Hello, I'm

Alex Carroll

PhD Candidate at MIT

Center for Transportation & Logistics | Deep Knowledge Lab

I enhance global supply chain performance by leveraging AI, optimization, and advanced analytics to transform procurement, logistics, and energy systems. Currently exploring how agentic AI technologies can revolutionize supplier intelligence and transportation.

Alex Carroll - PhD Candidate at MIT

About Me

I'm a PhD candidate at MIT's Center for Transportation & Logistics, where I develop and deploy machine learning and operations research solutions that connect forecasting with decision models to drive efficiency, resilience, and sustainability in global supply chains.

My research sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence and supply chain optimization. I believe we're at the cusp of an amazing transformation in supply chain research and the overall global economy—and I'm committed to being at the forefront of that change.

Before MIT, I held leadership and analytics roles at Amazon (Tokyo), Flock Freight, Zillow, and Arrive Logistics, where I developed pricing strategies, implemented ML systems, and led operations teams. My time as a site leader at Amazon Japan (Tokyo) gave me invaluable cross-cultural leadership experience and a deep appreciation for operational excellence.

Research Interests

  • Agentic AI for Procurement & Supply Chain Decision-Making
  • Supplier Intelligence Systems Across Heterogeneous Enterprise Data
  • Reinforcement Learning & Dynamic Programming for Routing and Pricing
  • Forecasting & Optimization for Logistics Networks

Education

PhD in Transportation
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
AI for Supply Chain Systems
2025 – Present (Expected 2028)
Master of Applied Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Supply Chain Management
2023 – 2024
Master of Business Administration
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2021 – 2023
Bachelor of Arts
The University of Texas at Austin
2011 – 2016

Technical Skills

Python PyTorch TensorFlow SQL Git Agentic AI Reinforcement Learning Dynamic Programming Optimization Forecasting Power BI Tableau Snowflake LaTeX

Languages

English Native
Japanese Intermediate
Spanish Basic

Research

As a PhD Researcher at MIT's Center for Transportation and Logistics (Deep Knowledge Lab), I focus on developing AI-driven solutions for procurement, supplier intelligence, and logistics optimization.

Agentic AI for Procurement

Building agentic AI systems that enable procurement-focused agents to retrieve, reconcile, and synthesize evidence from RFx documents, supplier master data, and contract repositories distributed across heterogeneous data silos and database types.

Supplier Intelligence

Designing end-to-end workflows for supplier intelligence, including document understanding and structured extraction, retrieval over multi-format artifacts, and tool-using agents that generate auditable outputs for sourcing, compliance checks, and contract term comparisons.

Reinforcement Learning for Routing

Developing reinforcement learning and dynamic programming methodologies for operational decision problems, including optimal routing in maritime and over-the-road settings under realistic constraints (capacity, service times, and cost structures).

Forecasting & Optimization

Integrating machine learning forecasting with optimization models for logistics networks, including demand prediction in volatile environments and dynamic pricing for freight services.

Publications & Academic Work

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Conference Proceedings

Drop Trailer Forecasting in Volatile Networks

15th International Conference on Ambient Systems, Networks and Technologies (ANT), Procedia Computer Science, Elsevier

April 2024

Trade Publication

Drop Trailer Management in Volatile Networks

Supply Chain Management Review Magazine

June 25, 2025

Conference Proceedings

Enhancing Sentiment Classification of E-commerce Reviews for Actionable Insights using LLMs

IEEE

September 2025

Working Papers & Preprints

Under Review

Fast Barge, Smart Prices: Deep RL for Mississippi Container Service

Annals of Operations Research

December 2025 (Under Review)

Technical Reports & Capstone Work

MIT Supply Chain Management Capstone Research

Drop Trailer Management in Volatile Networks

MIT DSpace

May 2024

Talks & Presentations

Presenter

Drop Trailer Management in Volatile Networks

SCALE Expo, MIT

January 2024

Lecturer

Advanced Analytics for Efficient Supply Chains

7th Interdisciplinary Conference on Production, Logistics and Traffic, Darmstadt, Germany

March 2025

Presenter

Enhancing Sentiment Classification of E-commerce Reviews for Actionable Insights using LLMs

IEEE High Performance Extreme Computing Conference

September 2025

Presenter

From Silos to Agentic Systems: Leveraging Agentic AI for Supplier Intelligence

MIT CTL Agentic AI Roundtable

December 2025

Teaching Experience

Instructor

AI in Supply Chain and Logistics Management

MIT CTL Summer School

July 2025

Teaching Assistant

SCM.256 Data Science and Machine Learning for Supply Chain Management

MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics

Spring 2026

Experience

Senior Operations Manager

Amazon Tokyo, Japan
Jun 2024 – Aug 2025
  • Led site operations for 300+ Associates, achieving #1 ranked site metrics (Q3) for JP Super Region 3
  • Drove 11% QTR increase in throughput per hour, processing 110,000+ packages per day
  • Implemented AI-driven sortation process, reducing mis-sorts by 9% and saving 11,500 labor hours annually
  • Boosted employee engagement scores by 22% and reduced incident rates by 15%

Senior Analyst - Operations & Analytics

Flock Freight San Diego, CA
Jan 2022 – Aug 2023
  • Managed dynamic pricing model providing real-time quoting for 60%+ of company revenue
  • Improved costing model accuracy by 10% (MAPE), generating $6MM YoY in cost savings
  • Collaborated cross-functionally to implement APE ML pricing engine, reducing labor hours by 40%
  • Automated batch rating tools, removing workload equivalent of 4 QA associates

Pricing Analyst - Acquisitions

Zillow Seattle, WA
Jun 2021 – Dec 2021
  • Led valuation of $200MM+ in residential real estate using internal and external datasets
  • Enhanced team accuracy (MAPE) by 2.7% through outlier analysis within sales funnel
  • Executed 5 adopted proposals to revamp efficiency metrics, reducing case time by 18%

Pricing Analyst - Strategy

Arrive Logistics Austin, TX
Feb 2017 – Jun 2021
  • Championed strategic pricing optimization, increasing contract revenue by 320% (Jan 2018 – Jan 2021)
  • Led multiple simultaneous deals ($1M–$30M), closing $150M+ in revenue through tenure
  • Maintained in-depth knowledge of industry trends and market dynamics for strategic insights

Get in Touch

I'm always interested in discussing research collaborations, industry partnerships, or opportunities to advance supply chain innovation.

Affiliation

MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics
Deep Knowledge Lab
Cambridge, MA

Connect With Me

Professional Memberships

  • INFORMS
  • Transportation Research Board
  • World Conference On Transport Research Society

Service & Community

  • Austin Oita Sister City Committee Member
  • Keep Austin Beautiful Volunteer
  • Japan Society of Boston (Member)