MHI CEO John Paxton and Wanda Johnson of Deloitte will present highlights from the report, followed by a panel discussion on how those trends translate into real-world supply chain decisions. “This year’s report moves beyond identifying trends,” Paxton says. “It offers practical examples and a playbook approach to help companies apply automation and artificial intelligence (AI) in their supply chains.”

Panelists include:

• Stephanie Thomas, Associate Professor of Practice of Supply Chain Management Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas
• Andrew Rice, Senior Product Manager of Warehouse Management Systems, Gallo
• Frederick Cox, Director of Manufacturing at Central Shops, Disney
• Camille Blake, Regional Director, Logistics, Carvana

The report focuses on hot topics like artificial intelligence, automation and digital technologies, and includes case studies that show how companies are putting these tools to work in their own operations. Attendees will have early access to the report findings and a clearer view of how emerging technologies fit into current supply chain strategies.

2026 MHI Annual Industry Report Keynote Panel

Wednesday, April 15

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Location: Thomas Murphy Ballroom

Building B, Level 5

Modex is also the place to build new relationships with peers, thought leaders and solution providers. Attendees can connect with potential partners and expand their professional networks through industry events and receptions, including the Modex Backyard and Peachtree Social experiences. These networking hubs feature seating areas, food and beverage offerings, and show-promoted happy hours that encourage conversation and connection.

The Modex Backyard in Hall C is a central gathering space where attendees can recharge, meet colleagues and continue discussions sparked on the show floor. In Hall A, Peachtree Social brings a distinctly Atlanta-inspired atmosphere, combining Southern hospitality with a lively social setting that makes networking both easy and enjoyable.

MHI creative director Amy Shelton said the show’s expanded registration areas, improved wayfinding and broad hotel shuttle network make getting to and around the Georgia World Congress Center easier than ever. “These updates are designed to accommodate a growing audience and ensure a smooth, efficient experience from arrival to departure,” Shelton added.

To further support attendees, Modex offers an updated mobile app and website that make it easy to plan schedules, discover sessions, locate exhibitors and connect with other professionals. “Whether you’re attending for education, innovation or connection,” said Shelton. “Modex delivers an engaging, high-impact experience designed to help supply chain professionals make the most of their time on and off the show floor.”

CaseFlow Voice embeds Lucas Systems’ Jennifer voice capabilities directly into case picking workflows, enabling hands-free operations to improve worker productivity and accuracy while helping warehouses achieve up to 2x throughput improvements, Vecna Robotics explained. CaseFlow Voice addresses a critical challenge in operations like cold storage, where gloves, condensation, and limited dexterity make screens and scanners difficult to use, Vecna addeed. By supporting both voice and handheld interfaces, CaseFlow also adapts to a wider range of warehouse conditions.

“CaseFlow has proven it can dramatically improve case picking throughput,” said Karl Iagnemma, CEO of Vecna Robotics. “The solution has already helped warehouses cut training time by up to 50% and move significantly more volume with fewer pickers dedicated to travel-heavy workflows. With CaseFlow Voice, we’re extending those gains into environments like cold storage, where automation has historically struggled.”

CaseFlow orchestrates pallet-handling robots (Vecna's CPJ Co-bot Pallet Jack) and human workers in real time, dynamically balancing robot availability, worker location, and order priorities to streamline case picking operations. Workers remain focused on picking within smaller, dynamic zones while autonomous robots handle pallet transport and reduce non-value-added travel. With Lucas Systems' Jennifer voice solution, which provides voice options in 37 languages, the solution also helps operators support a diverse workforce by enabling workers to interact with the system in their native language.

“For more than 28 years, Lucas Systems has been investing in the use of speech recognition and optimization technologies including AI to dramatically improve warehouse performance. In fact, Lucas Systems’ Jennifer has powered more than 112 billion picks across 4 continents,” said Lucas Systems Chief Growth Officer, Chris Simchick. “Our human centric approach to applying warehouse automation has a strong role in warehouses today and in the future by enabling robots and humans to seamlessly collaborate in new and efficient ways.”

