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What business owners should know about attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea, and what they can do to mitigate risk.​​​​​​

What ideas and insights were people drawn to this year? The following list outlines the most-read articles from MIT Sloan’s Ideas Made to Matter team to date in 2023. 

From artificial intelligence to supply chains to the future of China’s economy, these books help explain what’s happening in today’s business environment. Professor Yossi Sheffi ranks as number 4 in top 10 books to read. 

Dr. Sheffi returns to the show to expand on his thoughts about where human skills and labor markets are headed in the immediate impact of automated and autonomized workflows thanks to AI capabilities in logistics and manufacturing.

‘The Magic Conveyor Belt’ rewards those who stick with it. In effect, it is more like two books: an explanatory book and a visionary book. Anyone who gives up during the first part, thinking ‘I already know all this’ will miss out on a great second part which contains new insights for even the most experienced supply chain professional.This book is recommended reading for supply chain directors who will have the honour of applying these advancements in practice.

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest integrated energy and chemical company, has long made resiliency a core tenet of its corporate strategy... resilience in the corporate world is the ability of a company to bounce back from a catastrophe or a disruption and return to normal operations levels. Dr.

In this episode we dive deep with Dr. Yossi Sheffi, an esteemed professor at MIT and Director of the Center for Transportation and Logistics. Tracing his journey from civil engineering to urban transportation and eventually to the broad realm of transportation system management, Dr. Sheffi underscores the importance of melding soft skills with technical expertise to craft and execute effective solutions.

Part 2 covers the “Further Complexity and Challenges” of supply chains, and you explore how the last 50 years have added even more complexity. This part covers the rising demand for goods and the increasing consumer expectations for fast, perfect delivery services.

The value of people in the supply chain cannot be overlooked. But where does that leave us as many new supply chain pros, raised on communication skills driven by little keyboards, enter the workforce and supplant today’s practitioners? Here’s some unsolicited and perhaps unwelcome advice. 

Today’s book explains why supply chains are complicated to operate (and getting more challenging!). Fortunately, future managers can employ a combination of suitably educated employees and digital technology to manage ever-higher complexity successfully. People and companies can use digital technologies to make themselves more efficient and more effective in addressing the expanding and changing needs of the planet.