Dr. Sheffi did a fabulous job and we had nothing but positive feedback from attendees as well as BNSF folks. – BNSF Railway
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Yossi Sheffi
Best-Selling Author, MIT Professor, Keynote Speaker
Mollie Plotkin Group Exclusive
Best-selling author, entrepreneur, and MIT Professor Dr. Yossi Sheffi is a keynote speaker with expertise in systems optimization, risk analysis, and supply chain management.
Meet Yossi Sheffi
Dr. Yossi Sheffi is a keynote speaker and expert in systems optimization, risk analysis, and supply chain management. Dr. Sheffi holds a diverse set of distinguished academic positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Principally, he is the Elisha Gray II Professor of Engineering Systems at MIT.
He is also a best-selling author of nine award-winning books and is a frequent contributor to the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, Bloomberg, Sloan Management Review, and Supply Chain Management Review, and many others. His latest book is The Magic Conveyor Belt: Supply Chains, A.I., and the Future of Work (April 2023). He also authored books on business resilience, sustainability, clustering, and other topics.
Leading enterprises around the world hire Yossi Sheffi for business consultation and keynote speaking. Dr. Sheffi is a successful founder or co-founder of five disruptive and innovative businesses in tech and logistics. Yossi Sheffi is available to be booked for corporate and private events. Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group today to inquire about Yossi Sheffi’s fees.
Want to book Yossi Sheffi for an event?
Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group at 215-995-0905 to book Yossi Sheffi for a keynote speech, corporate event, leadership program, workshop, fireside chat, virtual appearance, or other private or professional event.
Our team will help confirm Yossi Sheffi’s availability, speaking fee, travel requirements, and fit for your audience. To start the booking process, please share your event date, location, audience size, event format, and the type of presentation you are looking for.
The Mollie Plotkin Group is a full-service keynote speaker agency and entertainment bureau that helps organizations secure keynote speakers, entertainers, athletes, celebrities, and thought leaders for corporate meetings, conferences, fundraisers, and special events.
Biography
Academic Career
In 1975, Yossi Sheffi obtained his Bachelor of Science from the Technion in Israel. He obtained his Master of Science and PhD from MIT in 1977 and 1978 respectively.
Today he resides in Boston, Massachusetts, and holds several directorial positions at MIT.
Dr. 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 the director and founder of the Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence (SCALE) network of six academic centers around the world.
He is a faculty member of the MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, as well as the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society.
Under his leadership, the MIT CTL has launched many educational, research, and industry/government outreach programs. Notably, he led the launch of the MIT online MITx MicroMasters program in supply chain management. Launched in 2016, it enrolled its 1 millionth (!) registrant in November 2022, attracting learners from 196 countries.
Private Enterprise and Consultation
He is a global expert in systems optimization, risk analysis, supply chain management, and the usage and impacts of advanced technologies, subjects that he researches, teaches, and writes about.
Dr. Sheffi has consulted with numerous governments and leading manufacturing, retail, and transportation enterprises all over the world. He has also founded or co-founded five successful companies:
- LogiCorp (acquired by Ryder in 1994)
- PTCG (acquired by Sabre in 1996)
- e-Chemicals (acquired by AspenTech in 2001)
- Logistics.com (acquired by Manhattan Associates in 2003)
- Syncra Systems (acquired by Oracle in 2004)
Awards and Recognition
Dr. Sheffi has been recognized in numerous ways in academic and industry forums, including the 1997 Distinguished Service Award, the highest award given by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, and many others. In addition, he is a life fellow of Cambridge University’s Clare Hall College, and an honorary doctor of science of the University of Zaragoza in Spain.
How to Hire Yossi Sheffi
To hire Yossi Sheffi for an event, contact the Mollie Plotkin Group with the proposed event date, location, audience size, event format and program goals. Yossi Sheffi is available for corporate events, conferences, leadership meetings, private events, workshops, fireside chats and virtual programs.
After receiving your request, a Mollie Plotkin Group booking agent will review Yossi Sheffi’s availability, discuss the event details and get back to you within 48 hours with next steps for securing Yossi Sheffi for your program.
Yossi Sheffi Booking Fee
The cost to book Yossi Sheffi depends on the event date, location, format, audience size and scope of the appearance. Yossi Sheffi’s speaking fee ranges from $45,000 to $65,000, while virtual programs typically start at $20,000. Speaking fees may vary for keynote speeches, workshops, fireside chats, private events, corporate meetings and virtual programs.
For the most accurate Yossi Sheffi booking fee, contact the Mollie Plotkin Group with your event details. Our team will help confirm availability, pricing and the best format for your event.
Speaking Topics & Programs
Dr. Yossi Sheffi is a highly sought-after keynote speaker who specializes in trending topics such as supply chain and risk management.
AI and the Future of Work
The Capabilities of Automation
Based on his book: The Magic Conveyor Belt: Supply Chains, A.I., and the Future of Work (April 2023), Professor Sheffi analyzes past technological changes and what the future workplace will look like. He will also outline the roles of individuals, companies, and governments in preparing for the future. In this speech, Professor Sheffi addresses the following questions:
- Will advanced technology replace jobs?
- Will AI make people redundant?
- What will the future workplace look like?
Supply Chain Resilience
The essence of prevention, detection, and response.
