The MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) is part of the Engineering Systems Division in the School of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.   For more than five decades, MIT CTL has been a world leader in supply chain management education and research. MIT CTL has made significant contributions to supply chain and logistics and has helped numerous companies gain competitive advantage from its cutting-edge research.  Visit our website to learn more about our educational offerings, research initiatives, and outreach opportunities! https://ctl.mit.edu/  

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Issued by University of Vigo (Spain) 
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Managing technology-related disruptions and vulnerabilities in highly automated warehouse systems: an integrative review and research agenda

Supply chains under (cyber) attack

E-fulfillment cost management in omnichannel retailing: An exploratory study

Frontiers in warehouse automation

Six Steps on the Journey to Environmentally Compliant Warehouses

Fulfillment costs in online grocery retailing: comparing retail store and warehouse strategies

Warehouses are undergoing a fundamental transformation—in response to the explosion of growth in the e-commerce space and worldwide large-scale supply chain disruptions, warehouses have gone from places simply for goods to sit to highly interconnected, automated hubs of activity. Warehouses of the future leverage new technologies in automation and digitalization to enhance precision, flexibility, and efficiency to adapt quickly to changing market and supply chain trends and needs.
In this episode, we're joined by Miguel Rodríguez García, a Postdoctoral Associate at the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, and Erez Agmoni, Global Head of Innovation (Logistics & Services) at international shipping giant Maersk. Miguel and Erez take us through the changes and technologies that are transforming warehouses and the ways in which companies are seeking to make these transformations sustainable.
The warehouse of the future signifies a forward-thinking model that aligns operational efficiency with a sustainable approach to warehousing, which is pivotal to the evolution of contemporary supply chains.
For the full white paper, "The Warehouse of the Future," click here.
Host & Executive Producer: Benjy Kantor
Marketing Writer & Producer: Dan McCool
Sound Editor: David Benjamin Sound
Audio Engineer: Kurt Schneider

The Warehouse of the Future

Supply chain transformation is no longer just about efficiency. It is about resilience, intelligence, and trust across every layer of the system. In this episode, Reid Jackson and Liz Sertl were at GS1 Connect. Melanie Hilton sat down with Miguel Rodriguez Garcia from MIT, Frederik Bohn from Plug and Play Tech Center, and Lisa Morales-Hellebo from REFASHIOND Ventures to explore what supply chains could look like in 2050 and the challenges that must be solved today to get there. The conversation spans cybersecurity risks that now extend into physical operations, the rise of robotics in logistics, and the growing need for verified, trustworthy data across global networks. The guests also explore how interoperability gaps inside large enterprises slow progress, why collaboration remains one of the biggest barriers across industries, and how emerging approaches like AI agents and materials verification could reshape decision making. Together, they highlight that the future supply chain will depend on aligning technology, standards, and human behavior in ways that are still being defined. This is more than a discussion about emerging technology. It is an exploration of how supply chains must evolve into connected, transparent, and adaptive systems where data integrity, automation, and cross-industry collaboration determine long term success. In this episode, you'll learn: How cybersecurity is evolving from a digital risk into a physical supply chain challenge How robotics and automation are already reshaping warehouse and logistics operations Why data trust and verification are becoming essential for future supply chain systems Things to listen for: (00:00) Opening remarks from Reid Jackson and Liz Sertl introducing the GS1 Connect session (01:26) Framing the 2050 supply chain discussion and key themes (07:40) Cybersecurity threats expanding into physical supply chain operations (11:00) Robotics moving from experimental to real warehouse deployment (15:00) Trust and verification of physical materials through data and scanning (19:30) Collaboration challenges across industries and supplier ecosystems (23:10) Interoperability gaps inside large enterprise systems (26:00) AI agents, hallucinations, and the importance of data quality (30:46) Real world visibility innovations using highway camera data networks (32:38) The future vision of standardized machine communication and interoperability Connect with GS1 US: Our website - www.gs1us.orgGS1 US on LinkedIn Connect with the speakers: Melanie Hilton on LinkedInMiguel Rodriguez Garcia on LinkedInMassachusetts Institute of Technology at https://web.mit.edu/Lisa Morales-Hellebo on LinkedIn REFASHIOND Ventures at https://www.refashiond.com/Frederik Bohn on LinkedInPlug and Play Tech Center. at https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/

Supply Chain 2050: AI, Robotics, and Trust in the Physical World

SCM.292 Logistics Automation & Technology

SCM.289 E-Commerce and Omnichannel Fulfillment Strategies

Miguel Rodríguez García, PhD, is a Research Scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. He is the Co-founder and Director of the Supply Chain Cybersecurity Lab, and he also leads the Warehouse of the Future Initiative within the Omnichannel Supply Chain Lab.

His main research focuses on how to defend global supply chains against the cybersecurity risks associated with the deployment of new technologies. Miguel currently studies how large software networks, AI agents, robotics, cloud platforms, and complex third-party ecosystems, expand the attack surface and redefine supply chain cybersecurity risks across manufacturing, warehousing, and transportation.

Over his career as a researcher, he has collaborated with multiple global industry partners on supply chain cybersecurity, logistics automation and technology, e-commerce logistics, and warehousing and fulfillment operations. He is also a frequent presenter at international conferences, and his work has been published in some of the most prominent scientific journals in supply chain management.

Beyond his research, he played a pivotal role in advancing digital learning at MIT, leading Supply Chain Fundamentals, the largest online course within the MITx MicroMasters® Program in Supply Chain Management, for 4 years. The course served over 25,000 students annually during Miguel's leadership. He now teaches in MIT's graduate degree and executive education programs, equipping future leaders with the knowledge to drive innovation in supply chain management. He's the main instructor for SCM.292 Logistics Automation & Technology, and a co-instructor in SCM.289 Omnichannel Fulfillment Strategies.

Supply Chain Cybersecurity

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Automation Beyond 5G

MIT report exposes key risks associated with highly automated warehouses

MIT Supply Chain Frontiers Podcast - The Warehouse of the Future

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Take your supply chain game to the next level with GS1 US! Join our favorite supply chain experts, Reid and Liz, as they share secrets, stories, insights, and expertise on a broad spectrum of hot-button topics – from barcodes to artificial intelligence, and everything in between. Our hosts will answer questions like: What's next in supply chain automation and innovation? Will the next generation of 2D barcodes revolutionize commerce and machine learning? How does the simple concept of scanning at checkout contribute to the next level of transparency for consumers? How will intelligent automation – like, robots serving us cocktails for example - compete with our human intelligence? Take a deep dive with us in exploring these and other mind-bending topics about how the unique identification of everything makes anything possible.

Next Level Supply Chain with GS1 US

Thought leadership from MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics.

MIT Supply Chain Frontiers

Director, Supply Chain Cybersecurity Lab | Warehouse of the Future Initiative | Research Scientist MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics

At MIT, we investigate the hidden risks of interconnected systems—from software breakdowns to cyberattacks and power outages—and co-design strategies for prevention, detection, and recovery of logistics systems. Our mission is to help build supply chains that not only perform but endure.

https://omnichannel.mit.edu/warehouse-of-the-future/

The Warehouse of the Future Initiative: MIT’s Warehouse of the Future Initiative is a research-driven effort to understand and shape the next generation of highly automated, interconnected, and intelligent logistics systems. We explore why some warehouse technologies succeed while others fail, how decisions can be optimized in complex environments, and how to build operations that recover when complex systems break down. Through data analytics, behavioral insights, and risk analysis, we develop frameworks to help design smarter, more resilient warehouses—critical to the future of supply chains.

MIT Horizon 2025 | Automated Warehouses and Technology Risks | Eva Ponce and Miguel Rodríguez García

Dr. Miguel Rodríguez García describes the sessions he'll be teaching at our upcoming Executive Education course. Join us in January 2025 for "Supply Chains: Driving Strategic Advantage" - register today at https://ctl.mit.edu/eejan25

Get details or request more information about MIT CTL's Executive Education courses at https://ctl.mit.edu/executive-education

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