Attendees at MODEX can learn more about the solution at Vecna Robotics Booth #C13183.

A new report from the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association shows new business volume reached $11 billion in February, making it only the second time the industry has hit that mark. That follows an even stronger January, which set an all-time high.

Overall, new business volume rose 14.2% compared to last year and is up 22.2% through the first two months of 2026. The gains were driven in part by independent providers, which saw a surge in activity during the period.

“The February CFI report is a clear signal that equipment demand isn’t slowing down,” said Leigh Lytle, President and CEO at ELFA. “Every industry segment saw healthy growth over the last year, with independent providers leading the way with another surge in February. This survey was conducted before the conflict in Iran and the March FOMC meeting, and those could cause more bumps in the first half. However, financial conditions and credit approvals remain strong. These are signs that the sector can withstand additional shocks.”

Even with the strong numbers, there were some signs of moderation. February volume was down 4.7% from January’s peak, though still well above typical levels. Small-ticket financing, often seen as a sign of broader economic activity, also dipped month over month but remained above its recent average.

At the same time, lending conditions showed mixed results. Credit approval rates improved slightly, rising to 77.1% in February, while delinquency rates fell to 1.8%, the lowest level in nearly three years. Loss rates, however, edged higher.

Industry confidence also cooled a bit. The Monthly Confidence Index dropped to 61.0 in March from 67.6 in February, though it remains within the range seen over the past several months.

“The commercial equipment finance industry is starting 2026 off well,” said David Normandin, President and Chief Executive Officer at Wintrust Specialty Finance. “While there is abundant uncertainty, our customers continue to invest in capital equipment. We remain steady in our commitment to serve the U.S. business community and are finding ways to meet their needs and deliver value. I expect that 2026 will have challenges to overcome and opportunities to execute successfully that will enable continued growth.”

At Modex April 13–16 in Atlanta, attendees can stop by Green Cubes’ booth B15346 for a limited-edition hat or golf towel and play a round of virtual golf for a chance to win other prizes. Green Cubes will be hosting a happy hour on Monday, April 13th, from 3 to 5 PM.

The company has continued momentum across expanding markets, driven by disciplined operations, consistent execution, ongoing investment in talent, and a strong commitment to customer support. With demand for lithium-ion power solutions expected to grow, Green Cubes is well-positioned for further expansion, the company said. Designed for opportunity charging and significantly higher cycle life, the batteries eliminate the need for frequent battery swapping, enabling companies to reclaim battery room space and optimize warehouse operations. The solutions support a wide range of material handling equipment, including forklifts, pallet jacks, narrow-aisle trucks, and automated guided vehicles.

“As lithium power becomes the standard for power that delivers the best ROI, reliable service, exceptional quality, and long-term support are paramount to customers,” said Michael Walsh, CEO of Green Cubes Technology. “With over 90,000 batteries delivered last year and partnerships with over 25 OEMs, Green Cubes has the breadth and depth of expertise to solve the most complex power solutions challenges.”

The newest generation of the SAFEFlex platform combines enhanced performance with streamlined serviceability, improved battery management controls, advanced safety features, and user-friendly access to key components, the company said.

The platform is enabled by MAESTRO, the company’s Internet of Things asset management solution, which provides a centralized, cloud-based environment for real-time monitoring and data management. The system allows facility managers to track performance, improve productivity, support regulatory compliance, and manage assets remotely from any device. MAESTRO is currently monitoring over 38,000 batteries across the globe.

Lithium SAFEFlex batteries for material handling applications offer higher charging efficiency, lower maintenance requirements, and faster charging times compared to sealed lead-acid alternatives. Its drop-in replacement batteries are designed to fit standard motive power battery compartments, and MAESTRO allows stakeholders to access data in real time to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and advance sustainability goals.

The company’s Kokomo, IN campus continues to serve as a hub for US domestic manufacturing and innovation, supported by global engineering and supply chain operations in India, Malaysia, and Taiwan. This structure helps ensure operational stability and resilience amid changing economic conditions.

