Maersk North America’s warehousing and distribution (WnD) business, called Performance Team – A Maersk Company has signed an agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) to accelerate the company’s innovative supply chain solutions and further expand its capabilities through cutting edge research across North America.

Gabriel Alizieri, Executive Vice President of Performance Team – A Maersk Company said “Integrating logistics services and simplifying supply chain operations at a global scale requires customer-centric, end-to-end solutions. The collaboration with MIT CTL plays a significant role and complements our ongoing strategic capability development and innovation strategy formulation. We will integrate internal and external factors, assessment of industry architecture, and the continued assimilation of knowledge by way of balancing exploration and utilization of our organizational capabilities.”

Today’s agreement expands on a robust relationship. For the past ten years, Performance Team – A Maersk Company team has worked with MIT CTL to establish, improve, and introduce best practices throughout the supply chain. Senior researchers from MIT CTL will team up with Performance Team – A Maersk Company’s leadership teams to co-create solutions through design thinking, industry expertise, machine learning, AI, predictive analytics, new algorithms, and computational prototypes, amongst other activities. This deeper integration will improve flexibility and customer-centricity to ultimately deliver value to Performance Team – A Maersk Company customers.

Group photo caption: Standing (L-R) at the MIT CTL campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts: Katie Date, Corporate Outreach Manager, MIT CTL Narin Phol, Regional Managing Director, Maersk North America Erez Agmoni, Senior Vice President of Innovation & Strategic Growth, Performance Team – A Maersk Company Gabriel Alizieri, Executive Vice President of Performance Team – A Maersk Company Professor Yossi Sheffi, Director, MIT CTL and MIT SCM James B. Rice Jr., Deputy Director, MIT CTL
Group photo caption: Standing (L-R) at the MIT CTL campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts: Katie Date, Corporate Outreach Manager, MIT CTL Narin Phol, Regional Managing Director, Maersk North America Erez Agmoni, Senior Vice President of Innovation & Strategic Growth, Performance Team – A Maersk Company Gabriel Alizieri, Executive Vice President of Performance Team – A Maersk Company Professor Yossi Sheffi, Director, MIT CTL and MIT SCM James B. Rice Jr., Deputy Director, MIT CTL

“As supply chains become more complex and are impacted by emerging risks, the need for complex, system-view approaches increases,” said Professor Yossi Sheffi, Director of MIT CTL. “Our work together with industry is a vital input to maintaining actionable applied research and cutting-edge education offerings at the center.”

MIT CTL will designate senior research teams to review supply chain challenges and new and existing technologies. The MIT CTL personnel assigned will be at Doctoral and Post-Doctoral levels who will apply machine learning, AI, predictive analytics, new algorithms and computational prototypes amongst other activities to some of the challenges being faced by supply chain practitioners globally.

“We provide integrated solutions to customers who operate some of the most sophisticated supply chains in the world,” said Erez Agmoni, Senior Vice President of Innovation & Strategic Growth of Performance Team – A Maersk Company. “Warehousing and distribution operations represent one of the largest opportunities to optimize supply chains and create the environment to provide innovative business solutions, using the power of analytics, technology, digitization, and design thinking. Through this increased new level of collaboration and research with MIT CTL, we will continue to create value with our customers and advance our integrator strategy.”

Equally important, Maersk is committed to a global strategic effort to invite more data scientists, software engineers, digital experts, start-up companies and customers to participate in the company’s journey to simplify customers’ container logistics and transform the supply chain industry. Global merchandise trade approaches USD 20 trillion annually and influences the lives of everyone on the planet.

Performance Team – A Maersk Company operates 48 warehouse and distribution center locations in North America which is complemented by Maersk’s recent e-commerce logistics acquisition of Visible Supply Chain – A Maersk Company’s nine e-fulfillment centers in the U.S.

The MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) has been a world leader in supply chain management education and research for nearly 50 years. MIT CTL has made significant contributions to the field of supply chain and logistics management and has helped numerous companies gain competitive advantage from its cutting-edge research.

Maersk is a global integrator of supply chains, employing an assets-based approach that enables better operational control, accountability and speed of execution. The company deploys the world’s largest fleet of container vessels (700), operates 75 strategically-located container terminals, 57 North American fulfillment and transload centers and a fleet of 250 trucks in the U.S. Maersk is also a founding member of the TradeLens digitization platform for global supply chains.