Author. Professor. Influencer. | Professor Yossi Sheffi

A Career Spanning Innovation, Education, and Impact

For over five decades, Professor Yossi Sheffi has shaped the landscape of supply chain management, logistics, and systems thinking through three distinct yet interconnected roles. As an author, he has documented critical insights on resilience, innovation, and the future of work. As a professor, he has built world-class educational programs that have influenced thousands of students and professionals across the globe. And as a recognized #1 supply chain influencer, he has advised governments and Fortune 500 companies, founded transformative enterprises, and shaped industry thinking on critical global challenges.

Explore his multifaceted contributions across these three dimensions.

Author

Sheffi is a prolific author of nine supply chain management books spanning topics including resilience, logistics, sustainability, strategy, and the intersection of AI with future work. He has also written a student account of life on MIT campus and a textbook on urban transportation networks. His books are widely adopted in business schools and cited throughout industry publications, reflecting their impact on contemporary supply chain thinking.

Professor

As Director of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, Sheffi founded the Master of Engineering in Logistics Program (1998), the Master of Applied Sciences in Supply Chain Management (2018), and the MITx MicroMasters® Program in Supply Chain Management, which has reached over 1 million learners globally. Through international expansion, he has established academic centers across Spain, Latin America, China, and the UK. His academic legacy spans generations of leaders who have transformed supply chain practice globally.

Influencer & Entrepreneur

Through advisory relationships with governments and Fortune 500 companies, Sheffi shapes global supply chain strategy and industry thinking. His thought leadership appears regularly in peer-reviewed journals and major publications including Harvard Business Review and the Financial Times. A serial entrepreneur, he has founded or co-founded five successful companies, translating complex supply chain challenges into actionable solutions that advance both enterprise performance and industry innovation.

Books

Explore Sheffi's authored books spanning supply chain management, resilience, sustainability, and the future of work.

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The New (AB)Normal: Reshaping Business and Supply Chain Strategy Beyond Covid-19

In this book, MIT Professor Yossi Sheffi examines how the Covid-19 pandemic and supply chains shaped the crisis response. Drawing on executive interviews, historical analysis, and his prior work on resilience, Sheffi explores how the pandemic transformed human life and what the post-pandemic world will look like.

Cover art for (AB)Normal

Logistics Clusters

Supply chain expert Professor Yossi Sheffi explains why certain geographic locations like Memphis, Singapore, and Rotterdam have successfully developed logistics clusters while others have not. He outlines how these concentrated logistics hubs create positive feedback loops, generate economic value, and the role government support plays in their development.

Cover art for book: Logistics Clusters

Strategic Planning for Dynamic Supply Chains

A practical guide to scenario planning that outlines the core process, illustrates it with real-world case studies of different organization types, and provides frameworks for assessing whether scenario planning has effectively improved strategic decision-making.

Cover art for Strategic Planning book

Unsafe at MIT - a Chronicle of a Campus War on the Jews

Departing from his typical focus on supply chain and logistics topics, Sheffi authored Unsafe at MIT, A Chronicle of a Campus War on the Jews, a firsthand account documenting how the October 7 conflict transformed campus life for Jewish and Israeli students at MIT (2026).

Cover art for book Unsafe at MIT

A Shot in the Arm - How Science, Engineering, and Supply Chains Converged to Vaccinate the World

MIT Professor Yossi Sheffi recounts the vaccine’s world-changing journey from scientific breakthrough, to coronavirus antidote, to mass vaccination. Plus he explores how the mission could transform how the world combats other global-scale challenges.

cover art for A shot in the Arm

Balancing Green: When to Embrace Sustainability in a Business (and When Not To)

In this book, supply chain business strategy expert Professor Yossi Sheffi offers a pragmatic approach to how companies of all sizes navigate competing stakeholder demands for corporate profits, jobs, growth, and environmental sustainability.

Cover art: Balancing Green

The Resilient Enterprise

In "The Resilient Enterprise," Professor Yossi Sheffi argues that corporate survival depends on preparation before disruptions occur rather than response during crises. Through case studies including Toyota and UPS, he provides tools for building supply chain resilience and turning it into competitive advantage.

Cover art for book: Resilient Enterprise

The Power of Resilience: How the Best Companies Manage the Unexpected

In "The Power of Resilience," Yossi Sheffi explores how global supply chain disruptions require companies to build corporate resilience and risk management processes. Through case studies including Intel's response to the 2011 Japanese tsunami, Professor Sheffi demonstrates how companies can emerge stronger from disruption by balancing growth with advanced risk management.

Cover art for book The Power of Resilience

Urban Transportation Networks

Equilibrium Analysis with Mathematical Programming Methods

Cover art for Urban Transportation Networks

The Magic Conveyor Belt: Supply Chains, A.I., and the Future of Work

This book explores the vital role of global supply chains in the modern economy, and how they have been impacted by the societal and economic spasms of the early 2020s. Divided into four parts, it covers the history of supply chain management, the complexities of meeting growing consumer demands for fast delivery services, the impact of technology, and how people can succeed in an increasingly complex and automated future.

cover art for book: The Magic Conveyor Belt

Sheffi sitting at the bottom of a staircase

Latest Thought Leadership

In his latest Chain Reaction newsletter, Professor Sheffi examines "Who Should Control the Strait of Hormuz? Nobody." A new regional consortium proposal promises to restore order, but he warns it could trigger a dangerous precedent for global supply chains.

Read the newsletter

News & Appearances

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September 1, 2026

MIT's Prof. Yossi Sheffi Earns Three Recent Top Supply Chain Leadership Recognitions

August 18, 2026

Sheffi tops list of outstanding supply chain thought leaders

Podcast | Supply Chains, A.I., and the Future of Work

The Supply Chain Threat You May Not Have Seen Coming

February 24, 2026

What’s Behind Shein’s $1.4B China Bet

February 20, 2026

4 Things I Learned This Week

February 12, 2026

Professor Yossi Sheffi named #1 Supply Chain Influencer

January 8, 2026

Professor Yossi Sheffi Featured in Prologis Supply Chain Intelligence Report 2026

December 29, 2025

Lobster heist was third case of seafood theft in New England in recent weeks

November 14, 2025

Professor Yossi Sheffi wins "Outstanding Book Award"

See all news and appearances

Get in touch

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