News

Featuring Bryan Reimer, Research Scientist at MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics' AgeLab

Trends in auto safety are moving in the wrong direction. The number of traffic deaths in the United States over the past two years has increased by 14%,  according to the National Safety Council, the largest jump in nearly a half century. More than 40,000 people died on our roads last year alone, the most since 2007. And another 4.6 million were seriously injured, a 7% increase from 2015.

In international trade, the practice of dumping – exporting product at a predatory price to capture market share – is usually associated with aggressive countries intent on moving into a national market at any cost.

Are we now seeing a commercial enterprise with country-sized market muscle get into the dumping business?

I’m referring to the on-line behemoth, Amazon.com.

In the politicized trade arena, governments often accuse each other of dumping. Earlier this year the Trump administration took up the antidumping cause against China on behalf of US steelmakers.

There's a significant cost associated with taking the backroom for granted. Taking the time to re-evaluate a variety of relevant factors can help companies operate a more efficient, cost-effective backroom.

Administrators at Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they are “floored” by the quality of students in its half online, half in-person master's degree program. Expansion plans are in the works.

The first of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s half online, half in-person master’s degree programs is making a profit and bringing dozens of new degree-seeking students to campus.

The education industry is not known for being on the cutting edge of innovation, but last month a milestone was reached in an innovative online program that opens new avenues to professional education.

Called MITx MicroMasters, the program is part of a broader movement to redefine the way professional education is structured and delivered in response to the changing demand for talent.

The first-ever cohort in MIT’s inaugural online MicroMasters program — consisting of more than 1,100 learners who completed all five of the online courses in supply chain management — has received its final MicroMasters certificates and will be honored at an online ceremony today.

New research focuses on developing systems for automated vehicles to perceive and identify objects in their environment and understand social interactions in traffic.

By Yossi Sheffi, Ph.D.

More and more companies today are finding innovative ways to collaborate with supply chain research centers. When the projects are well planned and supported, the benefits of such partnerships can be substantial. Supply chain professionals often are surprised by how much value they derive, and the students involved enjoy the unique experience of applying their classroom-based knowledge in the real world.

Possibly the most brilliant logistician of the biblical age, Joseph, can teach us a lot about the importance of logistics today.

Joseph’s exceptional forecasting and planning abilities put him on a fast track to promotions. He ascended rapidly from the role of prisoner/superintendent in an Egyptian jail, to Pharaoh’s Chief Logistics Officer with “Prince” in his title. At the peak of his career, the man was second only to Pharaoh.

Let’s recap Joseph’s rise to capture the full significance of his story in the modern day.

The MIT master’s program in supply chain management has been ranked as the world's No. 1 graduate business program in supply chain and logistics by Eduniversal, the Paris-based global rating agency for higher education. This is the second time the MIT master’s program has been ranked No. 1 by Eduniversal.               

The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker visited the AgeLab at MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics on Wednesday, April 12, where he signed an Executive Order establishing the state’s first Governor’s Council to Address Aging in Massachusetts.

What will retailing look like 10 years from now? Will Main Street and suburban shopping still exist?

Recent announcements by household names such as Sears, Macy’s and J. C. Penney of mass store closures, and the unrelenting growth of e-commerce, do not augur well for the traditional shopping experience.

But the death of bricks-and-mortar retailing has been grossly exaggerated. A decade from now people will still be visiting their favorite outlets – it’s just that the environment in which they shop will look very different than it is today.

Single, childless and 68, Steven Gold has begun to think about future mobility and independence. Although in good health, he can foresee a time when he won’t be a confident driver, if he can drive at all. While he hopes to continue to live in his suburban Detroit home, he wonders how he will be able to get to places like his doctor’s office and the supermarket if his driving becomes impaired.

For Mr. Gold and other older adults, self-driving cars might be a solution.

The new 3C program allows students to study on three continents in ten months, gaining a global perspective and an master's degree.

