Perhaps the best summary of how ICP and the Co‐op Group handled their joint project in 2000 can be taken from an internal memo from ICP’s development manager: “please be prepared for the s**t to hit the fan”. The Co‐operative Group, one of the largest retailers in the UK, and ICL,...

Purpose This paper aims to provide an assessment of how the widespread adoption of new digital technologies (i.e. the Internet of things, big data and analytics, robotic systems and additive manufacturing) might affect the location and organisation of activities within global value chains...