The shuttle-based storage solution will be showcased at the three-day trade event in Sydney from 23–25 June, marking the system’s first public appearance in the Australian market.

Designed for low to medium throughput operations, the Multishuttle FD targets a growing pain point across the supply chain sector — how to adopt automation incrementally as business needs evolve, rather than committing to large-scale infrastructure from the outset.

“Across Australia, businesses are under increasing pressure to do more within the same footprint, as rising industrial real estate costs make expansion less viable,” said David Rubie, ANZ Sales Director, Integrated Systems and Mobile Automation at Dematic.

“At the same time, many are hesitant to over-invest in automation before they fully understand an uncertain future demand. The challenge is finding solutions that deliver performance today while remaining flexible enough to scale over time,” he said.

The Multishuttle FD System accommodates case, carton, and tote storage across industries including general merchandise, apparel, spare parts, healthcare, food and beverage, wholesale, and third-party logistics.

The system is particularly suited to operations managing slower-moving inventory, complex SKU profiles, or space-constrained facilities where storage density is a priority.

A key differentiator is the system’s ability to double storage density within the same footprint across facilities up to 24 metres high.

Through double-deep or triple-deep storage configurations, the Multishuttle FD maximises vertical space utilisation — significantly increasing available storage locations and unlocking greater capacity without the need for additional real estate.

“The Multishuttle FD System has been developed to remove traditional barriers to automation,” said Rubie.

“It provides a right-sized entry point, allowing customers to scale in line with their business rather than over-investing upfront, while still achieving meaningful gains in storage capacity and operational efficiency.” he said.

The Multishuttle FD integrates with Dematic’s broader automation portfolio, including goods-to-person solutions, autonomous mobile robots, and advanced software platforms.

This enables businesses to build cohesive, future-ready operations that can adapt to shifting inventory profiles, order volumes, and fulfilment strategies within a single, connected technology environment.

Built on a locally produced Colby rack-supported design, the system combines shuttle and lift technology within a rail-based structure integrated directly into the warehouse.

A lightweight mast enables efficient vertical and horizontal movement across a wide range of facility heights while maintaining high operational performance.

Simplified infrastructure reduces reliance on the complex components typically associated with traditional automated storage systems. A single power source concept further lowers maintenance requirements and improves overall energy efficiency.

The post Dematic Brings Multishuttle FD to Australia for Scalable High-Density Storage appeared first on Tech Business News.

David Sorrell, Sales Director (ANZ), from headset and speakerphone manufacturer, EPOS, says clear audio remains the most important part of the collaboration mix, in an ever-evolving technology world.

“Today’s workforces are reliant on these digital tools and platforms to enable successful communication, including clear calls where both sides of the conversation can be heard.

“Video collaboration tools have gained popularity very quickly, where high picture quality is paramount. But it could be argued audio is even more important though, as if you can’t be heard then the communication is over,“

“Every interaction matters more than ever, whether on a video call, standard call or collaborating with a colleague. Customer and staff expectations continue to rise where everyone has to remain as professional as possible.” said Sorrell

“Voice pickup is the number one factor with high quality microphones at the heart of this process. Voice authenticity is crucial for effective and effortless conversations.”

“For more than 115 years we’ve been recognising why consistent audio matters – today even more than ever. ‘The Power of Audio’ is much more than just a buzzword, it’s an inherent part of our DNA.” he said.

Revealing research

A wide-ranging EPOS study and scientific whitepaper entitled: The Effects of Industry Leading Voice Pickup on Conversation Quality and Efficiency, highlights the importance of voice.

It revealed with microphone noise reduction on, conversation dynamics such as turn-taking and pauses were part of a much more natural collaborative experience.

Measured benefits for study participants of microphone noise reduction were:

• 21% reduction in listening effort: participants reported a significant reduction in listening effort when the noise-reducing voice pickup was activated. 

• 18% reduction in concentration difficulty: participants reported a reduction in the difficulty they experienced while trying to focus on the conversation, helping them to engage more easily in the discussion.

• 9% increase in conversation efficiency: participants can better understand and predict the end of their partner’s turn speaking while simultaneously planning their own response. 

“In addition, our acclaimed BrainAdapt advantage encompasses a group of pioneering technologies that work together to significantly improve cognitive performance,” David emphasised.