When I was in college, way back in the day, we all looked forward to a semester abroad. It was a chance to experience the world and broaden your horizons as part of your education. With that as backdrop, I was intrigued to read about a new supply chain masters degree program being rolled out by the MIT Global SCALE Network next fall.

Featuring the article "A New Score for Supply Chains" by Chris Caplice

Additive manufacturing, autonomous vehicles, blockchain technology, the Internet of Things and multi-channel retailing are some of the innovations that are driving tremendous change in supply chain management today. Yet the innovative trend that is of most interest to me is already several decades old—the growing importance of service over products.

Technology promises to revolutionize the way supply chains are managed. However, in-depth knowledge and creative problem solving can enable significant supply chain innovations without the need for new technology. 

By Roberto Perez-Franco 

Award Recognizes His Achievements in Supply Chain Risk Management

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 2, 2017 – Jim Rice, Deputy Director of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL), has received the Supply Chain Resiliency Educator of the Year award from the Global Supply Chain Resiliency Council. The award was presented at the Council’s annual conference on March 1, 2017, in Silicon Valley, CA.

Unique Learning Experience in Asia, Europe and North America

CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A., NINGBO, CHINA, ZARAGOZA, SPAIN, March 1, 2017 – The MIT Global SCALE (Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence) Network has launched the MIT-Zaragoza-Ningbo Master of Engineering in Logistics and Supply Chain Management program, or 3C Master’s Program, that gives students a unique opportunity to complete their studies in three continents: Asia, Europe, and North America.

Distribution networks are the conduits that connect companies with their customers, so it is hardly surprising that the way these networks are designed has a critical impact on cost and customer service.

Companies commonly use mathematical optimization models to arrive at the best network design, but this approach is flawed in one key respect — it does not take into account changing market conditions during the several years it can take to complete a design project. This is particularly onerous in developing economies where markets tend to be extremely changeable.

Luxembourg, 15 February 2017 – Registration is open for the new Master in Logistics and Supply Chain Management offered by the University of Luxembourg in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with merit-based scholarships introduced for the inaugural cohort of students starting with the winter semester 2017-2018. Registration is open until 1 April 2017.

Politicians are often taken to task for making election promises they fail to keep once elected. Candidates should be held accountable for the policies they advocate when campaigning for votes. However, delivering on the bluster that politicians often espouse during the heat of an electoral battle can do more harm than good.

President Trump’s stance on trade between the U.S. and Mexico is a striking example. During the presidential election, he vowed to stop jobs being exported to Mexico and to correct what he regards as an unacceptable trade imbalance between the two countries.

UPS is the largest delivery company on the planet, flying more than 500 jets in a mission to serve a customer base that topped 8 million last year.

Operating at a similar scale is the U.S. Postal Service, which delivered 154 billion pieces of mail in 2015 using 215,000 vehicles. At that scale, the postal service is one of the largest civilian fleets in the world.

Despite the enormity of their infrastructures and logistical smarts, UPS and the Postal Service haven’t been able to overcome one long-standing obstacle: the last mile from distribution center to doorstep. 

There are many innovations and societal changes such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, and the sharing economy that could shape the future of supply chains. But none of these developments is likely to transform the way manufacturing and supply chains are managed more than additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing.

While the concept of additive manufacturing is not new, the technology has become good enough that it is starting to be applied at scale.

Companies have come a long way in their ability to manage supply chain risk, but they urgently need to step up their efforts in one key area: the threats posed by water scarcity.

The Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP) 2016 Annual Report of Corporate Water Disclosure, published in November 2016, provides a wake-up call. A total of 607 of the world’s largest global companies submitted data about their efforts to manage and govern freshwater resources — the largest response in the report’s seven-year history.

When the Massachusetts Institute of Technology piloted its first online master’s degree in Supply Chain Management last year, Danaka Porter thought it was exactly what she needed to boost her career.

"I found that people were a little bit more respected once they had their master's because it was like they had taken that next step to go a little bit further," Porter said.

The 30-year-old business consultant from Vancouver, British Columbia, said she simply couldn't afford to stop working to become a student again.