MIT CTL’s Chris Caplice Receives CSCMP 2016 Distinguished Service Award

Dr. Chris Caplice, Executive Director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics (MIT CTL), will receive the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ (CSCMP) 2016 Distinguished Service Award. He will be presented with the award during the Opening General Session at CSCMP’s Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida on Monday, September 26, 2016.

The award is one of the industry’s most prestigious honors, bestowed upon an individual for significant achievements in the logistics and supply chain management professions.

“It’s a tremendous honor to receive CSCMP’s highest award, and a recognition of the leading role MIT CTL now plays in supply chain education and research across the globe,” said Caplice.

“Dr. Caplice has dedicated himself to being a leader in supply chain management, from his involvement in education, to his innovative work in identifying and developing technologies that have contributed to the improved efficiency and effectiveness of transportation, logistics, and supply chain processes, he has had a dramatic impact in shaping the supply chain discipline as we know it,” said Rick Blasgen, President and CEO, CSCMP.

In addition to his role as executive director at MIT CTL, Dr. Caplice is also the Chief Scientist at Chainalytics, LLC. Previously, he has held key roles at Logistics.com, Sabre Holdings, and the Virginia Military Institute, and served as an officer in the US Army. He is among an elite group of supply chain professionals who have made contributions to the discipline from both an industry and an academic perspective.

“Dr. Caplice’s research is path-breaking academically. It has been used by numerous companies to improve their operations, cut costs, and improve service levels. His work has even contributed to various governments’ understanding of the challenges of supply chain management. His body of contributions combines innovation, sustained impact and professional leadership. It is difficult for me to think of a supply chain management professional who is more deserving, ” said nominator Yossi Sheffi, Elisha Gray II Professor of Engineering Systems, MIT, and Director of MIT CTL. Professor Sheffi received the CSCMP Distinguished Service Award in 1997.

Currently, Dr. Caplice is leading a new program at MIT called the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management where learners all over the world are able to take courses online, complete a comprehensive exam, and then apply to MIT. If accepted, these individuals are able to attend MIT for a semester, and obtain a master’s degree.

Owing to Dr. Caplice’s innovations in online learning, MIT’s supply chain management program was chosen to lead this initiative. Dr. Caplice has already run three of these courses, serving 97,000 students from over 175 countries. He is leading the charge in democratizing supply chain knowledge. This is the second honor he has received from CSCMP. In 1997 Caplice won the CSCMP Doctoral Dissertation award.