Supply Chain Frontiers issue #32. Read all articles in this issue. Dr. Bruce C. Arntzen has joined the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) as a senior research director with special responsibility for developing the ground-breaking MIT Global SCALE Network. An MIT graduate, he brings over 20 years...
Supply Chain Frontiers issue #32. Read all articles in this issue. There is no such thing as a free lunch, except, perhaps, when it comes to counting inventory. Research being carried out by David Opolon, MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) PhD candidate, shows that a consistent inventory...
Supply Chain Frontiers issue #32. Read all articles in this issue. Brightstar Corporation started life as a trading company in the mobile phone business, and has since grown rapidly into a full service supply chain organization for wireless network operators and retailers. Company founder and CEO Marcelo Claure recently traced...
Supply Chain Frontiers issue #32. Read all articles in this issue. The difficult economic climate did not deter more than 200 people from attending the Leaders of the Value Chain conference in Bogota, Colombia, May 6, 2009, organized by supply chain research and education company LOGyCA and the Center for...
Supply Chain Frontiers issue #31. Read all articles in this issue. This year’s MIT CTL Master of Engineering in Logistics (MLOG) Research Fest will take place on May 20 to 21, 2009, on the MIT campus. The annual event gives MLOG graduating students the opportunity to present the results of...
Supply Chain Frontiers issue #31. Read all articles in this issue. Little research has been done to extend our knowledge of commodity supply chains. Yet commodities are the starting point for many productive processes, both in developed and developing countries. A region’s level of advancement in the extraction, planning, distribution...
Supply Chain Frontiers issue #31. Read all articles in this issue. Forecasting demand has never been easy, but in an economic downturn the task brings new challenges because the ground rules that usually guide forecasters shift. In a recession, companies need to retune their approaches to reading markets. "If demand...
Supply Chain Frontiers issue #31. Read all articles in this issue. One of the many challenges in delivering medicines and health supplies in sub-Saharan Africa is the lack of timely information about quantities of product flowing through the supply chain. Researchers at the Zaragoza Logistics Center are working with the...
Supply Chain Frontiers issue #31. Read all articles in this issue. The cost of fuel is a major driver of supply chain efficiency, and the increasing volatility of fuel prices can undermine performance if not managed properly. Research at the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics’ (MIT CTL) FreightLab has...
Supply Chain Frontiers issue #31. Read all articles in this issue. The MIT Zaragoza International Logistics program at the Zaragoza Logistics Center, Spain, has received a grant of US$492,857 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study the most effective way to estimate the demand for global health products...
Supply Chain Frontiers issue #30. Read all articles in this issue. Given the high degree of market uncertainty that companies now have to deal with, finding ways to mitigate and eliminate risk in supply networks is no longer a matter of choice. Risk management (RM) has become an integral part...
Another two companies, third-party logistics provider Transplace and leading fruit juice manufacturer Ocean Spray, have joined the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics’ (MIT CTL) Supply Chain Exchange program. The program has more than doubled its membership since MIT CTL embarked on an expansion effort some four years ago. The...
Supply Chain Frontiers issue #30. Read all articles in this issue. The 2009 Supply Chain Innovation and Leadership Series (SCILS), a month-long series of talks, site visits, and leadership workshops that happens every January, was the largest yet, reflecting the growing research and academic base of the MIT Center for...
Supply Chain Frontiers issue #30. Read all articles in this issue. Supply chain is adjusting to the extreme turbulence that has become the new norm in most markets, but how is it evolving to meet these challenges in a post-recession world? Perhaps towards a role as shock absorber, one that...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #29. Read all articles in this issue Enlightened companies know that economic downturns can be occasions to regroup and prepare for the next new set of challenges, and resources such as the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics’ (MIT CTL) Supply Chain Exchange Program provide the...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #29. Read all articles in this issue More than $10 billion in donor-financed health commodities is expected to flow into low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) annually by 2011, and much work is going on to improve the efficiency of the supply chains that deliver these products...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #29. Read all articles in this issue Even though companies are devoting more resources to developing green supply chains, some form of government support is needed to address environmental issues that are simply too big for enterprises to tackle alone. The problem is that such private/public...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #29. Read all articles in this issue A supply chain simulation exercise will be part of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics’ (MIT CTL) “Supply Chain Management: Driving Strategic Advantage 2009” executive education course, January 6-9, 2009, in Cambridge, MA. This four-day program for supply...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #29. Read all articles in this issue The globalization of supply chain and logistics education will take a major step forward in January 2009, when applications open for a new program that spans Europe, the United States, and a network of universities across Latin America. The...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #28. Read all articles in this issue It comes as no surprise that supply chains have to flex with unforeseen events, yet companies are being caught off guard by the complexity of the changes they now have to deal with. Unexpected twists in business fortunes are...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #28. Read all articles in this issue The MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) will give a number of presentations on a wide range of topics at this year’s Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Annual Global Conference 2008, Denver, CO, October 5...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #28. Read all articles in this issue Supply chain talent is in short supply, particularly in areas such as planning and strategic management, according to Dr. Chris Caplice, Executive Director of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL). Caplice participated in a recent webinar...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #28. Read all articles in this issue Global supply networks are becoming more complex at a time when maintaining the integrity of business supply lines has never been more challenging. Companies must deliver product over wider geographical areas while meeting the demands of lean operating principles...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #28. Read all articles in this issue Postponement, the process that delays the final configuration of a product until more accurate demand information is available, is gaining in importance, yet its value proposition is often misunderstood. Research carried out by the Zaragoza Logistics Center (ZLC) in...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #27. Read all articles in this issue Global distribution networks are always a work in progress, constantly adjusting to changes such as shifts in exchange rates and labor costs. The problem for supply chain managers is how to keep track of these various factors and develop...
