution trip. It proposes a multi-drop load balance recovery algorithm (MDLBRA), which seeks to ensure that, when both a complete route and the respective cargo arrangement are provided, the boxes to be removed from the cargo arrangement at the depot and the boxes to be rearranged at each customer are identified, allowing the cargo to remain balanced after every delivery. It is important to notice that a MDLBRA is not a container loading algorithm: a MDLBRA modifies solutions generated by any container loading algorithm so that load balance is guaranteed when the truck leaves the depot and during the entire distribution route. A mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model is proposed to balance the cargo at each customer stop. The MILP model incorporates load distribution diagram constraints in order to determine the feasible domain for the location of the centre of gravity of the cargo arrangement, taking into account the regulatory requirements and the technical characteristics of the vehicle. Extensive computational experiments show that a MDLBRA can be used in practical contexts, as the MILP model was able to find a solution in less than ten minutes in 93% of the unbalanced test instances.