Supply Chain Network Design in Retail Logistics : A Conceptual Review

Kurzfassung/Abstract

Retail supply chains are facing increasing structural complexity due to expanding product assortments, omni-channel fulfillment requirements, disruption risks, and rising sustainability pressures. Although a substantial body of literature addresses facility location and network design problems, existing research remains fragmented across decision areas such as supplier selection, store location planning, warehouse design, and cross-docking. This fragmentation is particularly problematic in retail settings, where heterogeneous assortments, geographically dispersed supplier bases, and dense downstream demand networks create strong interdependencies across sourcing, infrastructure, and flow decisions. This paper develops a conceptual framework for strategic supply chain network design (SCND) in retail logistics and uses it to synthesize the relevant literature from an integrated retail perspective. The framework structures retail SCND along four interrelated layers: retail context and design drivers, strategic design decisions, network configuration and flow architecture, and performance outcomes. In addition, resilience, collaboration, sustainability, and omni-channel retailing are conceptualized as cross-cutting dimensions that reshape network design trade-offs across multiple layers. Based on a semi-systematic literature review, the paper shows that retail network design should be understood as a multi-layered and interdependent strategic problem rather than as a set of isolated planning tasks. By integrating fragmented research streams and highlighting the specific logic of retail distribution systems, the study contributes to a clearer conceptual understanding of retail SCND and provides a foundation for future research on integrated and future-oriented retail logistics network design.