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MIT Supply Chain Frontiers: Daily Summaries Delivered
by mitsupplychainfrontiers
Thought leadership on all things supply chain from the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics.
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- 2 weeks ago37 min
Sustainability Under Pressure: AI, Geopolitics, and the Path Forward
Recorded live at Climate Week NYC, this episode explores the 2026 State of Supply Chain Sustainability Report from the MIT Sustainable Supply Chain Lab at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. Drawing on 1,810 responses from professionals in 91 countries, the report finds that 83% of respondents rate sustainability as important to long-term business success. However, 68% report that tariff uncertainty has forced them to delay, scale back, or compromise elements of their sustainability strategies. This conversation looks at current progress, where the constraints are tightening, and why greater efficiency and intelligence do not automatically lead to a smaller environmental footprint. Moderated by report author Dr. Sreedevi Rajagopalan, the panel brings together Rachel Schwalbach of C.H. Robinson, Philippine de T'Serclaes of Dassault Systèmes, Séverine Perrin of CO2 AI, and Heather Ewing of Breakthrough. The discussion moves through four themes. On governance, the panel examines why only 51% of companies with public sustainability goals have a formal cross-functional team and only 33% have board-level oversight. On where sustainability lives in the supply chain, they discuss why it is strongest in transportation, procurement, and warehousing, and weaker in network design and capital investment. On AI, they explore how Industrial and Agentic AI are improving efficiency and emissions measurement, and why, among mature users, nearly one in three reports that total emissions have risen. On freight and warehousing, they assess why 43% of fleets still run mostly or entirely on diesel, how Europe and North America are diverging on policy and investment, and why many automated warehouses report higher energy use and waste. Read the full report here.
- Sep 17, 202641 min
Making Supply Chain Resilience the Default Design: Lessons from Humanitarian Logistics
When disaster strikes, the response is far more complex than mobilizing aid and supplies. In this episode, we explore how supply chains function as critical infrastructure in humanitarian crises and why understanding them as interconnected systems of systems is essential to saving lives and rebuilding communities. Joining the discussion is Dr. Jarrod Goentzel, founder and director of the MIT Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. Drawing on over two decades of real-world crisis response experience, from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami to the Liberia Ebola outbreak to post-wildfire housing reconstruction, Dr. Goentzel reveals why single-point interventions fail and how systems thinking transforms emergency response. The conversation spans four critical domains: the port bottlenecks that reveal hidden supply chain dependencies, post-disaster housing as an industrial manufacturing challenge, medical supply chain surge capacity during pandemics, and fuel as the foundational commodity enabling all disaster response. Dr. Goentzel also discusses the practical opportunities within the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act for building resilience by design and how communities can collectively demand supply chains that meet human needs before the next crisis.
- Aug 20, 202653 min
Building Global Supply Chain Leaders: Inside the MIT Global SCALE Network
Supply chains are inherently global, shaped by geopolitical dynamics, regional market complexities, and the interconnected movement of goods across continents. As such, preparing the next generation of supply chain leaders demands immersive, culturally-grounded education that reflects real-world challenges from multiple perspectives. In this episode, we're joined by directors of the MIT Global SCALE Network's international centers: Jay Guo from the Ningbo China Institute for Supply Chain Innovation (NISCI), Chris Mejía Argueta from the Graduate Certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management (GCLOG) and the SCALE Network for Latin America, Daniel Prato from the Center for Latin American Logistics Innovation (CLI), Rafael de Miguel González from the Zaragoza Logistics Center (ZLC), Jan Godsell from the UK SCALE Center at Loughborough University, and Maria Jesús Saénz from the MIT Supply Chain Management (SCM) Master’s programs. Together, they explore why global education in supply chain management is essential, how regional centers drive innovation rooted in local industry needs, and how collaboration across universities worldwide transforms research into measurable impact on companies and communities.
- Jul 21, 202629 min
The Latest Technology in Freight Transportation with Samsara
Freight companies face increasing pressure to adopt AI, but which technology is actually working on the road? This episode examines critical findings from ground-level freight operations, revealing why Excel remains the dominant tool despite digital transformation efforts, and why data quality, not AI sophistication, remains the biggest bottleneck constraining freight efficiency. Joining tech journalist Jason Del Rey are Dr. Angi Acocella, Research Scientist in the FreightLab at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, and David Gal, Vice President of Product and Engineering for Connected Equipment at Samsara, on a panel held at Samsara Beyond 2026 in Las Vegas. The conversation explores practical solutions shaping the freight industry today, including Bluetooth-enabled tracking labels for high-value shipments and how AI-powered geofencing is improving driver safety without replacing human oversight. From dynamic pricing mechanisms to how forward-thinking carriers are using AI agents to augment driver performance, this episode reveals what freight leaders should actually be investing in and where to be cautious.
