Speaking

Renowned MIT Professor and supply chain management expert Yossi Sheffi recently released his 6th book, titled ‘A Shot in the Arm: How Science, Engineering, and Supply Chains Converged to Vaccinate the World’.

This week on Hubwonk, Joe Selvaggi talks with global supply chain expert, MIT Professor Yossi Sheffi about the unprecedented global supply and demand shocks created by the Covid-19 pandemic and how effective supply chain managers in an integrated world economy adapted to provide consumers with food, goods, and vaccines in record time.
 

According to Yosi Sheffi, the director of MIT's Center for Transportation and Logistics, "The underlying cause of all of this is actually a huge increase in demand. … People did not spend during the pandemic. And then, all the government help came; trillions of dollars went to households. So, they order stuff. They order more and more stuff. And the whole global markets were not ready for this." So, wait: There's plenty of goods, and plenty of people who want to buy them – so, where's the problem? Here's a hint: Trucks.

Driven by the chaos of the coronavirus pandemic, companies have created “corporate immune systems” to recognize and manage large-scale disruptions quickly, according to a new book from Yossi Sheffi, a supply chain professor at the Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT).

Mecalux sat down with professor Yossi Sheffi, Director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, to talk about how Covid-19 is reshaping businesses and supply chains – and what’s coming next. Covid-19 has taught us several things about supply chains. First of all, we learned that the general media — including major publications in the U.S. and Europe — know very little about supply chains. The media tend to catastrophize everything..

Professor Yossi Sheffi of MIT University is a scholar in the field of ESG. I asked him, who wrote a book called Balancing Green on a related topic, 'the proper way to practice ESG.' He emphasized the importance of consumer awareness. Businesses and governments can take meaningful action only when consumers recognize the impact of their consumption on the environment and change their behavior.

Some measure success by salaries and titles. Others use a different yardstick altogether. Take the eight professionals selected as our 2021 Rainmakers, for example. When asked about their proudest professional accomplishments, their answers ranged from the satisfaction of building teams whose members “do amazing things every day” to mentoring younger colleagues and seeing them go on to greater glory.

Yossi Sheffi, a professor at MIT and an expert with deep knowledge of America's supply chain, talks to Newsy about the ongoing supply shortages, and why building new infrastructure right now could make it much worse.

There have been numerous stories in recent days about problems with the supply chain as the economy starts back up after last year's unprecedented shutdowns. Everything is connected and a hiccup here or there can cause delays and price increases for you and me.

This article is Meri Stevens, Worldwide Vice President of Supply Chain, Consumer Health and Deliver at Johnson & Johnson speaking with MIT CTL Director Prof. Yossi Sheffi on Mar. 17, 2021. Read how a global manufacturer has learned some vital lessons about managing uncertainty and planning for the future.