April 12, 2011 (Cambridge, MA) - BASF, the world’s leading chemical company, today announced it is establishing a partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL). The company has become a Strategic Partner in the Center’s Supply Chain Exchange. The Supply Chain Exchange is an active community of companies that share a common goal to leverage cutting-edge research and knowledge to achieve supply chain-centric competitive advantages.
“The MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics is one of the foremost sources of supply chain innovation,” said Dr. Robert Blackburn, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Supply Chain of BASF. “Joining the Supply Chain Exchange provides a great opportunity for BASF to continue our demonstrated track record of developing sustainable innovations throughout our supply chain as well as better aligning our global supply chain with our corporate business strategy to the benefit of all our stakeholders.”
“BASF with its innovative supply chain is paving the way for sustainable business practices,” said Prof. Yossi Sheffi, Director for the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics. “We are confident our partnership with BASF will provide further insight into how they can continue to achieve profitable growth while considering the environmental impact. We are also convinced that this collaboration will provide value not only to MIT, but also to our other partners in the strategic partnerships program.”
The Supply Chain Exchange provides networking and educational opportunities within MIT and CTL’s corporate partner community, which includes representatives of some of the leading manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and transportation and logistics service providers. Participating companies share information, experiences and opinions in a collaborative and collegial setting to help drive supply chain best practices. Additionally, BASF will directly benefit from interaction with MIT researchers on current industry issues and privileged access to CTL's symposia series, student recruiting and communications programs.
As part of the Engineering Systems Division at MIT, CTL is widely recognized as an international leader in the field of transportation and logistics. CTL coordinates extensive research on the understanding of transportation system planning, operations and management. The organization has made significant contributions to logistics modeling and supply chain management for shippers; to technology and policy analysis for government; and to management, planning and operations for motor, railroad, air and ocean carriers.
#####
About BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and agricultural products to oil and gas. As a reliable partner BASF creates chemistry to help its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of about €63.9 billion in 2010 and had approximately 109,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com or in its Social Media Newsroom at newsroom.basf.com.
About the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics
MIT CTL has been a world leader in supply chain management research and education for more than three decades. Combining its cutting-edge research with industry relationships, the Center’s corporate outreach program turns innovative research into market-winning supply chain strategies. In education, MIT is consistently ranked first among business programs in logistics and supply chain management. For more information, please visit http://ctl.mit.edu.