SCALE Expo 2025

MIT Global SCALE Network Expands with Addition of UK Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence (SCALE) Centre at Loughborough University

Loughborough University Joins Prestigious International Network to Advance Global Supply Chain and Logistics Innovation

CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA, and LOUGHBOROUGH, UK – The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation and Logistics (MIT CTL) and Loughborough University proudly announce the addition of the UK Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence (SCALE) Centre at Loughborough University

Loughborough University partners with MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics in UK first

Loughborough University has partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation and Logistics (MIT CTL) to be the first UK member of its Global Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence (SCALE) Network.

The union will offer an exclusive Master’s degree program for hundreds of students each year, with time divided between both Loughborough and Massachusetts, in the United States.

2023-24 POMS and MIT–SCALE Latin America & Caribbean Conference

POMS Chapter for the Caribbean and Latin America + MIT–SCALE Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean = one major conference for the region

We are excited to announce that the MIT–SCALE Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will merge with the 2023 POMS LAC Conference! The event will be hosted by a consortium consisting of LOGYCA, Universidad Tecnologica de Bolivar, and Universidad del Norte on March 16–19, 2024. It will be a hybrid virtual/in-person event. Join us in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, or from anywhere in the world! Review presentations from top academics and practitioners, who are developing high-impact research projects for the region and participate in keynote plenary sessions and networking events.

This gathering provides a vital forum for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, NGOs, and other participants from LAC or working with the region to share high-impact research and educational approaches surrounding the topics of production, operations management, and supply chain management. 

The goal of this partnership is to drive cutting-edge research, education, and outreach that embrace socioeconomic, logistics, and supply chain challenges in the context of LAC by developing and disseminating innovative strategies to address and to solve those challenges within the region.

VENUE: Universidad Tecnologica de Bolivar

CAMPUS TECNOLOGICO

Parque Industrial y Tecnológico Carlos Vélez Pombo Km 1 Vía Turbaco
Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

Retail Supply Chains: A Global Perspective on Nanostores and Small-Organized Stores

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Join researchers from across the MIT Global SCALE Network along with industry guests for an interactive discussion. 

Abstract

Retail is one of the most dynamic industries worldwide, given its importance in bringing goods to millions of households in growing urban metropolitan areas. In developing countries, its importance is even greater considering the convenience, affordable prices, and socioeconomic impact in the community they provide through small formats such as small, family-owned retailers and nanostores (Fransoo, Blanco, and Mejia-Argueta, 2017). Despite the high market share these nanostores capture in those economies, other retail formats such as convenience stores and hard discounters grow to offer several products to multiple households depending on their income level, age, preferences, etc. In this webinar, we will discuss strategy and business models in the retail industry, the impacts of e-commerce and technology, the logistics challenges to serve this channel, the capabilities to anticipate or respond to potential disruptions, and the industry's future. Researchers from China, Latin America, and the United States, as well as two industry subject matter experts, will share their opinions and answer the moderators' and the attendees' questions.

Source: Fransoo, J. C., Blanco, E. E., & Mejia Argueta, C. (Eds.) (2017). Reaching 50 million nanostores: retail distribution in emerging megacities. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

 

Speakers

Dr. Chris Mejia-Argueta, Director of the Food and Retail Operations Lab at MIT CTL

Conan Wu,  Head of Strategic Cooperation & Partnership Development at Ningbo China Institute for Supply Chain Innovation

Zhao Lihan, VP of Supply Chain and Commercial Development at Shangai Laiyifen

Cesar Becerra, Director of the Center for Latin American Logistics Innovation

Cesar Rios, Supply Chain & Logistics Director at Jeronimo Martins

 

Register here to attend this webinar.

How is the war in Ukraine impacting the global supply chain?

The Russia-Ukraine war is having an outsized impact on the global supply chain, impeding the flow of goods, fueling dramatic cost increases and product shortages, and creating catastrophic food shortages around the world, according to experts at a virtual symposium hosted by the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics.

The upheaval to the supply and demand of goods is exacerbating the already untenable human toll of the conflict, which shows no signs of abating.

Students Pitch Business Ideas to "Sharks" in Entrepreneurship Challenge

The 2022 SCALE Connect conference ended in a whirlwind of group project presentations and awards ceremonies. One of the team-based challenges of the conference is the annual entrepreneurial challenge competition: a product development and pitch challenge sponsored by the ASCM Massachusetts Minuteman chapter, in the style of the hit TV show "Shark Tank". Randomly assigned student teams propose and pitch solutions to problems on the UN Global Issues List.

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