“Did you know that while we hear with our ears, we listen with our brain? At EPOS we put this principle at the heart of our product design process – an approach we call EPOS BrainAdapt,”

“This group of technologies work together to improve cognitive performance, minimising the amount of energy it takes your brain to process sound – leading to less brain fatigue due to less concentration and effort.”

It’s clear in today’s world what matters most is effective communication and being heard crisply and clearly with minimum effort, according to David.

“How important is your message? Users need to hear and respond in a natural way through microphones and speakers. Equally important is comfort so users can wear devices, even all day, if necessary without even realising,”

“Often headsets are used on video calls with a camera. They need to be discreet, seamless and stylish in design. But overall consistent audio will firmly remain one of the most important parts of modern business communication.”

The return to the office

With more people returning to offices on a regular basis, this inevitably creates more noise and annoying distractions.

David says a headset has become a vital tool in blocking out unwanted interference but still keeping workers connected with their colleagues.

“Hybrid ANC ensures the best of both worlds, where users can still hear some background sound, as it’s very important not to block out everything and leave them feeling isolated and trapped from the outside world,”

“They might need to hear a fire alarm being triggered or respond to a question being asked by a colleague, for example.”

From industry-wide conversations with distributors, resellers and their end users, EPOS has identified how noise disruption and distraction is the number one problem. These concerns have been endorsed by an exclusive EPOS online customer survey, which revealed what matters most:

• Minimising distractions – 34%
• Microphone performance – 31%
• Active Noise Cancellation to keep focus – 21%
• Managing noise levels – 14%

“As more teams return to shared spaces, the rhythm of work changes. Conversations are closer and background noise and general random distractions inevitably fluctuate. Minimising these problems matter most,” said David

“The findings point to a simple truth. In open offices, focus is fragile and being heard matters more than ever. Clarity and concentration have become daily problems, not occasional annoyances,” 

“Companies need to prioritise a great audio experience to make workers more productive, engaged and their days run smoother.”

“A headset is now an essential business ‘friend’ for millions of people around the world – and the quality of their equipment really matters to optimise performance, wherever they are working and how they collaborate.” he said.

The post Why Audio Consistency Matters More Than Ever In Today’s Dynamic Collaboration World appeared first on Tech Business News.

In a study of more than 2,000 Australians, the findings show that while 81% report their most recent customer service interaction as positive, the cost of a negative experience is steep—and can impact more than just our wallets.

The real-life ‘time-away’ cost

The data reveals a hidden, real-life ‘time-away’ cost—a personal toll Australians experience when dealing with customer service.

62% of Australians say their most recent customer service interaction took time or energy away from something that mattered, including personal downtime (39%), mental or emotional wellbeing (19%), time with family or friends (13%), work or income (11%), and sleep (7%).

This hidden ‘time-away’ cost becomes even more apparent during poor customer service experiences.

Among those whose last experience was negative, 91% reported an impact on their time or wellbeing, with 57% losing personal time, 52% mental energy, 27% family time, 23% work or income time, and 18% sleep—compared with just 9% who experienced no impact.

Good customer service – a simple recipe

Anthony Antonucci, Chief Customer Officer at Youi, said the research reveals a clear blueprint for improving the service industry: a simple recipe for a great customer experience built on three essential ingredients.

“This research makes clear that great customer experience isn’t accidental—it follows a recipe. Australians tell us the three ingredients that matter most are simple: being able to speak to a real person, having clear communication, and getting a quick, effective response,” Anthony said.

“But as more companies lean heavily into automation and AI, access to a real human is becoming harder to find, and consumers are feeling the consequences.”

“Even tech-savvy Australians, who are comfortable with digital tools, still value real human support as critical to resolving their issues.”

“That tells us something important: technology can absolutely help, but it can’t replace empathy, clarity or genuine connection. These three elements are key to timely issue resolution, giving customers their time back.” he said.

51% of respondents say speaking to a real person is the top factor driving an effective resolution. This is followed by 34% citing clear communication, and 33% pointing to quick responses or short wait times.

Among Australians who prefer technology, four in five (81%) still say speaking to a real person is important or essential for high-stakes issues, such as those affecting their finances, health or family. Additionally, 32% want to speak to a real person immediately when something goes wrong.

This sentiment is even more widespread among the general population, with two-thirds of Australians (67%) saying they want to talk to a real person straight away when an issue arises.

Psychologist and human behaviour expert Sabina Read emphasised the importance of human connection:

“In a fast-moving world, with AI and chatbots becoming part of many daily interactions, it’s no surprise that human connection and clear communication top the list of ingredients for a positive customer service experience.

