CTL Director Yossi Sheffi discusses his book The Resilient Enterprise: Overcoming Vulnerability for Competitive Advantage, in which he argues that a company’s survival and prosperity depend more on what it does before a disruption occurs than on the actions it takes as the event unfolds. Dr. Sheffi focuses not only...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #27. Read all articles in this issue Global distribution networks are always a work in progress, constantly adjusting to changes such as shifts in exchange rates and labor costs. The problem for supply chain managers is how to keep track of these various factors and develop...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #27. Read all articles in this issue Five companies have become strategic partners of the Center for Latin-American Logistics Innovation (CLI). Based in Bogota, Colombia, CLI is part of the MIT Global Scale Network and is expanding its base of corporate sponsors in Latin America. The...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #27. Read all articles in this issue Emerging markets in Asia, Europe and Latin America are increasingly important for global supply chains; they offer not only lower sourcing costs but also a booming customer base. However, along with these opportunities come several supply chain challenges, such...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #27. Read all articles in this issue How to compete in an uncertain business environment will be the central theme of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) Major Session and Hot Topics session on October 7, 2008 at the Council of Supply Chain...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #27. Read all articles in this issue The supply chains that support retailing in India will be the subject of a major MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics conference on October 29, 2008 on the MIT campus in Cambridge, MA. The “Building Retail Supply Chains in...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #27. Read all articles in this issue In these difficult economic times there is no shortage of issues to occupy supply chain managers, but two in particular, rising fuel costs and a dramatic decline in truck carrying capacity, figured largely in the MIT Center for Transportation...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #27. Read all articles in this issue Mobile phones are moving into supply chain management, particularly in emerging markets where companies need a communications technology that can cover a widely dispersed customer base. In Latin America, for example, mobile phones are improving supply chain visibility in...
Articles Include: Learning to Launch New Supply Chain Models How changes in the U.S. auto industry are steering supply chains Balancing the Risks and Rewards of Global Networks Globalization is bigger than ever but so are companies’ mistakes How to Turn Supply Chain Vices Into Virtues Your customers might appreciate...
Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #27. Read all articles in this issue The MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT-CTL) has launched a video library, on its website, that is open to the public at large. The library also contains material available only to MIT-CTL partners, such as slides from the...
In August 2007, the US government passed the 9/11 Act, requiring all US-bound containerized cargo to be scanned using radiation and non-intrusive imaging equipment at foreign seaports prior to vessel loading by July 2012. This project creates a quantitative framework to assist importers in analyzing the financial costs and delay...
This project developed a simulation model to determine the optimal inventory position when using a Kanban replenishment system for a heavy machinery manufacturing company. The model uses a stepwise optimization approach, targeting the total relevant cost as the objective function. We created for the company a generalized consumption-based treatment, which...
Utilizing supply chain best practices from industries outside of healthcare, a supply chain that reduces hospital supply chain costs has been designed and modeled. The supply chain is centered on patient-specific kits delivered from an offsite warehouse to hospital bedsides. Effective implementation requires that each individual hospital segment their products...
This project examines the strategies used by firms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their supply chains. It analyzes the performance in emissions reduction of forty firms, the twenty largest in the UK and US, and expands upon this analysis through a detailed discussion of specific behavior by firms such...
This project proposes a solution to leverage collaborative forecast information for planning using quantitative techniques. A statistical forecast is generated using a top-down and bottom-up approach. A joint forecast, which is a forecast weighted by statistical and collaborative forecast, is then generated. On an average, the joint forecast was much...
This thesis develops a model for a company to set up its supply chain segmentation based on customer services. The author introduces the “Push-Pull Segmentation Model” which is the model that balances the company and customer perspectives in the segmentation process. Additionally, he demonstrates how to implement the model by...
This project utilizes data mining techniques to determine the drivers of stock-out performance. Best performing and worst performing clusters of stores were identified using data clustering techniques. Logistic regression and multiple ordinary-least-squares regression were then used to gain further insights and quantify the drivers of stock-outs. Author: Khalid Usman Advisor...
This project studied the viability, projected growth, and sustainability of home based healthcare on the basis of affordability, acceptability, and availability. Three firms, two manufacturers and one pharmaceutical, were researched and interviewed to determine their strategies to succeed in the home healthcare market. Conclusions comprise observations about how the dynamics...
This project proposes a comprehensive framework to supply chain risk management based on the state-of-the-art in academia and business, and applies it to a CPG company to develop a case study. The research also draws from fields outside the normal realm of supply chain risk management, proposing notably a market...
This study reviewed and established a framework for selection of distribution strategies. In addition, this project analyzed advantages and disadvantages of utilizing different distribution strategies. Through case analysis, the study evaluated the benefits and costs of applying distribution center model for the seed industry, and addressed demand lags issue by...
This project developed requirements for a sustainable green automotive supply chain within a start-up enterprise entering the Indian emerging market. A supply chain-wide environmental management system, based on the ISO14001 standard, is used to integrate the identified green solutions for implementation and improvement within an auditable framework. Author: Gene Fisch...
This report elaborates on the concepts of home-based healthcare using the synthesis of the various published healthcare research, recent developments in technology, and scenario-based analysis of healthcare delivery in future. Using the underlying assumption that care delivered at home could reduce healthcare cost due to prevention, the report presents a...
This project developed an inventory model to find the optimal inventory distribution in a retail three-echelon network that enables high target service level at the stores. Using a multi-echelon approach, the optimal network inventory cost can be achieved by low inventory and service level at the intermediate echelon. The study...
In order to incorporate risk management into the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process, companies must segment their products and customers based on business importance, demand forecast, and order lead time. After completing these segmentation steps, companies can then apply appropriate risk management tactics to mitigate uncertainty in demand and...
