Pair People and AI for Better Product Demand Forecasting

January 29, 2024 • News

Devadrita Nair and Maria Jesus Saenz of the MIT Digital Supply Chain Transformation Lab recently published an aritcle in MIT Sloan Management Review. Here's a brief excerpt:

Hot pink made a comeback this past summer. But as numerous fashion brands eagerly jumped on the Barbie-driven trend, many struggled to get their numbers right. Aldo, an official brand collaborator, saw its Barbie-based platform shoes fly off the shelves within 24 hours, thanks to the viral hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt.

AgeLab researcher Bryan Reimer named to US Department of Transportation innovation committee

January 23, 2024 • News

Bryan Reimer, Research Scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics’s (MIT CTL) AgeLab, has been appointed by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to the Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee (TTAC). The committee advises the DOT and the Secretary of Transportation about plans and approaches for transportation innovation.

Are you your trucker's keeper?

January 11, 2024 • News
Conventional wisdom says that the United States is suffering from a massive truck driver shortage. While it’s true that truck drivers are a scarce resource, it’s also the case that truck drivers’ time is frequently not respected and is significantly underutilized. The biggest culprit? Long delays at shippers’ loading docks.

Omnichannel Distribution Strategies Lab launches data collection for annual study

November 09, 2023 • News
The research team seeks input from supply chain professionals in the omnichannel retail and distribution space to gain a fuller understanding of trends and transformations currently occurring in the industry. Anyone interested may participate and contribute by completing a brief survey.

Removing needless barriers to micro-retailer growth

November 01, 2023 • News

LIFT Lab Director Josué C. Velázquez Martínez wrote in the latest Innovation Strategies column in Supply Chain Management Review. Here's a brief excerpt:

Knowing how to plan to spend your time in retirement is as pressing as how you will save for it

October 09, 2023 • In the Media

MIT AgeLab founder Joseph Coughlin discusses the importance of planning how to spend your retirement years, as it is as important as planning to save for your retirement.

“Over the past century, we’ve created the greatest gift in humanity – 30 extra years of life – and we don’t know what we’re going to do with it.”

Read the full article on The Globe and Mail

Loaded and Rolling: 70% of annual RFP lanes procured not materializing

October 05, 2023 • In the Media

FreightWaves on Tuesday interviewed Angela Acocella, postdoctoral researcher at Tilburg University and researcher with the MIT Center of Transportation and Logistics looking at the impact of ghost lanes on shipper and carrier networks.

How Digital Technologies Could Boost Tiny Retailers in Developing Countries

October 03, 2023 • In the Media

Micro-retailers are vitally important to the economies of developing countries and to consumer packaged goods companies but their full potential is not being realized. The adoption of digital technologies could help change that. But for that to happen, obstacles must be overcome. This October 3, 2023, article by Josué C. Velázquez Martínez (MIT CTL Research Scientist and Director of the MIT Sustainable Supply Chain Lab and MIT Low Income Firms Transformation (LIFT) Lab) and Ken Cottrill (CTL Editorial Director), suggests three strategies can address them.

Report finds supply chain sustainability pressure continues unabated in 2023

October 02, 2023 • Press Releases

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 2 – The State of Supply Chain Sustainability 2023, published today, Now in its fourth year, the annual report from the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) examines how supply chain sustainability practices have evolved over a four-year period, how they are being implemented globally, and what that means for professionals, enterprises, industries, and the planet. This year’s report shows that pressure on firms to make their supply chains more sustainable.

The China Dilemma: Stay or Leave?

October 02, 2023 • Blogs

In a recent influencer article, MIT CTL Director Yossi Sheffi discusses issues involved with sourcing in China. 

How to get your DC ready for driverless forklifts

October 01, 2023 • In the Media

MIT CTL's Toby Gooley writes about the importance of how to get your distribution center ready for driverless forklifts.

Dr. Maria Jesus Saenz Named Recipient of 2023 Women in Supply Chain Award

September 18, 2023 • Press Releases
Dr. Maria Jesus Saenz

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.—Sept. 18, 2023 — Dr.

Bryan Reimer Talks Driver Assistance Systems for Travelers Institute Webinar

September 13, 2023 • News

Newer vehicles today are packed with sensors and technology. This includes a group of features known as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (or ADAS), that aim to help drivers better react to danger on the road and partially automate the driving task. So how are drivers today actually handling all this new tech? Are we beginning to see safety benefits? Dr.

