Digitization technologies in transport logistics: A systematic literature review protocol

The trend toward a greater proportion of digitization technologies in use can also be seen in the area of transport logistics. Currently, however, digitization technologies in transport logistics are predominantly represented by telematics systems that record vehicle-related data and transmit them via corresponding communication technologies. At the level of the loaded goods, for example, there is a comparatively smaller proportion of digitization technologies in use, which results in a lower degree of process transparency. The industry is characterized by a very heterogeneous technology landscape and application-specific processes. As a result, there is no deep and comprehensive understanding of already deployed and additionally suitable digitization technologies in transportation logistics. In order to generally outline a specific research field thematically, systematic literature reviews (SLR) are used, as their purpose is to compile and highlight the scientific findings to date. This article presents a research protocol that describes the methodological procedure for conducting an appropriate systematic literature review in order to accommodate the necessary scientific rigor. The research protocol precedes the systematic literature review in order to describe the state of research regarding deployed and additionally suitable digitization technologies within transportation logistics.