In his latest article, “Demography Is the Missing Variable in Supply Chain Strategy” Dr. Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, argues that the most consequential force shaping supply chains over the next decade will not arrive as a sudden shock, but as a predictable, compounding demographic shift. Aging populations, shrinking households, declining birthrates, and structural labor transitions are quietly redefining demand patterns, workforce capacity, and service expectations across global markets.
Dr. Coughlin challenges supply chain leaders to treat demographics not as background context, but as boardroom-level planning assumptions. He calls for moving beyond country-level strategies toward finer geographic resolution, recognizing labor as a structural capacity constraint rather than simply a cost, and redesigning fulfillment systems for a world of smaller households and more frequent, individualized purchasing. As aging societies increasingly rely on last-mile delivery as caregiving infrastructure, logistics must evolve from pure efficiency engines into systems built for resilience, precision, and trust.
The core message is clear: demographic change is not a future issue, it is an operating reality already reshaping supply chains.