“We’re hardwired for connection. Even the best technological innovations can’t replace the power of being seen, heard and validated in a timely manner when resolving an issue that matters to us.”

“Curiosity and presence matter when we’re feeling frustrated. Human connection is the most impactful way to bring these to life, which helps explain why contact with another person is a key ingredient in delivering customer service that resonates.”

The recipe for better customer service is clear. While automation and AI can improve efficiency, human connection cannot be replaced. When customer service puts people first, Australians gain back the time, clarity and confidence they need most.

To find out more about the research, visit here.

The post Australian Cost of Poor Customer Service Revealed, AI Resolution Under Pressure appeared first on Tech Business News.

As organisations face increasing complexity, disruption and pressure to do more with less, there is a shift away from prioritising standalone digital initiatives towards more integrated transformation across operations.

In response, Argon & Co is advancing its new unified approach, which combines deep operational expertise with cutting-edge technology, data and digital capability, along with a new model of partner delivery to deliver faster, smarter, more sustainable outcomes that support long-term business growth.

Paul Eastwood, Managing Partner at Argon & Co, said the shift reflects a fundamental change in how transformation is being delivered across industries.

“We’re seeing a clear shift in what clients expect from transformation. It’s no longer about strategy or technology in isolation.”

“Today, it’s about how you bring those together to deliver measurable operational outcomes. Increasingly, AI is acting as a fourth dimension, augmenting people, process and systems to drive better decisions and performance,” Eastwood said.

“Our focus is on embedding data, digital capability and advanced technologies into the heart of operations, whether that’s in manufacturing, procurement or capital investment. That’s what enables organisations to unlock productivity, build resilience and create lasting value.”

As part of its continued expansion and increasing client demand, Argon & Co has promoted Oliver North, Warren Proctor, Evert Westerhof and Felix Kong to Partner, recognising their roles in delivering digitally enabled end-to-end transformation.

The new generation of partner sits at the forefront of the delivery model shift, leading the digitisation of Argon & Co’s core service offerings and applying new capabilities for clients.

A key example of the shift is MODE (Manufacturing Operations Design & Excellence), Argon & Co’s proprietary optimisation framework, digitally enabled with RedZone’s connect workforce app.

Led by Warren Proctor, MODE brings together operational excellence, enhanced front-line capabilities and digital enablement to deliver real-time performance improvement on the factory floor.

With growing demand, the solution is now being scaled across clients, unlocking significant productivity gains that are measurable and sustainable.

In manufacturing and capital investment, Evert Westerhof is strengthening Argon & Co’s capability to link operational performance with capital strategy, ensuring organisations take a disciplined, value-driven approach to investment.

This helps clients balance cost, risk, and long-term value in increasingly complex production environments, where capital decisions must be closely aligned to operational outcomes.

One of Argon & Co’s fastest growing service offerings is in procurement, where Felix Kong is driving a new wave of AI-enabled transformation.

Working closely with Argon & Co’s IRIS product team, he has helped develop and deploy intelligent procurement solutions that move beyond traditional cost reduction.

These innovations leverage advanced analytics and AI to optimise spend, strengthen supplier strategies, and build resilience, enabling procurement to operate as a strategic engine for growth, value creation and competitive advantage.

Bringing these capabilities together, Oliver North is leading end-to-end transformation programs that connect strategy, technology and operations across the value chain.

His work ensures AI decisions are business-led and the value understood, allowing organisations to move from isolated improvements to long-term enterprise-wide impact.

“Our new leaders collectively represent a more connected, technology-enabled approach to transformation. They combine deep operational expertise and practical solutions with AI capability to deliver better outcomes for our clients,” Eastwood said.

“From AI-enabled procurement and digitally driven manufacturing, to ensuring capital delivers the return it should, they are helping organisations respond to the realities of a rapidly changing operating environment and the need to shift the productivity dial in Australia.”

The appointments reinforce Argon & Co’s continued investment in the capabilities that matter most to clients, with a strong focus on manufacturing and procurement, alongside the accelerated integration of digital and advanced technologies into every aspect of delivery.

The post Argon & Co Expands AI-Driven Business Transformation Model, Appoints Four New Partners appeared first on Tech Business News.

Humanforce Connect brings together compliant roster creation, internal workforce activation, private marketplace access, agency vendor management and contingent orchestration into a single platform.

This takes frontline employers from compliant, costed demand creation through to governed labour fulfilment across both internal and external worker pools.

Humanforce already operates at the deepest operational layer of frontline work — rostering, time, attendance, compliance, cost and pay outcomes.

Humanforce Connect extends that into governed access to third-party labour pools and contingent orchestration beyond the employer’s own workforce. No other vendor in the frontline segment connects this full chain end-to-end.

Frontline organisations in healthcare, aged care, hospitality, stadia, retail and logistics face a structural challenge that no existing software platform has fully resolved: how to govern labour fulfilment across both internal and external worker pools.

Humanforce already supports compliant roster creation and internal shift activation. The unresolved problem begins when work cannot be filled internally — to cover a last-minute call-out, a demand surge, a site-specific credential requirement, or a vacancy that needs to be covered through agencies, labour hire or other trusted external sources.

In most organisations, that process still spills outside the system of record into fragmented manual workflows. The result is lost revenue, premium labour spend, compliance risk and weaker labour productivity.

“Most frontline employers do not struggle to build a roster. They struggle to govern how work gets filled once their own workforce is exhausted,” explained Clayton Pyne, CEO, Humanforce.

“What we are doing with Humanforce Connect is bringing that fragmented external fulfilment chain – private labour networks, agency management, labour hire and contingent orchestration – into one governed operating system,,”

“Right person, right place, right time, whether they are your employee, a casual, an agency worker, a labour hire worker, or someone already known to your organisation through a trusted marketplace,”

“This is bigger than operational efficiency. Flexibility and high-quality digital work experiences should not be reserved for white-collar workers.

“Frontline workers deserve the same, without employers having to sacrifice compliance, confidence, cost control or labour productivity. That’s what Humanforce Connect delivers.” said Pyne,

How Humanforce Connect was Built

Humanforce Connect is delivered through the strategic acquisitions of Emprevo and ShiftMatch, two specialist technology providers that add distinct and complementary layers to Humanforce’s broader strategy.

Emprevo is a leading private work marketplace platform purpose-built for frontline organisations. Its Worker Connect and Agency Connect capabilities enable organisations to build controlled labour ecosystems, which connect their own workforce, known external workers and preferred agency networks within a governed marketplace environment.

Emprevo adds marketplace liquidity and worker experience infrastructure for employers managing blended frontline workforces.

ShiftMatch is a specialist relief management and contingent workforce orchestration platform that has delivered shift fill rate improvements of up to 90% for its customers.

ShiftMatch’s intelligent matching engine adapts to daily staffing requirements, automatically coordinating internal relief pools and external contingent workers through governed escalation workflows, agency connectivity and internal-first fulfilment logic.

It adds the orchestration and vendor governance layer needed to fulfil frontline work through third-party channels without losing execution control.

Together, Emprevo and ShiftMatch complete the labour fulfilment layer of Humanforce’s platform, adding marketplace liquidity and contingent orchestration to the roster creation, compliance, costing and execution capabilities customers already rely on.

“Our customers have consistently asked for two things: a structured way to manage their own labour pools and agency networks, and an intelligent engine to orchestrate fulfilment decisions in real time.

“Emprevo and ShiftMatch deliver exactly that,” said Pyne.

The acquisitions build on Humanforce’s earlier strategic acquisition of LiveHire, which brought talent pools and candidate identity management to the platform

The post Humanforce Launches Humanforce Connect, OS for Frontline Work appeared first on Tech Business News.

These innovations are designed to help retailers maximise in-store and online sales while delivering best-in-class customer experiences across all touchpoints.

New capabilities include embedded agentic AI for store associates and customer service teams, real-time sales and fulfilment insights delivered natively within the user experience, and brand-new capabilities focused on maximising both revenue and profit when shipping from stores.

Manhattan announced commercial availability of three new AI agents: a Store Associate Agent, a Contact Centre Agent, and an OMS Configuration Agent, all available within the Manhattan Active Omni user interface to support retailers’ selling and service teams.

Using a natural language interface, these agents deliver immediate, actionable insights into store activity, sales trends, inventory, returns, and customer behaviour, helping associates and customer service teams resolve issues faster and provide more personalised support.

“Retailers are under constant pressure to move faster, operate smarter, and deliver seamless experiences across every touchpoint,” said Brian Kinsella, SVP of Product Management at Manhattan Associates.

“Our latest updates reflect Manhattan’s ongoing commitment to delivering cutting-edge artificial intelligence within our applications,.”