- Jun 17, 202646 min
Automating Warehouse Inventory with Drones: An MIT SCM Capstone Project
Warehouse automation is often evaluated through an operational lens in terms of productivity gains, labor efficiency, and accuracy improvements. Yet the environmental impact of technologies like drone-based inventory systems remains poorly understood. In this episode, we explore how a capstone project conducted with Verity, a warehouse automation company, and graduate students in the MIT Supply Chain Management (SCM) program quantified the real sustainability benefits of replacing manual forklift-based inventory counting with drones. Joining the discussion are Tommaso Portaluri, Sustainability Lead at Verity; Camilo Mora, Postdoctoral Associate at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL); and Elisa Ruiz, an MIT SCM alum who worked on the project. Together, they reveal a surprising finding: inventory write-offs and waste reduction account for nearly 40% of post-implementation emissions savings, far outweighing energy savings alone. Through their analysis, they demonstrate how information quality and operational efficiency are intertwined levers for decarbonization, and why inventory management deserves a place at the center of warehouse sustainability strategies. You can read the full findings of the capstone project here and learn more about MIT SCM capstone projects here.
- Mar 18, 202649 min
The State of AI in Warehousing and Omnichannel
AI is “not optional anymore” in large-scale warehouses and omnichannel operations, as it’s becoming foundational to how they function at scale. In this episode, we explore key findings from the State of AI in Warehousing Report and the 2026 State of Omnichannel Supply Chain Report, examining how companies are moving beyond pilots to real-world deployment. From inventory optimization and automated picking to real-time decision-making, AI is transforming operations as pressure grows for faster, more precise, and more flexible fulfillment. Joining the discussion are Dr. Matthias Winkenbach, Director of the MIT Intelligent Logistics Systems Lab, Dr. Eva Ponce, Director of the MIT Omnichannel Supply Chain Lab, and Alejandro Gonzalez, Software Business Unit Director at Mecalux. They break down what’s driving widespread AI adoption, where companies are seeing the fastest return on investment, and how omnichannel growth is increasing complexity across supply chains. The conversation also explores the rise of autonomous mobile robots, shifting workforce roles, and what’s next, from generative AI to agentic systems capable of real-time decision-making.
- Feb 18, 202640 min
Decarbonizing Supply Chains with C.H. Robinson
As climate-related disruptions and regulatory pressures intensify, corporate sustainability is a core strategic necessity for all operations of global firms. In this episode, we discuss how companies are navigating the complex transition toward decarbonization while upholding efficiency and affordability. Joining the discussion are Dr. Sreedevi Rajagopalan and Tori Arnold from the MIT Sustainable Supply Chain Lab, alongside Rachel Schwalbach, Vice President of ESG at C.H. Robinson, and Brittany Brama, Sustainability Director at C.H. Robinson. From the complexities of Scope 3 data collection to the practical implementation of alternative fuels and "book and claim" models, they examine how their collaboration between academia and industry is turning sustainability research into measurable impact.
- Jan 20, 202644 min
Beyond the Hype: Decoding AI in Supply Chains
Artificial Intelligence is frequently hailed as a transformative force for global supply chains, yet the gap between technological promise and operational reality remains a central challenge for industry leaders. In this episode, host Dr. Matthias Winkenbach, Director of Research at MIT CTL, leads a nuanced discussion on the transition from AI hype to the implementation of functional "decision technology." Joining the discussion are three researchers from MIT CTL who bring diverse perspectives to the AI landscape. Willem Guter of the MIT Intelligent Logistics Systems Lab unpacks the intersection of machine learning and traditional optimization in warehouse robotics, while Dr. Elenna Dugundji, director of the MIT Deep Knowledge for Supply Chain and Logistics Lab, explains the evolution of demand forecasting and the importance of "deep knowledge" in predictive modeling. Dr. Bryan Reimer, founder of the MIT AgeLab’s Advanced Vehicle Technology Consortium, rounds out the discussion by addressing the critical human factor in autonomous systems. Together, they examine the future of AI in sourcing and procurement, the complexities of human-AI interaction, and the necessity of building decision-support tools that are grounded in real-world application rather than speculative promise.
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Thought leadership on all things supply chain from the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics.
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