All success stories come with aches and pains along the way, however, and Lakeside was not immune. Facing labor challenges in its distribution center, like many American companies today, the book maker reached out to FANUC, APT Manufacturing and FlexPAC to automate the labor-intensive depalletizing task.

Manual depalletizing is a hard and unpopular area in any warehouse, and Lakeside’s required heavy, variable mixed-case load handling. Together, the FANUC team came up with a solution that eliminated the need for manual handling more than 45 million pounds annually.

The new system uses AI-powered software, a robotic solution with a customized end-of-arm tool, and a 3D vision system. Put together, the new advanced system can process boxes that feature a variety of colors and sizes, as well as weights.

The system can now process more than nine cases per minute, which exceeded initial projections. Best of all, the new system broke through old bottlenecks and freed up Lakeside’s employees to move on to upskilled jobs.

Companies like Lakeside are increasingly turning to automated depalletizing as labor shortages continue. One of warehousing’s dirty and difficult jobs, depalletizing is one that struggles mightily to find interested employees.

“Typical manual depalletizing roles require constant lifting—sometimes overhead due to tall pallet loads—rotating and bending,” says Mitchell Stevens, senior application engineer at Bastian Solutions.

Even when adequately staffed, the depalletizing area’s demanding physical labor can lead to acute and long-term injuries. This especially holds true in today’s high throughput environments, which require workers to move at a faster pace than ever. Automated depalletizing is an answer companies like Lakeside need.

With improved vision systems, better end-of-arm technology and more affordable pricing, depalletizing has never been more prevalent.

The bells and whistles are evolving

Today’s automated depalletizing units offer up more features and differentiators than ever, ensuring a system is available for just about every option.

From standardized system designs, which make equipment more affordable, to customized solutions for the largest operations, there’s an automated depalletizer that’s right for most anyone in the market.

“Standardized cells are allowing companies to drive down the cost of depalletizing,” says Shaun Edwards, chief technology officer at Plus One Robotics. “It started with end-of-line manufacturing, but then moved into logistics.”

Beyond affordability, the advantages of standardized systems, adds Edwards, is that they’re quick to deploy, don’t have to be bolted to the ground and don’t require much fencing if working with a cobot.

“They bring it all together and accelerate the adoption of the equipment,” Edwards says.

Bastian’s Stevens, however, says that the concept of a standardized system isn’t quite that. “Every customer has a different project, different SKU mix and a unique process, which often leads to a customized solution,” he says. “Even when we’ve gotten close to using a standard design, it becomes a modified standard to fit the customer’s unique needs.”

The result is something of a hybrid, then the system may present like standardized base equipment with a few customizations. And if the application is large enough, it may leave open the opportunity for commercial agreements.

End-of-arm tools are also evolving. NuMove recently introduced a layer picking tool that provides enhanced adaptability in high-throughput environments. The newest design features three gripping mechanisms, one that provides suction, one that clamps and one with forks on the bottom, leading to increased security in handling.

“Based on experience, we know that many packages have poor glue, or humidity in the packaging, and they make break loose on handling,” says Luc Vanden-Abeele, director of marketing at NuMove Group. “Our new feature ensures the arm won’t drop or lose anything. Once the products are sandwiched in there, the robot can accelerate faster, too.”

End-of-arm tools (EOAT) these days offer up a range of customizable solutions, too. At the manufacturer’s disposal are vacuum, magnetic and mechanical grippers to cover a range of handling. Most EOATs can apply to a variety of products and sizes, but many today offer modularity, allowing users the ability to swap them out from one application to the next. In the Lakeside Book Company application, FANUC’s partner APT developed a custom EOAT for specific product handling.

Software improvements are also leading to new gains in depalletizing, changing the paradigm of the warehouse management system (WMS) pushing information to the warehouse.

“Rather than teaching the system, we can do real-time motion planning,” says Mario D’Cruz, vice president of strategy and marketing at Mujin. “The system figures out how to pick, where to pick and manage multiple boxes at the same time.”

