Advancements in inventory management within the agricultural supply chain: implications for waste reduction and sustainability

Supply chain management is considered an innovation that integrates business concerns, including sustainable agricultural matters, into all the links in supply chains. Such management is an essential function since it directly impacts the financial outcomes of companies and, more importantly, the environment. In addition, when effectively managed, it can generate competitive advantages and reduce waste and pollution. Recently, researchers have renewed their interest in developing new inventory management and optimization methods to achieve sustainability. For our study, we applied bibliometrics to describe the evolution of several agricultural supply chain management models; this procedure, through the analysis of performance indicators, allows the examination and study of high volumes of scientific data and the identification of the principal contributions of universities, journals, and researchers in citations, coupling, and bibliographic productivity terms. We conducted our analysis using the R package Bibliometrix tool. We outlined the sample by gathering data from articles indexed in databases, i.e., Scopus and Web of Science, from 2004 to 2022. In addition, in our study, the methodology used was generally described, including a portrayal of the trends of the topic, quantitative analysis, and visualization of collaboration networks and cocitations. As a result, we reviewed 148 articles published in 95 journals. In addition, we identified 485 authors as having contributed to developing this research topic. The results revealed that agricultural supply chain management, specifically inventories, is a relatively contemporary topic with an extensive scope based on its capacity to assist in achieving sustainability in business.