News

A book titled “The Magic Conveyor Belt” does an exceptionally good job of explaining the supply chain. Until a few years ago, explaining your role as a supply chain management professional was probably not a great conversation starter at parties. But when the pandemic began in 2020, suddenly the entire world at least had a cursory understanding of what the industry was about.

Read more for an academic book review of The Magic Conveyor Belt: Supply Chains, AI, and the Future of Work. The book's authors show how scenario planning methodology brings flexibility and pragmatism to the table that makes it a valuable interventional choice for any industry. Through case studies and shared artifacts, this book illustrates well the value of scenario planning to supply chain strategy. Useful terminology from both scenario planning and SCM can be learned from the book, bolstered by supplementary materials.

The book’s author, Dr. Yoshi Sheffi, is an expert in systems optimization, risk analysis, and supply chain management, which are deeply technical subjects, but this book is targeted to a much broader audience than just researchers in his field. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is creeping into many industries, and now it’s coming for the automotive supply chain. Should we be nervous, or should it be embraced as a helpful tool? Yossi Sheffi, professor of Engineering Systems at MIT weighs up the pros and cons.

The MIT professor, author and supply chain thought leader sat down with Bob Trebilcock and Abe Eshkenazi to discuss his new book and the future of supply chain management. Here are some excerpts.

ASCM Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Rennie recently had the opportunity to interview Sheffi, ahead of his keynote address at ASCM CONNECT 2023: North America, September 11-13, in Louisville, Kentucky. Learn more and register for the premier supply chain event of the year.

Listen in as Yossi Sheffi discusses his new book, The Magic Conveyor Belt, and the state of supply chain management. On this episode of The Rebound, MIT professor and author Yossi Sheffi talks about his latest book and what supply chain leaders learned from the pandemic that’s making supply chains better than ever. ASCM (www.ascm.org) CEO Abe Eshkenazi and SCMR Editor Bob Trebilcock host.

Many industries are implementing various forms of generative artificial intelligence in the workplace. Experts differ on whether the technology will cause mass unemployment.

Reposted here. 

This week’s guest is Professor Yossi Sheffi, Director of MIT’s Center for Transportation & Logistics and author of the recent book, The Magic Conveyor Belt: Supply Chains, AI, and the Future of Work. Written mainly in response to the general public’s newly awakened awareness of and interest in supply chains during the pandemic, the book explains in great clarity how supply chains work, why they are complex, and where the challenges are.

Supply chains have faced several challenges over the last few years, and there is no end in sight. They have overcome the danger of food shortages and PPE scarcity and are now bracing for the impact of driverless vehicles and omnipresent AI. There is never a dull moment when you work in supply chain. professor Sheffi gets an interview from Supply Chain Now podcast hosts.