The sponsor company, a global consumer goods enterprise known for high-quality products and customer service, has been on a digital transformation journey over the past few years to make its supply chain more responsive. Currently, the company manages its end-to-end supply chain planning using Mixed Integer Linear Programming-based (MILP) software...
Procurement teams often struggle to fully leverage the valuable supplier knowledge captured during RFx (Request for Information, Proposal, or Quotation) events, mainly due to the high volume of unstructured data and fragmented data storage, which limits access to past insights. This paper explores how generative AI can preserve, retrieve, and...
This capstone project evaluates the environmental impact of autonomous drone-based inventory automation in a U.S. fulfillment warehouse operated by a global logistics company. The central research question is: What is the impact of warehouse inventory automation on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across Scope 1, 2, and 3? To address this...
The evolution of retail supply chains into multi-echelon, omni-channel networks has made efficient inventory management increasingly critical, particularly in the grocery sector. Amid this transition, our sponsor—a leading U.S. grocery retailer—is shifting from localized inventory control to a globally optimized strategy and seeks to understand the value of dynamic Multi-Echelon...
The U.S. full dry-van truckload (FTL) industry serves as a primary channel through which goods move across the country, forming the essential backbone for all product categories and commodity groups. Following the Motor Carrier Act of 1980, the truckload industry was deregulated and became increasingly influenced by market dynamics. Since...
This study develops a discrete-event simulation model using open-source software to analyze import container flows through the Port of New York/New Jersey. The simulation integrates parameters from extensive data analysis of vessel arrivals, container dwell times, and intermodal transfers. Data is sourced from multiple public sources including vessel GPS data...
The New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) poses a major risk to fuel distribution infrastructure across the central U.S., where disruption could severely limit fuel availability during an emergency. This project, developed in partnership with the MIT Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab, analyzes downstream fuel supply under earthquake conditions using operational flow...
Recent disruptions to global supply chains – from the COVID-19 pandemic to shifting tariff policies – have prompted companies to reevaluate their operational strategies. This capstone provides a practical, evidence-based framework to help organizations build or transition toward more resilient, sustainable, and community-oriented supply chains. Through methodical case study analysis...
Our sponsor seeks to transform negotiation into a data-driven process while preserving institutional knowledge of category sourcing strategies. To support this goal, we developed the Negotiation Buddy, an intelligence tool designed to help sourcing professionals identify key negotiation levers and generate effective counteroffers. The tool integrates sourcing practices such as...
The growing complexity of procurement operations at a leading pharmaceutical company has led to an overload of dashboards, increasing reporting inefficiencies and limiting data-driven decision-making. To address these challenges, our project explores how Generative AI (GenAI) and automated data visualization can optimize procurement analytics. We developed a proof-of-concept (PoC) chatbot...
In large companies, inbound logistics is often managed independently by different business divisions. This fragmented approach leads to repetitive pickups at suppliers, inefficient route planning, underutilized vehicles, and high transportation costs. This capstone, developed in collaboration with a multinational industrial company, proposes two distinct methodologies: (i) locate optimally located consolidation...
Reverse logistics plays a vital role in the construction and mining equipment industry, where managing product returns efficiently is critical for both cost optimization and sustaining dealer satisfaction. This project conducts a financial analysis of the current reverse logistics process for a leading industry player, focusing on the adequacy of...
This study investigates the United States full truckload procurement process and persistent issue of budget overruns faced by shippers during their budgeting. Despite planning through Requests for Proposals (RFPs) that forecast shipping volumes and secure contractual rates with carriers, shippers regularly confront unplanned expenses surpassing their budgets. The key problems...
The detrimental effects of global warming are increasingly evident, necessitating urgent action to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions. This alarming situation has called for the collective contributions of all actors, i.e. nations, firms, and individuals, to limit the annual warming to below 2 degrees Celsius. Our sponsor company, with a global...
Recent global events, particularly the COVID-19 outbreak, highlighted vulnerabilities in supply chains and the need for resilience in maintaining essential services, emphasizing the requirement for a robust Business Continuity Management (BCM) Plan. The sponsor (A leading pharmaceutical company with a global presence) currently has a revenue-first approach to risk management...
The procurement organization, which manages up to 80% of total organizational spend, is increasingly recognizing the importance of leveraging data to enhance its processes. A buying channel in the procurement function is the end-to-end series of steps to request, approve, purchase, receive, and pay for goods and services. This capstone...
The water bottling company, an important player in the beverage industry, places significant emphasis on quantifying its supply chain responsiveness to meet dynamic market demands. This abstract dives into the various metrics employed by this company to enhance its supply chain responsiveness. By analyzing key performance indicators such as lead...
This project introduces a refined approach to cost allocation developed for our sponsor company, a manufacturer and commercializer of chemical solutions for the construction industry. Faced with the complexities of serving thousands of clients across North America, the company seeks to improve its volume-based allocation method to accurately identify profitable...
Food imports from Latin America via ocean transport are important for the U.S. food supply and economic growth. The resilience of the U.S. port network is fundamental in maintaining this supply. A disruption in one or more ports could compromise the network’s capacity to keep a smooth flow of perishable...
This project aims to assist a logistics-focused real estate investment company in proactively identifying underserved markets in the U.S. transportation sector. Utilizing a mix of data from public and private sources and machine learning methods, the goal is to develop a quantitative methodology that highlights potential market investment opportunities for...
The recent escalation in the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) world is adding unprecedented levels of complexity to businesses. Philip Morris International is no exception. Factors such as geopolitical conflicts, raw material shortages, rising inflation, and changes in country legislation are exerting pressure on PMI's supply chain. This pressure...
The freight brokerage industry is at a pivotal juncture, with digital platforms reshaping market dynamics and carrier preferences. This capstone project, undertaken in partnership with Nolan Transportation Group (NTG), employs a predictive machine learning model to decode and understand these evolving preferences. The study leverages a dataset comprising nearly 2...
In this capstone project, the complex relationship between Dell Technologies and its suppliers is examined, with a focus on how the suppliers’ supply chain impacts Dell's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Facing the challenges of climate change, Dell is committed to achieving net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, with a significant focus...
Our capstone project focuses on forecasting sales of the sponsor company's Heat-not-Burn (HNB) products. We estimate future sales of consumables and kits in Italy by looking at monthly data between 2015 and 2023. Sales of the products have a solid positive trend, and regardless of any other parameter, we observe...
A leading medical device company has experienced a consistent decline in profit margins across its product categories. Factors such as high inventory costs, complex Supply Chain operations, and challenges in managing a highly complex product portfolio have contributed to the erosion of gross profit. This study aims to uncover and...
