Companies in Latin America will soon have a new place to turn for help boosting their supply chain performance. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL) and the logistics company LOGyCA have teamed up to establish the Center for Latin-American Logistics Innovation (CLLI) at LOGyCA's headquarters in Bogotá, Colombia. CLLI will support research, technology, and educational programs in logistics, transportation, and supply chain management.

MIT and LOGyCA inked a $19 million deal to create the center, which will become the third segment of MIT's international network of facilities dedicated to supply chain education and research. The others are MIT's home base in Cambridge, Mass., and the Zaragoza Logistics Center in Spain. The contract includes a $4 million gift from LOGyCA.

Yossi Sheffi, CTL's director and professor of engineering systems at MIT, says the new research center will help companies worldwide stay on the cutting edge of supply chain advances.

Rafael Florez, director of LOGyCA, adds that CLLI will play a role in strengthening the development of Latin American logistics practices. "By joining the MIT-CTL network, CLLI will actively participate in the development of global educational and research programs," he said in a statement announcing the new venture. "It will also give CLLI the opportunity to develop solutions that reflect the unique logistics and supply chain challenges in our economies. Latin American business leaders will have access to world-class academic programs that will contribute to improving value chains through the continent."