New research center to open in South America

Companies in Latin America will soon have a new resource that could help them better manage their supply chains. Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Transportation and Logistics (MIT-CTL) signed a 10-year agreement worth US $19 million with LOGyCA, a Colombia-based logistics company, to create the Center for Latin American Logistics Innovation (CLLI). As part of the deal, LOGyCA gave a US $4 million gift to MIT-CTL. LOGyCA will house the center in its Bogotá, Colombia, headquarters.

The new organization becomes the third member of MIT's growing international network of centers dedicated to supply chain education. MIT-CTL already has a similar center in Europe, located in Zaragoza, Spain, as well as its original location in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

CLLI will deliver research, technology, and educational programs in logistics and supply chain management, helping businesses and individuals compete in local, regional, and global markets. "Latin American business leaders will have access to world-class academic programs that will contribute to improving value chains through the continent," said Rafael Florez, director of LOGyCA, in an announcement heralding the agreement.

[Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Transportation and Logistics, http://ctl.mit.edu]