Companies’ fortunes in the face of disruption depend more on the choices made before the shock than actions taken in the midst of it. The interconnectedness of the global economy today means that unexpected events in one corner of the globe can ripple through the world’s supply chain and affect customers everywhere. This presentation includes examples of Yossi Sheffi’s extensive experience working with companies before, during, and after major disruptions. Furthermore, Professor Sheffi will cover:
- How companies can build flexibility throughout their supply chains
- How corporate culture can make or break a company’s flexibility in disruption
- Case studies from leading organizations
The Pandemic Impact on Supply Chains
The New (AB)NORMAL
In this presentation, Professor Sheffi discusses the impact of the pandemic, as well as current events, on the structure of future supply chains. Sheffi conducted research with multiple companies during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, he wrote two books concerning the pandemic, “The New (AB)NORMAL)” and “A Shot In The Arm,” that were widely acclaimed by academics and business leaders. In this presentation, Professor Sheffi will cover topics such as:
- The Future of Business in China
- JIT
- The notion that supply chains failed during the pandemic (they did not)
Sustainable Supply Chains
Handling Growth & Environmental Sustainability
For companies, sustainability is not a simple case of “profits versus planet.” Businesses face natural resource costs, public relations problems, regulatory burdens, and a green consumer segment. In this presentation, Professor Sheffi sheds light on:
- What it takes to build a green supply chain
- The difficulties of building a green supply chain and lack of consumers’ “buy in”
- Whether, and to what extent, companies should invest and engage in green initiatives
Logistics Clusters
Delivering Value and Driving Growth
Yossi Sheffi based this groundbreaking presentation on his research that addresses unexplained business trends that are rooted in logistics clusters – geographically concentrated sets of logistics related business activity. Professor Sheffi covers:
- Why multiple companies of the same type like to luster geographically
- Why competitors benefit from geographical proximity
- What real-world examples demonstrate these phenomena
Featured Client Reviews for Yossi Sheffi
Dr. Sheffi was able to showcase the magnitude of this growing industry and all the opportunities it brings. – Thania Ríos, Associate Dean of Miami Dade College School of Business
Dr. Yossi Sheffi’s session at our customer event provided an insightful perspective
on the forces shaping the future of supply chains. His framing set the tone for the discussions that followed, and his ability to combine deep academic rigour with real-world examples resonated strongly with our audience of senior supply chain leaders. We are grateful for the perspective he brought to the conversation.
— Mikkel Rasmussen, Global Head of Sales, Maersk
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Books by Yossi Sheffi
Ideas worth taking offstage.
Discover books from Yossi Sheffi and continue exploring their ideas beyond the keynote.
Featured Book
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.
Also by Yossi Sheffi
Strategic Planning for Dynamic Supply Chains: Preparing for Uncertainty Using Scenarios
Springer International Publishing · 2026
Strategic Planning for Dynamic Supply Chains is a guide to using scenarios when the future cannot be forecast with confidence. The book explains how organizations can build plausible alternative futures, test strategic choices against them and improve decision-making under uncertainty. Its focus is not predicting exactly what will happen, but preparing supply-chain strategies that remain useful across multiple possible conditions.
Also by Yossi Sheffi
A Shot in the Arm: How Science, Engineering, and Supply Chains Converged to Vaccinate the World
MIT CTL Media · 2026
A Shot in the Arm traces the extraordinary path from vaccine science to billions of doses moving through a global supply network. The book shows how research, manufacturing, logistics, regulation and distribution had to converge at unprecedented speed during the COVID-19 pandemic. It uses that effort as a case study in what large, interconnected systems can accomplish — and where they fail — when the world faces a shared emergency.
Also by Yossi Sheffi
The New (Ab)Normal : Reshaping Business and Supply Chain Strategy beyond Covid-19
Transoft Inc. · 2026
The New (Ab)Normal examines how COVID-19 exposed the strengths, weaknesses and dependencies of modern supply chains. Drawing on executive interviews, historical analysis and events from the pandemic, the book follows how businesses and governments responded to sudden shortages, demand swings and operational disruption. It then looks beyond the immediate crisis to the strategic changes likely to reshape supply chains in the years that follow.
Also by Yossi Sheffi
Balancing Green: When to Embrace Sustainability in a Business (and When Not To)
The MIT Press · 2026
Balancing Green takes a pragmatic look at the tension between environmental goals and the other demands placed on a business. Through examples from companies with very different strategies, the book examines when sustainability investments create operational, reputational or financial value and when tradeoffs become unavoidable. It offers leaders a framework for making environmental decisions without pretending that every green initiative is automatically good business.
Also by Yossi Sheffi
The Power of Resilience: How the Best Companies Manage the Unexpected
The MIT Press · 2026
The Power of Resilience examines how global companies prepare for and recover from disruptions that can spread rapidly through interconnected supply chains. Using examples ranging from natural disasters to strikes, product failures and technological change, the book explains how visibility, redundancy, collaboration and organizational design affect resilience. It focuses on building systems that can absorb shocks without sacrificing the efficiency required to compete.
Videos
How Culture Drives Business - From A Supply Chain Expert
The Network Effect - MIT Professor Yossi Sheffi
Dr. Yossi Sheffi | Supply Contracts: Risk Sharing in the Supply Chain
The Magic Conveyor Belt: Yossi Sheffi Interview with Susan Lacefield