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The Magic Conveyor Belt: Supply Chains, A.I., and the Future of Work
What’s involved in getting products to the shelf or to your home? What does the journey from mined materials to toys available for purchase look like? What exactly are supply chains and just how complex are they? How much advanced technology is involved? How will robots and AI impact jobs as their use grows?
This book offers explanations to all these questions and much more, with historical perspectives and modern examples. It covers contemporary issues of outsourcing and reshoring, sustainability, resilience, regulations and the social, managerial, and policy issues resulting from technological innovations.
EXPERTS ARE TALKING ABOUT THE MAGIC CONVEYOR BELT
"Professor Sheffi brilliantly explains the arcane and vital supply chains that make the world work in this highly useful book for the average person and logistics professionals alike." — Frederick W. Smith, Founder and Executive Chairman, FedEx Corporation
"The pandemic has brought to everyone’s attention the importance of supply chains. Professor Sheffi’s tour-de-force explains how these massive networks operate in a complex, ever-changing world. The book sheds lights on the use of modern technology in running these networks, and the cooperative roles of both people and technology in the future. A must-read." — Hamid Moghadam, CEO, Prologis Inc.
"Professor Sheffi explains in clear language the complexities of global supply chains and their future in a technology-infused world. It is an essential read for anybody who wants to understand how just about everything we use reaches us, and how it will happen in the future. His explanation of the role of A.I. is illuminating – he explains why rather than replacing jobs, it will augment, change, and create new jobs in supply chains and elsewhere." — Vincent Clerc, CEO, A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S
"Yossi does a masterful job of storytelling the present and future of supply chains so that the complex, highly interdependent, and globally connected processes to bring everyday items to the doorstep of the consumer are well understood. As only Yossi can, he carefully explains where supply chains exist today and bridges to a future harmonious blend of people, processes, and Artificial Intelligence that every supply chain professional needs to understand. This book is a must for anyone looking to “see” into the future of possibilities. The supply chains of today are transforming and Yossi’s “The Magic Conveyor Belt” demonstrates that the future is not just about any one thing but in fact, how all things must work together for the good of mankind…including human competency and capability!" — Mark S. Baxa, President & CEO, Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)
This book offers explanations to all these questions and much more, with historical perspectives and modern examples. It covers contemporary issues of outsourcing and reshoring, sustainability, resilience, regulations and the social, managerial, and policy issues resulting from technological innovations.
EXPERTS ARE TALKING ABOUT THE MAGIC CONVEYOR BELT
"Professor Sheffi brilliantly explains the arcane and vital supply chains that make the world work in this highly useful book for the average person and logistics professionals alike." — Frederick W. Smith, Founder and Executive Chairman, FedEx Corporation
"The pandemic has brought to everyone’s attention the importance of supply chains. Professor Sheffi’s tour-de-force explains how these massive networks operate in a complex, ever-changing world. The book sheds lights on the use of modern technology in running these networks, and the cooperative roles of both people and technology in the future. A must-read." — Hamid Moghadam, CEO, Prologis Inc.
"Professor Sheffi explains in clear language the complexities of global supply chains and their future in a technology-infused world. It is an essential read for anybody who wants to understand how just about everything we use reaches us, and how it will happen in the future. His explanation of the role of A.I. is illuminating – he explains why rather than replacing jobs, it will augment, change, and create new jobs in supply chains and elsewhere." — Vincent Clerc, CEO, A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S
"Yossi does a masterful job of storytelling the present and future of supply chains so that the complex, highly interdependent, and globally connected processes to bring everyday items to the doorstep of the consumer are well understood. As only Yossi can, he carefully explains where supply chains exist today and bridges to a future harmonious blend of people, processes, and Artificial Intelligence that every supply chain professional needs to understand. This book is a must for anyone looking to “see” into the future of possibilities. The supply chains of today are transforming and Yossi’s “The Magic Conveyor Belt” demonstrates that the future is not just about any one thing but in fact, how all things must work together for the good of mankind…including human competency and capability!" — Mark S. Baxa, President & CEO, Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)
378 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 24, 2023
39 people are currently reading
177 people want to read
About the author
Yossi Sheffi
25 books22 followersProfessor Yossi Sheffi is Director of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL), and Director and Founder of the Master of Engineering in Logistics Program. He is a faculty member of the MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, as well as the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society. He is an expert in systems optimization, risk analysis and supply chain management and is the author of a text book Urban Transportation Networks: Equilibrium Analysis with Mathematical Programming Methods (1985) and four award-winning management books: : The Resilient Enterprise: Overcoming Vulnerability for Competitive Advantage (2005); Logistics Clusters: Delivering Value and Driving Growth (2012); The Power of Resilience: How the Best Companies Manage the Unexpected (2015); Balancing Green: When to Embrace Sustainability in Business (and When Not to) (2018). His latest book is The New (Ab)Normal: Reshaping Business and Supply Chain Strategy Beyond Covid-19 (October 2020).
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 30, 2023
low key kinda interesting.
easy to understand a bunch of example.
easy to understand a bunch of example.
July 6, 2023
Game Changer
One of the best supply chain books I’ve ever read. The perspective of integrating AI and technology with the human factor for the present and future jobs is amazing
One of the best supply chain books I’ve ever read. The perspective of integrating AI and technology with the human factor for the present and future jobs is amazing
February 7, 2024
A “supply chain” is the network of activities, transactions, persons, processes, and materials involved in the manufacture and delivery of goods and services to the consumer. COVID lockdowns, misinformation, and disruptive policies drove global events that provided a very unwelcome introduction to the negative aspects of extended supply chains. Foundation for Economic Education (fee.org) founder, Leonard Read wrote an engaging description of supply chains in his 1958 essay (link below), “I, Pencil: My family Tree” MIT Professor Yossi Sheffi’s latest book “The Magic Conveyor Belt” expands the topic to reflect today’s situation and emergent challenges. He combines relevant aspects of “Supply Chains, A.I., and the Future of Work”, to educate and enlighten this once arcane topic.
