Enablers of Augmented Reality in the Food Supply Chain: A Systematic Literature Review
Abderahman Rejeb, Karim Rejeb, John G. Keogh
Abstract
The food industry represents one of the most critically important sectors of the economy. Food is a basic necessity for human life and requires specialized handling, preparation, and logistics to be safe for human consumption. Moreover, food supply chains have become more globalized, fragmented, and complex. Food industry stakeholders are forced to reconsider conventional ways of managing food chains and coping with the latest technology innovation trends. As technology unlocks several opportunities in supply chains, food businesses have a vested interest in exploring Augmented Reality (AR). AR denotes the technology of overlaying virtual objects upon the real-world environment. Despite being a well-established technology, AR possibilities in the food supply chain remain an unexplored research area. Therefore, to fill this knowledge gap and capture the latest developments in this field, we conducted a systematic literature review. Fifty-one (51) publications were thoroughly analyzed to identify the enablers of AR in the food industry. Findings revealed five main areas where AR potentially offers substantial business value. These include food process efficiencies, food decision-making, food marketing, food training, and food safety. Finally, research contributions, trajectories and limitations were highlighted.