News

September 21, 2015 (Cambridge, MA). The second installment of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics’ (MIT CTL) ground-breaking online supply chain course, Supply Chain and Logistics Fundamentals, will start on September 30th, 2015. Called Supply Chain Design, the SC2x course is part of the three-part SCx series and will run for 12 consecutive weeks. A year ago MIT CTL opened a new chapter in supply chain education with the launch of its SCx online program.

By Zyad El Jebbari. The handicraft industry in Morocco represents more than 9% of the country’s GDP and employs over 2 million people. Yet artisans struggle to expand the global market for their products, with total exports accounting for a mere 8% of the industry’s revenue. The primary overseas market for these products is the United States, which generated about $10 million of revenue in 2013.

How can companies prepare for disruptions? What are the best ways to analyze risks and increase an organization's overall resilience? “We start by thinking about what can go wrong,” says Yossi Sheffi. In an August 2015 webinar, Sheffi, director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics and a renowned expert on supply chains, risk management, and resilience, shared insights and examples from his latest research. His new book, The Power of Resilience: How the Best Companies Manage the Unexpected, is out this month from MIT Press.

By Yossi Sheffi

By James B. Rice, Jr.

Market and industry dynamics are constantly changing. The emergence of omni-channel retailing, wide fluctuations in energy prices that require supply chain designs to be revisited, and the impact of mega-size container ships on global operations are just a few examples of these changes.

"Arcturus" sustains 60mph using the same energy as a hairdryer. Photo: Chris Penticoff.

Contact:
Sarah J. Smith, Communications Specialist
MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics
sajsmith@mit.edu /  +1.617.253.4592

By Alexis H. Bateman

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would remove state-level authority to require companies to show when a food product contains genetically-modified organisms, or GMOs.

Officially called the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, the bill is the result of a growing push by consumers for more information about the contents of the products they buy. Some companies have objected to the potential new requirements, arguing that it is not possible to capture the complexity and volatility of their supply chains on labels.

By Dr. Yossi Sheffi, LinkedIn Influencer

A shortage of truck drivers has bedeviled the logistics industry for so long, that it’s difficult to imagine a time when filling driver vacancies was not a problem. What is also difficult to fathom is why simply paying these workers more is not a solution.

The lessons learned at this stage can help to avoid missteps before the network has to handle higher product volumes.

Read the article.

The Internet of Things, a network of physical objects that are embedded with electronics, software, sensors and connectivity that enable objects to “talk” to each other, is also closer than most people think, said Joseph Coughlin, director of the AgeLab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

By Jarrod Goentzel and James B. Rice, Jr.

Many companies have become adept at using supply-chain management to increase their competitiveness, yet the function remains under-utilized in one vital area: working capital management.

As interest rates rise and markets become less tolerant of performers who are careless with working capital, companies may pay a high price for failing to make full use of the financial management capabilities in their supply chains

It was once thought so called "combinatorial bidding" - in which carriers bid on combinations of lanes as packages to drive network efficiencies and thus presumably lower rates - would dominate truckload freight sourcing.

It all looks good on paper, says MIT's Dr. Chris Caplice, and he ought to know - he wrote his PhD dissertation on the concept. But when the rubber hits the road - literally in this case - the theory is just not practical to implement, Caplice now says, even though some shippers still try to use the tactic.

By Jarrod Goentzel and Ian Heigh

As the deadly Ebola outbreak threatened West Africa, a team of medical, humanitarian and logistics experts teamed up to respond to the deadly virus. The lessons learned by the team could provide a logistics blueprint for handling future crises.

Read the article.

By Dr. Yossi Sheffi, LinkedIn Influencer

No one knows for sure how Greece’s financial crisis will impact the global economy over the long-haul. However, what companies can expect is instability in some form or other, such as volatile prices and fluctuating currency values within the Eurozone and beyond. 

It takes more than original thinking to be innovative. The skills and knowledge gained from professional education programs are also important pieces of the puzzle. How do these programs help supply chain professionals to be innovators?

During the event, a presentation titled "Supply Chain Innovations in Emerging Markets," was conducted by Dr. Edgar Blanco, Research Director in the Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Blanco’s presentation highlighted the importance of innovation and the types of changes currently being made in the logistics sector that are adding value to supply chains around the world.

For our 2015 Rainmakers, success isn't just about fame and fortune. It's also about making a contribution to the logistics field and advancing the profession.

Q: Some see supply chain management (SCM) as a business management discipline, while others place it in the realm of engineering. Do you see those approaches as competitive or complementary?

By Jarrod Goentzel and James B. Rice, Jr.

By Dr. Yossi Sheffi, LinkedIn Influencer

The success of the taxi-like Uber service has spawned many start-up attempts in related (and other) areas. In fact, it seems that any time a new app puts service providers in direct contact with customers, the service involved becomes an “Uber” activity.

But the Uber moniker does not necessarily mean that a new business model has been created. And the service innovations bestowed by the classification might not be as disruptive as is assumed.

Although the Ebola outbreak in West Africa unfolded half a world away from UMass Medical School in Worcester, the crisis in West Africa engaged the hearts, minds and hands-on expertise of a phalanx of UMMS faculty members and collaborators.

These brave and committed individuals will be recognized for their selfless and lifesaving efforts to help stem the Ebola outbreak in Liberia at UMass Medical School’s 42nd Commencement Exercises on Sunday, May 31.

By Dr. Yossi Sheffi, LinkedIn Influencer

The roster of food companies that want to eliminate palm oil from their products is getting longer. But actually reaching that goal will require an enormous effort across their supply chains.

“Once a company goes into the palm oil supply chain, it gets incredibly complex,” says Alexis Bateman, a research associate with the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. The company “can have multiple different products that contain the material and then palm oil can come from several different derivatives—from fruit bunches, from the tree, from the palm kernel.”

Dr. Bruce Arntzen, executive director of the supply chain management program at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics found this year’s Salary Survey results compelling for that very reason. “As far as the value of an advanced education, our program is the ‘poster child’ for that,” he says. “Since I have been here, our 10-month program has resulted in the class average salary boost ranging between 57 percent to 81 percent. Not bad for a hiatus of less than a year out of the work force.”

With sustainability a topic of significant interest among many in the logistics industry, C.H. Robinson and the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) have combined to develop research aimed at finding ways to better quantify carbon emissions at the Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) shipment level.

Read the full article.

Jarrod Goentzel, founder and director of the MIT Humanitarian Response Lab, has been using these methods to help West Africa cope with the Ebola outbreak, and said the same approach could be used in Boston to create a central point among its cluster of large hospitals to house supplies needed in crisis situations.

“We have lots of hospitals here. In a panic mode, everyone is trying to procure supplies,” he said. “Basic human nature is to hoard and hoard and be prepared. But the more centrally you stock things, the more risk that can cover.”