MIT SCM Announces 2023-2024 AWE Fellowship Recipients

September 08, 2023 • Press Releases

The MIT Supply Chain Management Master’s Program is pleased to announce the winners from the Class of 2024 of the Advancing Women Through Education (AWE) Fellowship.

Self-driving vehicles may reshape transportation, whether the cities that host them like it or not

August 17, 2023 • In the Media

MIT AVT's Bryan Reimer comments on the concerns of self-driving vehicles in cities without the city's full consent.

Calculating How to Reduce Carbon Emissions in Temperature-sensitive Cold Chain Shipments

August 08, 2023 • News

PhD Candidate Jonas Lehmann, CTL Principal Research Scientist Matthias Winkenbach, and CTL Research Scientist Milena Janjevic published a study highlighting the leading carbon footprint of hybrid containers.

"As carbon emissions surge worldwide, mounting pressure from politicians and shareholders alike is driving decarbonization efforts across all industries. In our new study, we investigate the operational and tactical levers to reduce carbon emissions in temperature-sensitive cold chain logistics.

Is Artificial Intelligence taking over the supply chain?

August 01, 2023 • In the Media

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is creeping into many industries, and now it’s coming for the automotive supply chain. Should we be nervous, or should it be embraced as a helpful tool? Yossi Sheffi, professor of Engineering Systems at MIT weighs up the pros and cons.

Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center Expands Latest Phase of Research with New Projects

July 27, 2023 • In the Media

MIT AVT is collaborating with Toyota on vehicle technology.

Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC) today announced plans to launch three new projects as part of its next phase of research, dedicated to advancing safety in mobility technologies. The research projects include an investigation on driver support features for vehicle lane centering, the creation of an in-vehicle intervention prototype to promote safe driving and the use of data to help improve technology to aid driver decision making to encourage safer driving behavior.

Humanitarian Logistics online course makes critical disaster-response knowledge available to all

July 26, 2023 • Press Releases
The MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics is pleased to announce the launch of its latest online, open-enrollment course, Humanitarian Logistics (SCM.283x). The course, open to all, illuminates key concepts and helps develop crucial skills for coordinating humanitarian response efforts to crisis-affected communities. “This course will show those seeking to make a positive impact how they can most effectively make a difference where the need is greatest,” said Jarrod Goentzel, Course Lead for Humanitarian Logistics.

Is Washington stepping up for truck drivers?

July 04, 2023 • In the Media

Research Scientist and FreightLab Co-Director David Correll recently gave an interview to FreightWaves touching on the quality of life for truck drivers. Here's a brief excerpt:

"There are two things about the way truck drivers are managed that are out of date: one, they do not qualify for overtime pay, and two, that they’re paid by the mile. These have always struck me as anachronistic and part of the problem, so efforts to correct this notion that overtime pay doesn’t apply to truck drivers I really think would help.

Using AI to Chat With Your Database

May 26, 2023 • In the Media

Chris Caplice and David Correll discuss the innovations and precautions associated with AI in the freight industry in this Transport Topics article.

"David Correll, co-director of MIT FreightLab, agreed there are dangers associated with offering inexperienced workers direct access to data and analysis."

Moving forklift safety forward

May 23, 2023 • In the Media

MIT CTL's Toby Gooley describes an interview with Charles Pascarelli on DC Velocity about how far forklift safety has come in the past decade and where he sees it heading in the future.

Will robots and AI take our jobs?

May 09, 2023 • In the Media

These days you can find robots at warehouses, in restaurants, and grocery stores. Artificial intelligence has computers completing jobs humans usually do. Together, they have a lot of people worried about the future of our workforce.

Procter & Gamble’s CEO on navigating rapid change

May 02, 2023 • In the Media

This article by Dylan Walsh was originally published as part of MIT Sloan School of Management's Ideas Made to Matter series. Read the entire article here.

Why you'll probably be paying more for produce this season

April 08, 2023 • In the Media

CBS News spoke to postdoctoral researcher Sreedevi Rajagopalan, of the LIFT Lab at MIT CTL, about the impact that extreme weather in California will likely have on food prices this year.

Thanks to devastating storms in California this winter, shoppers everywhere will be paying higher prices on groceries this spring and summer.