Building resilient supply chains

November 25, 2020 • In the Media

Director of MIT Digital Supply Chain Transformation Lab, Maria Jesus Saenz spoke with the MIT Technology Review Insights series. "Turbulent times can expose weaknesses in distribution chains, putting stress on chokepoints and reducing access to critical components, suppliers, and capital.

Paper Wins Decision Sciences Journal Best Paper Award for 2019

November 24, 2020 • News

"Approaches for Locating and Staffing FEMA's Disaster Recovery Centers", won Decision Sciences Journal Best Paper Award for 2019. Authors Julia Moline, Jarrod Goentzel, and Erica Gralla were awarded at the Decision Science Institute Conference on 23 Nov. 2020.

Trying to shop sustainably? Here’s what you need to consider.

November 20, 2020 • In the Media

MIT Sustainable Supply Chains Director Alexis Bateman recently spoke to the Washington Post with some tips on doing your homework on products labeled "green" to sort out what you're really buying.

Mass. businesses brace for new round of product shortages

November 18, 2020 • In the Media

Dr. Yossi Sheffi, an MIT professor who specializes in supply chain management, said reduced air travel is going to impact items imported from overseas, like iPhones and computer chips.  “I would expect problems in stuff that usually flies. Anything that is expensive and small flies,” Dr. Sheffi said.Sheffi recently published a book—”The New (Ab)Normal—which examines how COVID-19 has disrupted the global supply chain.

The Real Inconvenient Truth about Climate Change

November 16, 2020 • News

When it comes to climate change and sustainability, people claim one thing but do another.

Consumers choose economic development over serious climate initiatives. Corporations don't invest in meaningful change because consumers won't pay for it. And governments cannot lead if citizens won't follow. The battle to prevent climate change through behavior modification, regulation, or personal deprivation has already been lost. Yossi Sheffi explains why the solution is a collaborative investment in developing technologies that can reverse climate change.

We welcome nearly 400 new credential earners to the MicroMasters family

November 06, 2020 • Press Releases

A group of 400 dedicated online learners concluded nine to 24 months of learning to pass their comprehensive final exams, earning their MITx MicroMasters® Program Credentials in Supply Chain Management. These new credential-holders bring the total number of holders to 2,640 from 115 countries. The majority of credential-holders hail from the United States, India, Brazil, Australia, China, Egypt, Canada, Canada and Mexico.

Postelection U.S.-China Trade Relations May Not Take the Expected Path

October 31, 2020 • In the Media

Ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Prof. Yossi Sheffi comments on one of the most widely discussed issues in the campaign: trade relations between the U.S. and China. He writes:

The Trump administration’s aggressive stance toward China has compounded uncertainty on U.S.-China trade relations. In considering how the presidential elections may affect the flow of international trade, companies should avoid the accepted wisdom.

'I'm not drunk, it's my car:' Tesla's 'full self-driving' gets mixed reviews

October 30, 2020 • In the Media

AgeLab Research Scientist Bryan Reimer commented to CNN Business on Tesla's "full self-driving" beta testing:

Tesla's technology can't be expected to immediately match human performance yet, as the artificial intelligence-powered system needs real-world experience to gather data, learn and improve. But having a raw, student driver on roads also raises questions of whether Tesla is doing enough to mitigate safety risks.

TIL about cleaning up clean tech

October 29, 2020 • In the Media

Technologies like solar panels and batteries help us slow down climate change, but they’re not inherently perfect. In this episode of the TILclimate podcast (Today I Learned Climate), produced by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, Suzanne Greene of MIT Sustainable Supply Chains and the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative sits down with host Laur Hesse Fisher to help us navigate how to massively scale up clean tech while making a conscious and dedicated effort to ensure people’s rights, health, and safety.

The New (Ab)Normal: Prof. Sheffi's Book Helps Companies Navigate Covid-19

October 01, 2020 • Press Releases

In his new book The New (Ab)Normal: Reshaping Business and Supply Chain Strategy Beyond Covid-19, published today, MIT CTL Director Prof. Yossi Sheffi maps how companies grappled with the chaos of the Covid-19 pandemic and how they can survive and thrive as the crisis subsides. Sheffi pays particular attention to supply chain's role in helping companies manage and recover from the pandemic.

Amazon tries to make it easier to identify green products with new ‘Climate Pledge Friendly’ label

September 23, 2020 • In the Media

MIT Sustainable Supply Chains Director Alexis Bateman was interviewed by the Seattle Times:

“Some of the language is a little bit deceiving,” said Alexis Bateman, director of the MIT Sustainable Supply Chains Initiative. “Not to minimize the value of animal welfare, fair trade or fair wages,” but these attributes don’t necessarily have a direct impact on reducing emissions.

Right To Repair Or An Automotive Safety Threat?

September 20, 2020 • In the Media

AgeLab's Bryan Reimer has been providing insightful commentary and context on Massachusetts's Automobile Right to Repair Law, the status of which Massachusetts voters will decide in November. He writes in an article in Forbes:

Can a New Algorithm Make Self-Driving Cars Safer?

