Editorial

Herbert Kotzab , Stefan Minner , Lauri Ojala , Thorsten Schmidt , Klaus Turowski

Editorial

First online: 31.05.2014

DOI: 10.1007/s12159-014-0116-x

Cite this article as: Kotzab, H., Minner, S., Ojala, L. et al. Logist. Res. (2014) 7: 116. doi:10.1007/s12159-014-0116-x

The past issue of Logistics Research was a special one. It was the first issue of our editorial responsibility, and it was the final issue to be physically printed.

With this year, a new era of publishing in Logistics Research is starting as the journal transforms to a fully open-access journal within SpringerOpen. This means that all accepted research articles are open access and immediately accessible online to the entire global research community. Your work is going to be available via the SpringerOpen website, SpringerLink as well as major international archives. Due to the substantial support by BVL International, all article-processing charges are going to be covered.

Since the first issue of Logistics Research in 2009, 235 manuscripts have been submitted until December 2013. Not every manuscript was able to keep the required standards so that we can observe an annual rejection rate ranging from 40 to 73 %. So far, 105 articles were published in Logistics Research.

By taking over the editorial responsibility, we take the opportunity to thank all of you who have supported the journal with your submissions and your reviews. You have made a substantial effort for keeping the journal on track.

It was quite a heroic move to publish ‘another’ research journal in logistics as in 2009 we were not so much aware about the consequences of the various journal ratings and rankings that become more and more important for the scientific community. Nevertheless, Logistics Research has its right to be on the academic market place as it tries to close a gap between the various academic disciplines, which examine logistics and supply chain problems. The value of Logistics Research is its interdisciplinary boundary spanning from logistics management to logistics engineering. This interdisciplinary approach is also documented in the new organization of the journal, where we decided to establish editorial areas, where each one of us acts as Associate Editor. These areas are:

Quantitative methods and decision support systems
Infrastructure and economy
Management and social sciences
Information and communication technology
Technical logistics and logistics engineering

We continue the journey of Logistics Research presenting analytical, conceptual, empirical and/or experimental work that advances the development of logistics theory and innovative logistics practices as well as the integration of the various associated disciplines such as management and social sciences, economics, behavioral sciences, operations research, informatics and other relevant engineering sciences.

We especially invite our international colleagues, researchers, academics and practitioners interested in and dealing with logistics to submit their ground breaking work. Logistics Research will solicit, evaluate and publish through a rigorous double-blind peer review process, empirical and conceptual work advancing the development of logistics theory and innovative logistics practices.

Finally, it is time to thank the founding editor Peter Klaus for all his work and energy that he put into the establishment of Logistics Research. Without his engagement and visionary thoughts, Logistics Research would not exist. Also a big thank you to Angela Roth, who managed the journal’s operational challenges in an excellent manner.

Welcome to Logistics Research Open Access!

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