“Whether it’s the myriad machine learning algorithms present for years or our new Agentic AI and Fulfilment Simulation capabilities, we’ve long believed true AI needs to live within rather than alongside our applications,.”

“We’re proud to partner with a number of world-class retailers on the design and development of these breakthrough technologies.”

Along with the newly announced agentic AI innovations, Manhattan Active® Point of Sale continues to advance with Customer Facing Display, a powerful new enhancement that brings shoppers into the checkout experience.

Customers can view their cart in real time, attach their loyalty information to a transaction, enter shipping details, and choose how they’d like to receive their receipt, all from a dedicated display.

Retailers can also capture additional customer input, ensuring greater accuracy and faster transactions at the point of sale, bridging the gap between associates and shoppers, and delivering a smoother, more engaging checkout experience.

Additionally, the Fulfilment Optimisation Simulation engine enables enterprises to model and compare alternative fulfilment strategies by balancing cost, speed, service level, and margin.

It provides data-driven insights into split shipments, total fulfilment costs, location-level distribution, and key KPIs using a consistent set of orders for each strategy.

Users can easily adjust optimisation rules, rerun simulations, and compare results side-by-side to understand the true impact of each change.

The engine also supports “what-if” scenario planning, allowing teams to anticipate constraints, evaluate operational shifts, and analyse trade-offs in a fully self-serve manner.

By replaying historical or selected orders, businesses can continuously optimise fulfilment, uncover new savings, and drive meaningful performance improvements.

Together, the innovations reflect Manhattan’s continued focus on delivering practical, enterprise-ready advancements that help retailers move faster and operate with greater confidence.

The post Manhattan Associates Unveils Latest Retail Enhancements appeared first on Tech Business News.

The warning comes as pressure on Australia’s labour productivity growth intensifies, pushing businesses to seek efficiency gains through technology rather than headcount expansion.

Research published in The SOTI AI Brief: Unlocking a Transformative Force found that frontline workers globally — across healthcare, transportation and logistics, and emergency services — are losing significant time each month to mobile device downtime, connectivity failures, and manual workarounds.

The compounding effect is measurable: increased worker stress, reduced output, and in some cases unsafe behaviours as employees scramble to compensate for lost time.

Despite surging investment in automation, the report found 58% of organisations operating in distributed workforce environments still depend on manual processes — including email and paper-based systems — exposing a stark and uneven state of readiness on the frontline.

Analysts say the gap points to a deeper structural problem. Many AI initiatives are stalling not because the algorithms are flawed, but because the systems and workflows they sit on top of remain unstable or poorly governed — undermining the efficiency gains organisations are counting on.

“For frontline work in Australia, mobile technology is fundamental,” said Michael Dyson, VP of Sales, APAC at SOTI,”

“But what the data shows is that many organisations are layering new AI-driven capabilities onto mobility foundations that are already under strain. Without stability and visibility, AI can amplify problems rather than solve them.” he said.

Network Outages Lay Bare the Fragility of Australia’s Frontline Operations

Recent high-profile network outages across Australia have thrown into sharp relief how deeply dependent frontline operations have become on mobile connectivity — and how exposed organisations remain when those connections fail.

The disruptions revealed limited fallback options, poor visibility into device health, and an over-reliance on manual intervention during system failures.

That vulnerability is borne out in SOTI’s research: while 74% of organisations in distributed workforce environments can track their devices, far fewer have real-time or predictive capability to act before problems escalate.

Although large-scale outages remain relatively rare, industry observers say they function as unplanned stress tests — and the results have been instructive.

Australian workplace regulators have increasingly flagged time pressure, fatigue, and distraction as contributors to safety incidents, amplifying the stakes when technology fails in safety-critical roles.

The operational cost is already being felt. Frontline workers in transportation and logistics estimate losing around 13 hours per month to device-related downtime.

Nearly two-thirds of emergency services workers — 64 per cent — say technical issues add stress to their jobs. In healthcare, device fragmentation and legacy systems continue to blunt responsiveness, even as digital tools become more deeply embedded in patient care.

The findings carry particular weight in Australia, where labour shortages across healthcare, transport and logistics, and emergency services leave little room for disruption.

“AI raises expectations around speed, insight and automation, but frontline operations still depend on basics like battery health, reliable connectivity and working peripherals,” Dyson said.

“If those fundamentals aren’t addressed, organisations risk widening the gap between what technology promises and what frontline teams can realistically deliver.” he said.

Security Spending Lags as Device Management Remains Reactive

SOTI’s research also points to uneven progress in governance and predictive capabilities.

While many organisations are investing in automation, only 34% have increased spending on mobile security, leaving device management largely reactive and issues such as battery degradation, software conflicts and printer connectivity addressed only after they disrupt operations.

The report highlights the importance of shifting from reactive troubleshooting to predictive maintenance and real-time visibility across device fleets.

For Australian organisations, this approach is critical not only for productivity, but for meeting safety obligations, protecting workforce wellbeing and maintaining service continuity in mobile-dependent environments.

“Mobility has become a frontline issue, not just an IT one,” Dyson said.

“Organisations that focus on strengthening the foundations of mobility now will be far better positioned to adopt AI responsibly and support their frontline teams as operational demands continue to grow.” he said/

The post SOTI Warns AI Could Overload Australian Frontline Operations appeared first on Tech Business News.

The rollout replaces a fragmented mix of legacy systems and manual processes with a single, cloud-native platform — streamlining visibility, efficiency and scalability across GPC’s wider distribution network.

As one of the largest automotive and industrial parts distributors in APAC, GPC manages a complex supply chain spanning multiple workflows, systems and locations.

The new platform brings real-time visibility, intelligent automation and a versionless architecture to its warehouse operations, removing the need for costly, disruptive system upgrades down the line.

“The partnership with Manhattan Associates has been critical in delivering a transformation of this scale,” said Jon Longbottom, Chief Supply Chain Officer at GPC.

“From the outset, we looked for a partner who understood the complexity of our network and could help us bring multiple operations together into a single, consistent way of working,” said Longbottom

“Manhattan has worked alongside our team at every stage, helping us design enhanced processes that are not only more efficient, but also scalable as our business continues to grow.”

“With the new system, we are well positioned to enhance operational performance across our network while continuing to evolve our supply chain capabilities to meet changing customer and market demands,” he said.

Rigorous Preparation Underpins Smooth Go-Live

The deployment followed an extensive readiness program designed to minimise disruption and set teams up for success from day one.

Over 1,400 user acceptance testing scenarios were completed, supported by full-scale operational rehearsals that simulated real-world conditions across stores, inbound containers and local deliveries.

More than 300 staff members were trained across upwards of 850 sessions to ensure confidence in the new system ahead of launch.

On the operational side, the platform introduces system-directed workflows across inbound, inventory and outbound functions — encompassing automated allocation, intelligent replenishment and optimised picking processes.

Together, these capabilities are expected to lift inventory accuracy, boost labour productivity and enable faster, more reliable fulfilment to stores.

GPC will also be among the first organisations in Australia to deploy Honeywell Voice for Manhattan Active (HVMA), a cutting-edge voice-directed warehousing solution that promises to improve accuracy and productivity while enhancing worker focus and safety on the floor.

“Organisations like GPC are operating at a level of complexity where different independent systems were no longer sustainable,” explained Raghav Sibal, Vice President APAC, Manhattan Associates.

“This implementation is a strong example of what can be achieved when you bring together technology, process and people into a single operating model. We are proud to support GPC as they move into this next phase of their transformation.”

“The Brisbane go-live is a key step in GPC’s broader strategy to simplify and unify its supply chain operations, supporting improved service outcomes while creating a more scalable foundation for future growth.”

“There’s a real sense of momentum across our network. Our teams have put in a huge amount of work to get to this point, and that shows in how smoothly we’ve been able to transition,” said Longbottom.

“This gives us a much stronger foundation to build on, whether that’s improving service to our stores or supporting future growth across our business.” he said.

Industry Context

The GPC deployment arrives at a pivotal moment for warehouse technology. The global warehouse management system market is estimated at USD 4.77 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach USD 10.89 billion by 2031, growing at a compound annual rate of nearly 18%.

Demand is being driven in part by persistent labour shortages, with the United States recording 490,000 logistics job openings in 2024, while European distribution centres reported staffing gaps of up to 25%.

For Manhattan Associates, the Brisbane go-live adds to a growing global footprint — the company currently has 433 live Manhattan Active WMS sites, releasing 40 to 45 new platform features every quarter.

Manhattan has also been recognised as a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems 17 consecutive times, underscoring the enterprise-grade pedigree behind GPC’s investment.

Looking Ahead

With the new system now live, GPC is well positioned to drive meaningful improvements in operational performance across its distribution network, building on the efficiencies gained from day one of deployment.