In a manner reminiscent of F. A. Hayek in his influential paper (link below), “The Use of Knowledge in Society,” Professor Sheffi delivers insights and advice useful to operations managers, as well as those involved or interested in planning education policies, technology application, government, and institutional decision-making. Mixing anecdotes and straightforward diagrams, he shows how an increasingly digitized and connected world makes supply chain management more difficult and complex. He educates the reader on supply chain strengths and weaknesses, as well as the evolving nature of its challenges and benefits.
Easily understood text and clear illustrations reveal how even the simplest products involve a mind-numbing number of individuals, interdependent activities, decisions, and movement to reach a consumer. Once equipped with this model of the supply chain, Professor Sheffi reviews real challenges and their resolution. He includes a discussion of the classical problem of routing deliveries to optimize time use, resources, and customer service. Descriptions are informative, avoiding excessive detail.
He next discusses how companies minimize material availability problems due to natural (or man-made) disasters. Other examples include examining tradeoffs of local versus (inter)national sourcing. Balancing risks and benefits of vertical versus horizontal process integration. He includes a discussion on emerging issues which will require processing massive amounts of data, and potentially bot-human operation partnerships to resolve. Finally, he discusses how education has and must continue to change to effectively serve society and its citizens for the future.
Readers will better understand the functioning of an evolving business environment, and the significant impact of emerging technologies, and how these capabilities escalate complexity. They get insightful advice for themselves and society on how to prepare for changing work and learning environments. He concludes with a discussion of existing solutions (smart bots, quantum computing) that will facilitate problem solving.
Whether the readers’ interest is as consumer, student, technical, or business professional, clear examples and descriptive scenarios assure they come away with insights into the complex challenges of managing networks spanning production, distribution, and consumption. The insights will benefit anyone concerned about or involved in education, technology application, and evolving social and governmental policies. I highly recommend this book.
See:
https://fee.org/resources/i-pencil/
https://german.yale.edu/sites/default...
In a manner reminiscent of F. A. Hayek in his influential paper (link below), “The Use of Knowledge in Society,” Professor Sheffi delivers insights and advice useful to operations managers, as well as those involved or interested in planning education policies, technology application, government, and institutional decision-making. Mixing anecdotes and straightforward diagrams, he shows how an increasingly digitized and connected world makes supply chain management more difficult and complex. He educates the reader on supply chain strengths and weaknesses, as well as the evolving nature of its challenges and benefits.
Easily understood text and clear illustrations reveal how even the simplest products involve a mind-numbing number of individuals, interdependent activities, decisions, and movement to reach a consumer. Once equipped with this model of the supply chain, Professor Sheffi reviews real challenges and their resolution. He includes a discussion of the classical problem of routing deliveries to optimize time use, resources, and customer service. Descriptions are informative, avoiding excessive detail.
He next discusses how companies minimize material availability problems due to natural (or man-made) disasters. Other examples include examining tradeoffs of local versus (inter)national sourcing. Balancing risks and benefits of vertical versus horizontal process integration. He includes a discussion on emerging issues which will require processing massive amounts of data, and potentially bot-human operation partnerships to resolve. Finally, he discusses how education has and must continue to change to effectively serve society and its citizens for the future.
Readers will better understand the functioning of an evolving business environment, and the significant impact of emerging technologies, and how these capabilities escalate complexity. They get insightful advice for themselves and society on how to prepare for changing work and learning environments. He concludes with a discussion of existing solutions (smart bots, quantum computing) that will facilitate problem solving.
Whether the readers’ interest is as consumer, student, technical, or business professional, clear examples and descriptive scenarios assure they come away with insights into the complex challenges of managing networks spanning production, distribution, and consumption. The insights will benefit anyone concerned about or involved in education, technology application, and evolving social and governmental policies. I highly recommend this book.
See:
https://fee.org/resources/i-pencil/
https://german.yale.edu/sites/default...
November 7, 2025
A great read detailing the importance of Supply Chains and how they move goods from raw materials to finished products on store shelves. The author reveals the logistics, technology, and human coordination behind what often appears to be a seamless process but is ever changing and dealing with the world’s uncertainties. Highly recommend reading this book if your exposure to the importance of Supply Chain only came about from the COVID pandemic.
October 21, 2024
Great summary of the history of tech in the business world. I’ve bought this book for friends who didn’t grow up in tech but want to learn more to expand the kinds of jobs they can apply for.
Great stories throughout of why and how companies innovate.
Comprehensive and yet easy to follow explanations of supply chain evolution as well.
Great stories throughout of why and how companies innovate.
Comprehensive and yet easy to follow explanations of supply chain evolution as well.
November 14, 2023
This has to be the best book on Supply Chain in the recent times in the context of the wave of AI/ML sweeping this domain. A finely balanced book on the fundamentals and the emerging tech and well explained with insightful examples. The style of Professor Sheffi is very engaging and inspiring.
April 25, 2024
Some great, detailed supply chain examples in here. The back half of the book about AI, wasn’t helpful - so many maybe statements about the future that added no value i.e. “jobs may decrease, or they might increase”. Could have used a much heavier edit - rambled at times.
December 9, 2023
Entertaining read about where Supply Chains originated and where it is going next.
February 1, 2025
Very basic info, hardly any AI, just regurgitating supply chain concepts
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews