Christopher Mejía Argueta, PhD
Director, MIT SCALE Network for Latin America and the Caribbean | Director, MIT Graduate Certificate in Logistics and SCM (GCLOG) program | Founder & Director, MIT Emerging Market Economies Logistics Lab (EMeL) | Research Scientist
- Cambridge MA UNITED STATES
Dr. Mejía-Argueta optimizes last-mile, retail, agri-food supply chains, global transportation and policymaking for emerging market economies
Media
Social
Biography
At MIT’s Emerging Market Economies Logistics Lab (EMeL), formerly the Food and Retail Operations Lab, Dr. Mejía has led dozens of projects with companies in multiple sectors. His research spans last-mile and retail operations, agri-food supply chains, first-mile mapping and optimization for minerals, energy and fibers, and global transportation strategies. He designs route-to-market and logistics models that connect changing consumer behavior with evolving retail landscapes, optimize last-mile operations, and strengthen Global South–Global North links through transportation and infrastructure.
A central theme of his work is creating competitive advantage while addressing socioeconomic challenges, including income disparity, food insecurity and malnutrition, food waste, and limited access to markets through sustainable policies, business models, and logistics solutions that reach vulnerable populations.
Dr. Mejía is Director of the MIT Global Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence (SCALE) Network, with centers in the U.S., Spain, Colombia, the U.K., and China. He also leads the MIT SCALE Network for Latin America and the Caribbean, connecting 50+ academic and corporate partners to develop impactful research and education initiatives with companies, governments, universities, and society. He is Director of MIT’s Graduate Certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management (GCLOG), an elite program for professionals from emerging market economies.
He holds an M.Sc. and PhD in Industrial Engineering from Monterrey Tech, Mexico, both earned summa cum laude (top 1% of each graduating class). He is author and editor of five books, including Reaching 50 Million Nanostores: Retail Distribution in Emerging Megacities (2017), the first book to combine theory and real-world cases on logistics, distribution, and business strategies for micro- and informal retailers in emerging markets.
Dr. Mejía is Associate Editor of Socio-Economic Planning Sciences (Elsevier), serves on the INFORMS steering committee for Contemporary Operations for Developing Economies (CODE), and was President of the POMS Latin America and Caribbean chapter (2022–2024).
Research Focus
Future Logistics & Infrastructure Systems
Shaping freight, mobility, and infrastructure systems that enable global supply networks.
Sustainable & Circular Supply Chains
Designing environmentally sustainable and circular supply networks.
Critical Systems & Supply Network Resilience
Ensuring continuity, preparedness, and mission assurance under disruption and geopolitical volatility.
Areas of Expertise
Education
Tecnológico de Monterrey
PhD
Industrial Engineering
2013
Universidad de Málaga
PhD (visiting student)
Applied Economics
2011
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
PhD (visiting student)
Operations Research
2011
Tecnológico de Monterrey
MS
Science, Industrial Engineering
2009
Tecnológico de Monterrey
BS
Industrial Engineering and Systems , Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management
2007
Affiliations
- MIT Emerging Market Economies Logistics Lab (EMeL) : Founder and Director
- MIT Graduate Certificate in Logistics and SCM (GCLOG) program : Director
- MIT Global SCALE Network : Director
- MIT SCALE Network for Latin America and the Caribbean : Director
Languages
- Spanish
- French
- English
Media Appearances
From rules of origin to rules of resilience
Supply Chain Management Review online
2026-07-02
For decades, trade agreements have focused on fundamental components: product or service features, markets, regulatory standards, investment protections, and dispute resolution. In North America, this logic is embedded in the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) through rules of origin and regional value content requirements. These provisions determine whether a product or service qualifies for preferential tariff treatment based on the percentage of content sourced or manufactured within the region.
Iran War Impact: How Bad Can it Get?
Mettingplace online
2026-04-17
Meatingplace previously received insights from Dr. Christopher Mejía Argueta, a research scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, about how the strait’s closure could impact food manufacturing (especially in the loss of refined products like plastic packaging). Additionally, Argueta provided perspective on the best- and worst-case scenarios that others have envisioned for the crisis.
