About

Dr. Esther Ho

Data scientist · AI enthusiast · AI product developer

Deep in supply chain. 15+ years across enterprise consulting, a B2B startup I co-founded, and Asia-Pacific logistics. 11 production products shipped, from warehouse management systems to ML-driven network optimization tools.

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Story

I'm a data scientist who grew up in supply chain operations. Not the other way around. Fifteen years across FedEx Asia-Pacific, a B2B e-commerce startup I co-founded, a global strategy consultancy, and now back at a top operations consulting firm as Senior Vice President. The throughline is simple. I've been in the room when AI products had to actually ship, scale, and survive contact with real freight, real inventory, and real customers.

I founded Magic Port in 2014. It was a B2B e-commerce platform that hit $1M+ revenue in three years, with a reverse logistics product now used by 100+ organizations. I led an agile team of 8 through UI/UX, engineering, and the GTM into Asian markets. That experience taught me how to build product from zero with no safety net. It also taught me how to turn user pain into shippable features.

At enterprise scale I've run the same playbook inside top-tier consulting firms. 20+ customer interviews to anchor each product. Cross-functional teams of 10+ to deliver. ML and analytics where they actually improve the decision. Recent products include a network optimization tool that informed a $40M CAPEX decision, a procurement automation platform saving $20M+, and a WMS rollout that boosted EBITDA by $5M annually.

Credentials matter too. Doctoral degrees in Operations Research and Supply Chain Management from Rutgers Business School. MBA from Carnegie Mellon Tepper. CLTD instructor. Six Sigma Black Belt. The credential I trust most though is shipping eleven products that actually moved business metrics. If that's the kind of work you need, let's talk.

Products I've shipped

Eight products. Eleven figures of measurable impact.

A selection from across my career. Each was end-to-end product ownership: requirements and customer research, roadmap, partnering with engineering and operations, and measured outcomes after launch.

$40M

CAPEX impact

Network Optimization Tool

Strategy consulting · Luxury beverage Fortune 500

ML and ARIMA modeling system that informed a $40M+ CAPEX investment decision. Led the cross-functional analytics initiative through delivery.

$20M+

cost savings

Global Procurement Automation

Strategy consulting · EdTech enterprise

Vendor management and strategic sourcing platform across a 1,000+ product division. Defined the roadmap, ran the rollout.

+$5M

EBITDA annually

Warehouse Management System

Strategy consulting · '4-wall' warehouse improvement

Streamlined WMS with automated order processing. Owned requirements, prioritized features, partnered with engineering on delivery.

−10%

operational cost

Integrated Digital Supply Chain System

Operations consulting · WMS/TMS migration

End to end digital supply chain with live inventory management. Pioneered the product design and led the launch.

$1M+

revenue · 3 years

Magic Port B2B Platform

Magic Port · Co-founder & Product Director

Founded a B2B e-commerce startup from zero. Architected and shipped the product, scaled to 100+ electronics & appliance sellers.

100+

organizations

Reverse Logistics Platform

Magic Port · Agile team of 8

Solution-focused reverse logistics product. Owned UX, prioritized roadmap, partnered with engineering on agile delivery.

−15%

logistics cost

International Shipping System

FedEx Express · Top footwear brand

Bespoke shipping system integrating market features with order + customs workflows. Built around real customer-driven requirements.

−30%

training cost

Corporate Learning Platform

FedEx Express · 10 countries

Designed and rolled out a regional online learning platform. Drove product strategy and roadmap execution across APAC.

Career in three chapters

From freight in Asia Pacific to AI at Fortune 500 scale.

2005 → 2014

The operations chapter

Where I learned what a supply chain actually does

My first managers in Asia Pacific handed me the impossible accounts. The ones nobody else could crack. Stuck containers in Shenzhen. Customs nightmares between Taipei and Tokyo. A footwear brand that needed shipping to move 15% faster, somehow.

I learned the supply chain the way it actually happens. Not in textbooks. In airport hangars and customs offices and 3 AM calls about trucks that didn't show up. By the end I'd built a bespoke shipping system that cut a footwear brand's logistics cost by 15% and rolled out a learning product across 10 countries.

Asia Pacific freight · 10 countries · −15% logistics cost

2014 → 2017

The founder chapter

Where I learned what it means to actually ship product

At a certain point I had the audacity to think I could do better than the platforms I was helping clients pick. So I left and co-founded Magic Port.

B2B e-commerce. A reverse logistics product. A team of 8 through UI, engineering, and the GTM into Asian markets. Three years of saying yes to every customer and figuring out how to deliver. $1M+ revenue. Reverse logistics platform deployed at 100+ organizations. I learned how to build product with no safety net.

$1M+ revenue · 100+ organizations · team of 8

2019 → today

The enterprise chapter

Where I learned what AI does at scale

Back to enterprise consulting. First as Vice President at a top operations consulting firm. Then as Director of a Supply Chain Practice at a global strategy consultancy. Now Senior Vice President, back at the operations firm where I started this chapter, leading bigger engagements with bigger stakes.

The throughline. 20+ customer interviews to anchor every product. Cross-functional teams of 10+ to deliver. ML and analytics where they actually improve the decision. A network optimization tool that informed a $40M CAPEX call. Procurement automation saving $20M+. A WMS rollout that boosted EBITDA $5M a year.

And the doctorate at Rutgers. Because if I'm going to spend the rest of my career at the edge of AI and supply chain, I want the academic foundation under the practice.

$40M CAPEX informed · $20M+ saved · +$5M EBITDA

Credentials

Degrees and certifications.

Education

Doctorate from Rutgers Business School in Operations Research and Supply Chain Management. MBA in Strategy and Operations Management from Carnegie Mellon · Tepper.

Six Sigma Black Belt

Operational excellence

CLTD Instructor

APICS Certified Logistics

Microsoft Data Science

Applied ML & analytics

Coupa Network Optimization

Llamasoft certification

Tools I work in

Python · R · SQL · Alteryx · Tableau · SAP · Oracle · Salesforce · Jira · Figma · Mixpanel · Optimizely · Notion

What I'm working on now

Right now, in 2026.

Senior Vice President at a top operations consulting firm

Production AI for Fortune 500 logistics networks. Inventory, warehouse, network optimization, procurement automation.

Doctoral research on pharmaceutical reshoring

Rutgers Business School. Supply chain resilience patterns post-COVID, with implications for industrial policy.

Writing about applied AI in operations

The Radar (essays), The Casebook (real case studies), and Product Playground (live demos). What's actually working in practice, not what looks good on slides.

Have a product worth building?

Whether it's a supply chain digital product, an AI-driven decision tool, or a workflow that needs rethinking, send a short email with the context. I'll get back to you within one business day.

Book a 30-min scoping call