Can young, smart, driven supply chain students and their professors teach us anything about the future of supply chain?

Recently I went to the MIT Media Lab Building for an event co-hosted by the local chapter of CSCMP and MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics.

There were two things going on. The first was a MIT Supply Chain Student Poster Session and Networking Night. Two big rooms were lined with the logistics projects from graduate students of MIT’s Logistics programs. The students themselves were on hand to explain their projects, interact and answer questions.

The second activity was a presentation by Dr. Yossi Sheffi on his new book “Logistics Clusters”. Very well known in supply chain, many of the people I work with on a daily basis passed through Dr. Sheffi’s classes at MIT.

We made the rounds and talked with students about their projects and a few points struck me: