About Us

What we do

The mission of the MIT Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab is to understand and improve the supply chain systems behind public services and private markets to meet human needs. Based within the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, the Lab combines MIT expertise in engineering, management, information technology, social science, economics, urban planning and other disciplines to drive practical innovation for humanitarian interventions. The lab has a diverse portfolio of projects to improve emergency response during crisis and to enable market development that improves resilience. Our theoretical and applied research is driven by active engagement with the private sector, government agencies, humanitarian, international development, and community organizations on several continents.

Emergency response

Supply chains are the critical link in delivering life-saving supplies during crisis triggered by events such as natural disasters, conflict, and disease outbreak.

Our research combines:

Empirical study of the decision-making context through appropriately-sanctioned deployment during crisis and observation of training exercises
Development of decision support systems based on empirical insights
Practical application by upgrading skills through education and shaping public and private sector policies and practices through research

Emerging market development

Supply chains are fundamental in making products that are essential for human needs more affordable, available, and accessible in communities around the world.

Our research combines:

Empirical fieldwork to understand the business context in resource-constrained settings
Scientific models to design supply chains that incorporate these new paradigms
Systemic approaches to evaluate which products and processes are likely to reach scale