The modern, cloud-native foundation of Manhattan Active Warehouse Management gives GPC the agility to continuously evolve its supply chain capabilities — scaling seamlessly and adapting swiftly to the changing demands of customers, markets and the broader APAC logistics landscape.

The post Manhattan Associates & Genuine Parts Launch New WMS In Brisbane appeared first on Tech Business News.

The launch positions Kong AI Gateway as the only gateway solution on the market to support advanced LLM, MCP, and agent-to-agent (A2A) use cases.

“When enterprises started experimenting with LLMs, the governance challenge, while still difficult, was relatively contained once you had an AI Gateway for LLM traffic,” said Alex Drag, Head of Product Marketing at Kong. 

“You had a request going to a model, a response coming back, and a gateway in between to enforce policy. With the right solutions, this becomes manageable pretty quickly,” said Drag

“That world is now over. Today’s agentic architectures look nothing like that. Agents are calling tools via MCP. Agents are delegating tasks to other agents via A2A,”

“These other agents are producing and consuming event streams. Data flows in every direction, often with little to no human in the loop, and often with no visibility into what’s actually happening.”

“This is the problem we built Kong Agent Gateway to solve. And now Agent Gateway is GA and prod-ready as of AI Gateway 3.14.” he said.

The Need for Unified AI Connectivity

As enterprises move AI from experimentation to production, they face a growing connectivity and governance challenge.

Organisations no longer route prompts to a single LLM, but orchestrate complex systems where agents communicate with external tools via MCP and collaborate with other agents using emerging agent communication protocols, such as A2A.

Without unified visibility and control, security gaps emerge, costs spiral, and compliance becomes impossible to verify. 

Most solutions address only a fraction of this traffic, leaving enterprises to stitch together multiple point solutions or accept blind spots in their AI infrastructure.

Agent Gateway strengthens Kong’s ability to secure the full AI data path, offering unified governance and observability across all AI traffic types, now including A2A communication over the new A2A protocol.

Every enterprise is wrestling with the same three challenges:

“Not having full visibility into all AI traffic and resource consumption within an agentic workflow, struggling to adopt AI in a way that helps increase margins, and dealing with issues when moving AI and agentic workloads into production,” said Reza Shafii, SVP of Product at Kong.

“We built Agent Gateway to solve this directly. Engineering teams can now govern all of their multi-agent traffic in a single place. This is the kind of control and connectivity that makes agentic AI workable at enterprise scale.” said Shafii

Gartner reveals AI Gateways Critical to AI Transformation

In their “Emerging Tech Adoption Radar 2026: Accelerating AI Transformation” report, Gartner® stated that AI Gateways help organisations.

Not only gain a single control point to enforce policies and monitor usage, they also enable techniques such as encryption to prevent sensitive information from being exposed to external AI services.

According to the research, “as agent-to-agent (A2A) interactions become more prevalent in modern architectures, AMPs and AI gateways together form the backbone of safe and scalable AI adoption. This can help contain agent sprawl and unlock the full value of AI investments.”

“But Gartner goes even further, noting that AI gateways and agent management platforms together “form the backbone of safe and scalable AI adoption” and help organisations contain agent sprawl,” Drag added.

“Kong Agent Gateway is designed to be exactly that backbone for enterprise AI governance. And it’s now a core part of the larger Kong Konnect platform as an agent management platform, making it a leading choice when conducting an enterprise AI governance platform comparison.”

“Without A2A governance, enterprises are stuck choosing between stitching together point solutions, building custom proxies, or accepting blind spots in their AI infrastructure,” Drag said

“These blind spots in agentic architectures are particularly dangerous, as they can lead to rogue agents consuming massive token budgets or leaking sensitive enterprise data across unauthorised boundaries. None of those options scale, and none of them help you avoid the security pitfalls that will kill agentic AI velocity.” he said.

Why Agent Gateway is critical for the ANZ region

Mark West, Regional Vice President ANZ at Kong, said the Agent Gateway solution was arriving at an ideal time for organisations across the Asia-Pacific region.

“AI adoption is really picking up speed across APAC, and that’s driving a big surge in the volume of LLM and MCP traffic that organisations have to handle,” he said. 

“On top of that, you’ve now got agent-to-agent communication adding another layer of complexity. Google only launched the A2A protocol last year, and we’re already seeing meaningful uptake here as enterprises start moving their agentic workloads closer to production,”

“The issue is, the more these agents start talking to each other without any proper governance in place, the tougher it gets to keep visibility, control costs, or stay on top of compliance.

