News

The Russia-Ukraine war is having an outsized impact on the global supply chain, impeding the flow of goods, fueling dramatic cost increases and product shortages, and creating catastrophic food shortages around the world, according to experts at a virtual symposium hosted by the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics.

The upheaval to the supply and demand of goods is exacerbating the already untenable human toll of the conflict, which shows no signs of abating.

In an article for Forbes, MIT AgeLab Director Joseph Coughlin describes the clear difference in loneliness reported for retired men and women, as well as the many negative health impacts of being lonely. Longevity planning is about living well in later life, not just financial planning. Without rich social connections, health, even coupled with ample wealth, might still result in unhappiness in older age. It appears that men, in particular, must work harder than most women to invest and build their social portfolio.

Increasing strain on supply chain workers, lower wages, and inflation, among other factors, are leading to strikes across the world that heavily impact many different supply chains. MIT FreightLab Co-Director David Correll, whose research focuses on the working experiences of the American long-haul truck driver, was asked for comment for a piece about labor disruptions along supply chains.

The Wall Street Journal asked CTL's Katie Date about a recent study which found that women perform more efficiently than men in logistics planning. Date, who heads MIT's Women in Supply Chain Initiative, points out that while the University of Akron and University of Arkansas researchers' study was based on a simulation, diversifying supply chain operations could provide great benefits for companies.

Consumers have gotten used to fast shipping times, but at a considerable environmental cost. How can companies to persuade buyers to wait longer for packages without alienating them—and to lower companies’ delivery costs and carbon footprints at the same time?

In The Wall Street Journal, MIT CTL's Josué Velázquez Martínez and Ken Cottrill write that the right messaging and approach to sustainability can make a big difference.

MIT AgeLab Director Joseph Coughlin discusses how climate change will impact much of the retiring population. Is your retirement plan accounting for dangerous increases in extreme weather?

Many older adults are living in regions where there is an increasing number and growing intensity of extreme weather events...—all of which introduce a variety of costs in retirement.

Older adults are more vulnerable in weather-related disasters—their most obvious vulnerability being age-related health and disability conditions.

Is globalization in terminal decline, or will it survive or even thrive in some other form? CTL Director Yossi Sheffi discusses the inequalities, and consequences, that globalization has had on many companies and even nations. 

CTL Director Yossi Sheffi's recent book, A Shot in the Arm: How Science, Engineering, and Supply Chains Converged to Vaccinate the World, was featured in MIT News' summer 2022 recommended reading list.

The digital transformation of businesses is creating new products, processes, and services. But to provide these new offerings, companies must share information and assets with each other in ways that were previously off-limits. For example, digitized services may require competitors to share physical assets such as warehouse space.

Digital twins (DTs)—living digital replicas of physical entities—are used widely in manufacturing to mimic and improve real-world processes and systems. However, there are far fewer applications of the technology in supply chain management. DTs could deliver similar benefits in supply chains if it were not for certain misconceptions that prevent companies from unlocking the technology’s huge potential.

Toronto: 15 June 2022

Dr. Bryan Reimer presented on the potential for advances in artificial general intelligence to produce a new generation of automated vehicles. To begin with, he noted that roadway safety is a global, undertreated public health crisis, with over 1.25 million fatalities worldwide every year. The fully automated vehicle represents a “holy grail” to address these harms. Vehicle automation has been a technological dream for the better part of the last century, and in the last decade, AI has produced new hopes for the potential to create a truly automated car.

A pop-up hearing aid exposition called HearWeAre. A travel agency that matches older and younger travelers for group adventures. An app that guides outgoing hospital patients through every step of the discharge process. These are a few of the projects presented by students on the final day in the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP)’s class Global Aging and the Built Environment.

MIT AgeLab Director Joe Coughlin was quoted by MarketWatch in an article about the impact that climate change will have on Baby Boomers’ and Gen X’s retirement plans. While American retirees can still have an enjoyable retirement, he says, factors such as extreme weather and higher flood risks could heavily impact quality of life. But he cautions that any message about climate-change preparedness has to make retirees feel empowered, not fearful.

The MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium (MCSC) has awarded 20 projects a total of $5 million over two years in its first-ever 2022 MCSC Seed Awards program. 

In an article for Forbes, MIT AgeLab Director Joseph Coughlin writes that Gen X and Baby Boomer retirement may contribute to a shortage in many different fields, such as nursing and long-term care.

SCM Instructor Toby Gooley, Contributing Editor at DC Velocity, writes that fleet managers may need to reconsider their one-size-fits-all approach to forklift safety training.

CTL Director Yossi Sheffi was quoted by UK-based The Loadstar about companies' apprehension to stay in China, as lockdowns are heavily impacting international supply chains.

CTL Director Yossi Sheffi was recognized by Supply Chain Digital as a top 10 supply chain influencer.

MIT AgeLab Director Joe Coughlin joins Walter Isaacson on the Trailblazers podcast, where he discusses retirement, life expectancy, and the societal pressure on the aging population to retire and allow a younger workforce to take their jobs.

Listen to the full podcast on Amazon Music

MIT Sustainable Supply Chain Lab Director Josué Velázquez Martínez was quoted by Bloomberg about pressures on the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations oversight body, to revisit their regulations on greenhouse gas emission.

In an article for Supply Chain Management Review, Dr. Eva Ponce writes about how omni-channel supply chains can support the development of circular supply chains. 

One way is to create reverse flow channels that collect returned product and packaging for recycling and reuse. The retail industry is actively developing these reverse supply chains, but one of the challenges they face is how to measure the impact of reuse strategies on omni-channel operations.