‘Domino Effect’: Supply Chain Expert Explains Pending Upheaval to US Meat Processing
Meatingplace online
2026-04-03
While some effects of the strait’s closure were immediately felt in the U.S. — for instance, the average regular gas price is up 27% from last year, while diesel is up 52% — accumulating disruptions could upend foundational aspects to American meat processing. For insights, we spoke with Dr. Christopher Mejía Argueta, a research scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What Coffee, Cobalt, and Mangoes Have in Common
MIT Supply Chain Frontiers Podcast online
2025-09-18
In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Chris Mejía, Founder and Director of the MIT Emerging Market Economies Logistics Lab (EMeL), along with Research Affiliates Dr. Edgar Gutierrez and Isabel Agudelo. They discuss the launch of this new lab at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, its mission to strengthen supply chains across the Global South, and the human decisions that ultimately shape logistics outcomes. From the fate of mangoes in Ghana to cobalt in the Congo, the conversation reveals why emerging markets matter to everyone—and how building trust may be the biggest logistics challenge of all.
Food for thought, thought for food
MIT News online
2022-12-19
"I'm probably an idealist," says MIT Research Scientist Christopher Mejía Argueta, "but I really believe that if we change our diets and think about ways to help others, we can make a difference — that's my motivation."
Ripple effects from Russia-Ukraine war test global economies
MIT Sloan School of Management online
2022-06-28
The combination of Russian sanctions, blocked Ukrainian ports, and the inability of Ukrainian farmers to work the fields is creating a perfect storm that requires governments and businesses to find new ways to collaborate to head off a humanitarian crisis, said Chris Mejía Argueta, director of the MIT SCALE Network in Latin America. In fact, Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports is considered so damaging that EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell recently dubbed it a war crime.
Research Papers
Resilient Supply Chains Amid Uncertainty: Do Agility, Adaptability, and Alignment Mitigate the Effects of Major Disruptions?
Journal of Business LogisticsAndrea S. Patrucco, Vinicius Picanço Rodrigues, Jan C. Fransoo, Christopher Mejia-Argueta
2025-09-17
Global supply chains are increasingly vulnerable to disruptions, underscoring the importance of effective resilience strategies. This study examines how agility, adaptability, and alignment (AAA capabilities) mitigate the negative impacts of major disruptions on corporate performance and influence capability enhancement during recovery.
Tax privacy concerns hamper digitization of the nanostore channel
Decision SciencesRafael Escamilla, Prisca Brosi, Jan C. Fransoo, Camilo Mora-Quiñones, Christopher Mejía-Argueta
2024-09-17
Various entities, such as startups, suppliers, and governments, face substantial difficulties in convincing nanostore shopkeepers to adopt digital technologies. Given the informal status of nanostores, we posit that shopkeepers experience Tax Privacy Concerns from their operational records potentially becoming transparent to the tax authorities, which hampers their inclination to digitize.
An in-depth metaheuristic approach to design a sustainable closed-loop agri-food supply chain network
Applied Soft ComputingFatemeh Gholian-Jouybari, Mostafa Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, Neale R. Smith, Ericka Zulema Rodríguez Calvo, Christopher Mejía-Argueta, Behzad Mosallanezhad
2024-01-01
As an essential component of human life, agricultural products play a very important role in guaranteeing that individuals get all the essential nutrition. Governments and industries spend great financial resources, define short- and long-term goals, and organize their policies to develop a steady agri-food supply chain and provide fresh, healthy products to their societies. This work proposes a new mixed-integer linear programming model to propose an agri-food supply chain network design for the coconut industry under sustainable terms.
Mapping research in logistics and supply chain management during COVID-19 pandemic
International Journal of Logistics Research and ApplicationsJairo R. Montoya-Torres, Andrés Muñoz-Villamizar &C hristopher Mejia-Argueta
2021-07-26
Supply chains constantly face new problems that go way beyond the traditional issues of supply and demand uncertainty, particularly due to the impact of worldwide disruptive events. This paper aims at mapping academic literature examining so far issues related to the impact on supply chains of the COVID-19 outbreak based on a thorough literature review of peer-reviewed papers published in 2020.
Patents
Optimizing the Global Workforce Capacity and Capability at Hewlett-Packard
US 201001914
Issued Jan 2011
Partnerships
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
Elite Flower Group
Organizacion Corona
LOGYCA
Global Foodbanking Network
Awards
Winning Paper
Issued by INFORMS Contemporary Operations management for Developing Countries (CODE)
2025
Outstanding Researcher Award
Issued by Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Society
2025