“That’s exactly where Agent Gateway comes in, it gives teams the control they need right when they need it,”

“The timing feels particularly good for organisations in our region that are serious about scaling AI in a responsible way.”

How Agent Gateway Works

Agent Gateway extends Kong AI Gateway with purpose-built capabilities for managing, securing, and observing A2A communication, bringing agent-critical functionality to both an organization’s AI Gateway and larger AMP (agent management platform). 

Combined with Kong’s existing support for LLM traffic management, MCP server connectivity, API Management, and Event Management, Agent Gateway creates a comprehensive governance layer across the entire AI data path, the flow of intelligence across models, applications, tools, and data, enabling customers to enforce consistent policies across all AI traffic from a single control point.

With Agent Gateway, organisations can have:

• Unified observability across all native AI traffic: Kong Konnect acts as a single observability dashboard for all native AI traffic.
  
  
• Production-ready agentic AI: Security, access control, and audit capabilities to confidently move agentic workloads out of pilot and into production.
  
  
• Cost visibility and control: Granular tracking of token consumption and resource usage across agent workflows, enabling accurate cost allocation and margin optimisation.
  
  
• Reduced compliance risk: Full audit logging of A2A conversations for regulatory requirements and internal governance policies.
  
  
• Faster time to see value: Teams can focus on building agent capabilities rather than piecing together governance infrastructure, proxies, and custom gateway policies.

Agent Gateway is now available in Kong AI Gateway, part of the Kong Konnect platform. This release advances Kong’s vision of AI connectivity, providing the infrastructure layer that connects, governs, and optimizes all AI and API traffic between applications, APIs, events, and agentic systems.

With Agent Gateway, Kong continues to lead the market in helping enterprises deploy AI faster, govern it consistently and operate with greater cost efficiency.

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Turtle Beach Puts Touchscreens on Keyboards and Mice in New Command Series Lineup For Serious Gamers

Turtle Beach, best known for its gaming headsets, is making a serious push into the PC peripherals market with six new products that share one unusual feature: built-in touchscreens on the higher-end models.

The company’s new Command Series includes three keyboards, three mice, and a modular keypad, spread across a range of price points:

• KB7 TKL Hall-Effect Wired Keyboard with Touchscreen
• KB5 Full-Size Mechanical Wired Keyboard with Touchscreen
• KP7 Wired Hall-Effect Keypad
• MC7 Wireless Mouse with touchscreen
• MC5 Wireless Gaming Mouse
• MC3 Wired Gaming Mice

The flagship KB7 TKL keyboard ($349.99) and ($239.95) both ship with Command Touch Displays that connect directly to OBS and Streamlabs, letting streamers switch scenes, adjust audio, and trigger macros without tabbing out of a game.

The MC7 wireless mouse ($249.95) carries the same idea, putting a small touchscreen under the thumb for quick profile and DPI switching.

CEO Cris Keirn described the lineup as a turning point for the brand:

“The all-new Command Series marks a major moment for Turtle Beach – our most advanced lineup of keyboards and mice yet, built for the speed, precision, and flexibility that today’s gamers, creators, and multitaskers demand,” said Keirn

On the technical side, the KB7 uses Titan low-profile Hall-Effect switches rated for 100 million keystrokes, runs an 8K polling rate for 0.125ms latency, and has a modular rail system that lets the KP7 keypad ($154.95) dock directly onto it.

The KB5 comes with traditional mechanical switches actuating at 1.2mm, and adds five dedicated macro keys and a clickable volume barrel.

For mice, the MC7 stands out with tri-mode connectivity across 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth, and wired, plus dual hot-swappable 1,000mAh batteries that each last up to 10 hours at full power.

The mid-range MC5 wireless mouse ($189.95) drops the touchscreen but keeps the 8K polling rate and 30K DPI optical sensor, claiming up to 35 hours of battery life.

The entry-level MC3 wired mouse ($124.95) rounds out the lineup with the same sensor and optical switches but at a more accessible price.

Keirn says the goal was consistency across the whole range:

“Across every price point, we’re delivering a new level of performance and versatility for the category,” said Kerin

“With integrated Command Touch Displays on the KB7 and KB5 keyboards and the MC7 mouse, we’re putting faster control and deeper customisation directly at your fingertips,” he said.

All three keyboards launch May 22, with the mice following on July 24.

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