Eva Ponce, PhD
Director, Online Education, MIT CTL | Director, MITx MicroMasters in Supply Chain Management | Director, Omnichannel Supply Chain Lab MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics
- Cambridge MA
Dr. Ponce is an expert in AI, automation, e-commerce, and omnichannel fulfillment, with research on logistics and workforce transformation.
MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics
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Biography
Her research focuses on how AI, automation, and emerging technologies are transforming supply chains, logistics, and the future of work. She studies e-commerce and omnichannel fulfillment, warehouse, and logistics automation, and how new technologies are changing supply chain operations, jobs, and the skills organizations need. Her work also addresses sustainable supply chains, including circular supply chains, reverse logistics, and closed-loop supply chains.
Dr. Ponce works closely with global companies to translate research into practical strategies for supply chain transformation, including the redesign of e-commerce fulfillment networks, the adoption of automation and AI, and the development of new capabilities for the future of supply chain management. She also leads MIT executive and online education initiatives that help organizations and professionals develop the knowledge and skills needed to navigate these transformations.
She is a frequent speaker at international conferences and industry events, and her research has been published in leading scientific journals in supply chain management and logistics. With more than 25 years of experience in supply chain management research and education, Dr. Ponce teaches at the graduate and executive education levels on e-commerce and omnichannel fulfillment, digital and sustainable supply chains, and supply chain management. Her contributions to education were recognized with MIT’s 2018 Irwin Sizer Award for the Most Significant Improvement to MIT Education.
Research Focus
Supply Chain Strategy & Network Architecture
Designing the structural configuration and competitive positioning of supply networks.
Intelligent & Autonomous Supply Chains
AI-driven, data-centric, and increasingly autonomous decision systems for supply chain planning and execution.
Sustainable & Circular Supply Chains
Designing environmentally sustainable and circular supply networks.
Areas of Expertise
Education
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
PhD
Industrial Engineering, Procurement and Supply Chain Management
2002
Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
MSc
Industrial Engineering, Logistics, Quantitative Methods for Industrial Engineering
1998
Affiliations
- MIT Omnichannel Supply Chain Lab: Founder
- MITx MicroMasters® Program in Supply Chain Management : Director
Languages
- English
- Spanish
Media Appearances
From Classroom To Retirement: Why Education Is A Lifelong Investment
Forbes online
2025-09-16
Eva Ponce, Director of Online Education at MIT’s Center for Transportation & Logistics, has witnessed the shift firsthand: “Over the past decade, I have seen thousands of people worldwide use online learning credentials to upskill or reskill their supply chain capabilities. While technology advances rapidly, human skills remain essential, requiring continuous learning. The future of online learning lies in customization — personalizing content, pacing, and credentials to the needs of individuals and organizations.”
"It turns out that not all orders need to be delivered in half an hour."
EXPANSIÓN [translated from Spanish]
2026-07-02
To begin with, Ponce points out that e-commerce has made demand "more volatile, less predictable." "Peaks no longer occur only on specific dates like Black Friday, back-to-school season, or Christmas. Now, all it takes is for an influencer to wear a t-shirt for orders for that garment to skyrocket, but only for a very short time, so you have to be ready to capitalize on it, and that's a challenge for stock management," Ponce notes.
Amazon bets savings from automation can help fuel AI spending boom
Financial Times online
2025-02-25
Eva Ponce, director of online education for the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, speaks with Financial Times reporter Rafe Uddin about how companies are integrating automation. “Labor shortages are a persistent theme and this is another driver for this investment,” says Ponce.
The Pandemic Generation Is Taking Its Supply-Chain Lessons to School
The Wall Street Journal online
2024-07-26
Research Scientist Eva Ponce, director of online education for the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter Paul Page about how global supply chain disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic inspired a new generation of students to pursue careers in supply chain management. “Having been exposed to these big disruptions, the new generation has an appetite for risk management,” Ponce says. “This has become a key topic and that is one of the consequences of the pandemic—this focus on ways to reduce risk and vulnerability.”
How AI will revolutionize supply chains
Fast Company online
2024-03-08
Research Scientist Eva Ponce speaks with Fast Company to explain how AI will impact supply chains. “One of the most common reasons I have seen companies fail when implementing disruptive technologies like AI is when they are rushing, with a lack of clear vision,” says Ponce.
Speaking Engagements/Featured Conversations
AI, Omnichannel, and the Future of Supply Chain
Hosted by Dr. Eva Ponce, Director of Online Education at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, hear from Laura Ritchey, President & CEO of GEODIS Americas on how e-commerce is reshaping supply chains and creating new challenges in omnichannel fulfillment and network design. Watch the full webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxH9cexfz6Q
Supply Chain Analytics in Action | Lessons from UPS on Digital Transformation, Technology, and AI
Hosted by Dr. Eva Ponce, Director of Online Education at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, during this session, Vandana Ramani, VP of Global Strategy at UPS takes you through how UPS uses analytics, technology, and AI to manage complexity, improve on-time delivery, and enhance customer satisfaction. Watch the full webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAMBTReUkUA
The Role of AI in e-Commerce and e-Fulfillment
In this webinar hosted by Dr. Eva Ponce, the Director of the MITx MicroMasters Program in SCM, expert panelists Dr. Matthias Winkenbach of MIT CTL and Chris Huber of Mecalux, share how they are leveraging AI tools and algorithms—particularly in positioning inventory in complex omnichannel networks as well as the use of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)—to bring flexibility and optimize operations. Explore the tangible benefits, common challenges and barriers to adoption they’ve encountered and look ahead to the future of SCM and the skills needed for the next-generation workforce. Watch the full webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTQqkTD8l8Q
Research Papers
Managing technology-related disruptions and vulnerabilities in highly automated warehouse systems: an integrative review and research agenda
International Journal of Production ResearchMiguel Rodríguez-García, Joakim Hans Kembro, Kellen Betts, Eva Ponce-Cueto
2026-03-04
Recent technological developments in warehousing have introduced new risks. This paper presents an integrative review that combines insights from highly automated warehouse systems (HAWS) and risk management, providing a comprehensive understanding of technology-related warehouse disruptions and vulnerabilities. We identify five major disruptions that can affect HAWS: cyberattacks, technology sabotage, technology failures, power and network outages, and human-machine interaction issues. Moreover, we identify 48 technology-related vulnerabilities across all disruptions. In particular, HAWS have become vulnerable to cyberattacks due to the increasing number of warehouse technology suppliers, greater complexity of multi-robot networks such as AMRs, reliance on cloud-based systems, and cascading effect of cyberattacks due to higher levels of interconnectivity in HAWS networks.
Design Principles and Impact of a Learning Analytics Dashboard: Evidence from a Randomized MOOC Experiment
Applied SciencesInma Borrella, Eva Ponce-Cueto
2025-10-28
This study demonstrates that Learning Analytics Dashboards are most effective when designed with actionable, motivationally framed feedback. In practice, MOOC providers and instructional designers can apply these design principles to creating dashboards that foster learner commitment and reduce cognitive burden. Specifically, dashboards should combine clear, low-inference visualizations with concise ARCS-framed feedback and visible pacing cues (e.g., weekly study indicators) to strengthen motivation and support self-regulated learning in online course environments.
Taking action to reduce dropout in MOOCs: Tested interventions
Computers & EducationInma Borrella, Sergio Caballero-Caballero, Eva Ponce-Cueto
2022-04-01
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have democratized access to higher education, but low entry and exit barriers make dropout rates in these courses much higher than in traditional in-person courses. Previous research has explored the main factors driving student dropout and proposed predictive models to identify students at risk. However, it is still unclear what type of interventions should be implemented to effectively reduce the dropout rate in MOOCs. We use findings from the literature to propose a theoretical framework to guide the design of interventions to reduce dropout in MOOCs. We design four interventions and implement them using A/B testing and natural experiment approaches in courses of the MITx MicroMasters® Program in Supply Chain Management (a MOOC-based program).
Key metrics to measure the performance and impact of reusable packaging in circular supply chains
Frontiers in SustainabilityKellen Betts, Edgar Gutierrez-Franco, Eva Ponce-Cueto
2022-12-15
Circular supply chains comprise the industrial production and supply chain systems used by companies to eliminate waste and recover value in products and materials. There are a variety of circular strategies including recycling in waste management, returns and repair in consumer-facing industries, and reusable packaging in supply chains. Successful implementation and management of these circular strategies requires the ability to measure and report on progress across different functions and processes. In this paper, we propose a new set of metrics to measure the performance of reusing items in a circular supply chain. We review the literature on metrics in circular supply chain management and reusable packaging in supply chains. We then classify the proposed metrics based on whether they measure the circularity of a circular supply chain initiative or impact of implementing the initiative.
Availability
- Keynote
- Moderator
- Panelist
Awards
Extraordinary National Doctoral Award | Top National Spanish Doctoral Recognition
Issued by “Ministerio de Educacion”
2003
Irwin Sizer Award for the Most Significant Improvement to MIT Education
Issued by Massachusetts Institute of Technology
May 2018
Courses
MITx Supply Chain Technology and Systems
Supply chains have a long history of leveraging technology to drive efficiency and effectiveness, operating at a global scale that requires seamless integration across multiple systems and platforms. This course prepares you to translate fundamental supply chain principles into practice within a rapidly evolving digital landscape by focusing on core technological concepts, system architectures, and data-driven decision-making rather than specific software tools.
SCM.290x Sustainable Supply Chain Management
SCM.290x will help you transform your organization’s climate pledges into actionable strategies through better supply chain management. Modeled on our for-credit MIT course, SCM.290x gives you a foundation to meet stakeholders’ demands for supply chain sustainability.
SCM.289 Omnichannel Fulfillment Strategies
Examines how e-commerce, AI, automation, and emerging technologies are transforming omnichannel fulfillment, from inventory and warehousing to distribution and returns.