September 14, 2020 • In the Media

(Inside Science) -- A driverless car isn't driven by a person but is controlled by a system of sensors and processors. In many countries, tests of autonomous driving have been happening for years. Germany wants to permit driverless cars across the country by 2022. As the technology develops, researchers are continuing to explore ways to make the algorithms used to make driving decisions better, and roadways safer. Bryan Reimer is quoted,

Drs. Alexis Bateman and Eva Ponce honored named among 100 most influential women in supply chain

September 01, 2020 • Press Releases

Engineering and Supply Chain Management have traditionally been male-dominated fields. This is slowly changing. According to the “2018 Women in Supply Chain Survey” by Gartner, the average percentage of women in Supply Chain roles has increased from 35% to 37% over a three-year period from 2016-2018. During this same time period as well as before and after, the contribution of women at MIT CTL has grown considerably.

Why You Need a Supplier-Diversity Program

August 17, 2020 • In the Media

Alexis Bateman, Ashley Barrington, and Katie Date write in Harvard Business Review:

A handful of socially conscious major companies have long played a role in addressing racial injustice through supplier diversity programs that promote an inclusive approach to procurement. As the spotlight on systemic racism roils the United States, these programs are more important than ever, yet too few companies have them and many of those who do have allowed their diversity initiatives to become token gestures.

Dr. Maria Jesus Saenz Receives IEOM Distinguished Educator Award

August 15, 2020 • Press Releases

The award recognizes Saenz’s lifetime contribution to education in the industrial engineering and operations management professions.

Maria Jesus Saenz serves as the Executive Director of the MIT Supply Chain Management Blended Masters Program. Growing through her leadership, this pioneering program allows learners to combine the online MITx MicroMasters program credential with one semester at MIT to earn a Master’s in engineering in SCM. Dr.

SCM Grad's Crowdsourced grocery delivery goes public in NY despite pandemic woes

August 12, 2020 • Press Releases

Philip Kuai MLOG '07 leads first fully virtual investor roadshow to bring his company, Dada Group, to an initial public offering in New York.

Early this year, Philip Kuai MLOG '07 and his team were faced with a challenging decision about whether to continue on their pathway to publicly offer their company, Dada Group, in the midst of a global pandemic. While there was much uncertainty in the market at the time, the team’s perseverance and dedication paid off in June when Kuai rang the Nasdaq opening bell remotely from Shanghai, China, signaling Dada’s listing in New York.

A Financial Crisis Is Looming for Smaller Suppliers

August 06, 2020 • In the Media

MIT CTL Deputy Director Jim Rice wrote an article in Harvard Business Review along with Federico Caniato and Antonella Moretto of the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano.

MIT Team Wins 2020 Patagonia Case Competition

July 21, 2020 • Press Releases

A team of graduate students from across MIT, including MIT Supply Chain Management master's program alum Elizabeth Raman Grubbs, was awarded first place in the 2020 Patagonia Case Competition in June.

Moving Out of China? Not Really

July 07, 2020 • Blogs

Yossi Sheffi on China's position in the global trade ecosystem in the aftermath of the pandemic:

Fresh Approaches to Omnichannel in the Grocery Business

July 01, 2020 • News

The innovative omni-channel supply chain models that have reshaped many parts of the retail industry continue to evolve in response to market changes. One of these changes is the increasing demand for grocery products ordered online, a trend reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic that imposed restrictions on the use of physical stores for grocery shopping.

How the COVID-19 Supply Chain Succeeds When It Fails

July 01, 2020 • Blogs

When you think about it, the spread of COVID-19 operates a lot like a supply chain. Ken Cottrill discusses looking at the outbreak in these terms:

To stop the spread of the virus, we must ensure that its supply chain fails. We can secure failure by using disruptors to prevent deliveries of the supply chain’s deadly freight. But not disruptors such as adverse weather that derail product supply chains. These are special disruptors that include masks, quarantines, and social distancing.

MIT And Toyota Announce An Important Dataset For Improving Perception Research

June 24, 2020 • In the Media

Bryan Reimer, Research Scientist at the AgeLab, was featured in a recent Forbes article about DriveSeg, an open dataset jointly released by the AgeLab and Toyota:

Trust Is Hard to Develop Online

June 23, 2020 • Blogs

MIT CTL Director Prof. Yossi Sheffi reflects on one major difficulty of virtual communication in this moment:

COVID-19’s lockdowns have required people to replace much of the in-person communication they conducted at work — as well as with customers and suppliers — with virtual meetings on platforms such as Zoom, Teams, and Hangout. When the coronavirus crisis subsides, will people return to physical meeting places or cling to the virtual equivalents they have become familiar with?

Freight volumes reach pre-COVID levels as 2020 roller coaster rides on

June 17, 2020 • In the Media

It's been a wild year for freight so far, as Chris Caplice noted in an interview with Overdrive: