Article
A Review of Inventory Management Research in Major Logistics Journals: Themes and Future Directions
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of inventory management articles
published in major logistics outlets, identify themes from the literature and provide future direction for
inventory management research to be published in logistics journals.
Design/methodology/approach – Articles published in major logistics articles, beginning in 1976,
which contribute to the inventory management literature are reviewed and cataloged. The articles are
segmented based on major themes extracted from the literature as well as key assumptions made by
the particular inventory management model.
Findings – Two major themes are found to emerge from logistics research focused on inventory
management. First, logistics researchers have focused considerable attention on integrating traditional
logistics decisions, such as transportation and warehousing, with inventory management decisions,
using traditional inventory control models. Second, logistics researchers have more recently focused
on examining inventory management through collaborative models.
Originality/value – This paper catalogs the inventory management articles published in the major
logistics journals, facilitates the awareness and appreciation of such work, and stands to guide future
inventory management research by highlighting gaps and unexplored topics in the extant literature.