One result of this improvement is that the robots handle irregular loads with an adaptive strategy. This feature leads to a smoother robotic motion, according to D’Cruz. “The system has already decided and planned its motion in advance, so it’s not jerky,” he explains.

Recent depalletizing innovation also extends into improved vision systems, and of course, artificial intelligence (AI). “A key challenge in robotics is the vision system,” says David Bruce, engineering manager at FANUC. “You need the ability to identify where boxes are, and depending on the arrangement of pallets, this can be fairly difficult.”

This holds true especially with the growing number of heterogenous pallets companies handle today. “When you have a variety of items, tightly packed together, vision systems don’t have the ability to identify one from the other,” Bruce adds. “This is where AI comes into the picture.”

AI-based vision provides a 3D look at pallets, allowing robotic systems to quickly locate the product, pull it off and place it onto a waiting conveyor. “Once the system understands where a box is, the tool can pick it up without disturbing others,” says Bruce.

This detailed vision allows for a real-time pivot, when necessary, and AI is pushing along that ability. “Product graphics change and with AI vision in place, you can train it to recognize a case, even if it has new packaging,” says Vanden-Abeele. “Our software collects the data from the vision components and supports image processing. Our vision system translates this into real products and pallets.”

According to Stevens, AI vision has served as a game changer in depalletizing, but cautions that it isn’t perfected just yet.

“We have found that customer expectations must be managed when implementing a system enhanced with AI,” he says. “When using AI-powered depalletizing systems, operators will still likely need to monitor the system and resolve issues. In some cases, that may reduce the ROI because you’re not getting the expected labor savings.”

Quantifying gains

All the bells and whistles and advancements are wonderful, but they must deliver a payoff if customers are going to invest. With automated depalletizing, in most cases, businesses can look for return on investment from a few different areas.

The first is labor savings: When you can speed up your operations and do it with fewer employees, you can realize lower labor costs. In the case of standard cells, that ROI can be as quickly as 18 months, according to Edwards.

The second layer of labor savings is injury reduction, he says. “This is harder to quantify, but back injuries from depalletizing are costly and time consuming,” says Edwards. “This is a difficult job, and it creates an outsized number of injuries.”

One way to quantify this savings is to review the overall weight of automatically depalletizing products to determine how much weight their operators don’t have to lift.

This is an important calculation in countries where new lifting limits have recently hit the books. Mexico, for instance, passed legislation that leads to criminal penalties, not just civil, if a company violates limits with its labor pool.

Speed gains are the other big place to look for return on investment. “Even if working with a cobot, automated depalletizing can do the job faster than a person would,” says Edwards. “If you combine a person and a cobot, you’re looking at 500 cases per hour. If you have an industrial depalletizer, you’re going to work at a much higher rate.”

So far, most of the adoption for large-scale industrial depalletizers is mostly limited to third-party logistics providers (3PLs), automotive companies, beverage and grocery operations, big box retailers and the like.

But as features evolve and the ROI gets faster, even smaller and mid-sized companies can look at a handful of standardized cells as a starting point. “The market potential is huge,” says Bruce, “but it’s not moving as quickly as you would expect.”

No matter which system or features a company selects, the fact that so many options of automated depalletizing systems today are available is a win for everyone. “The market is moving to smart depalletizing systems,” adds D’Cruz. 

Through it all, warehouses and DCs still largely depend on people to keep operations moving. Workers receive and store inventory, pick and pack orders, replenish stock, manage returns and load outbound shipments.

According to ManpowerGroup, 74% of companies in the transportation and logistics sector are currently dealing with talent shortages. With 25% of all jobs in the transportation and warehousing sector, warehousing represents one of the sector’s largest segments. That math puts warehouses and DCs squarely at the center of the sector’s ongoing labor crunch.

Churn is another problem. In December 2025 alone, about 166,000 workers quit jobs in the transportation, warehousing and utilities sector (for a roughly 27% voluntary annual turnover rate), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This high churn rate is forcing facilities into a constant cycle of recruiting and training workers. And while wages play a role in retention, they’re not the only factor.

Knowing this, companies are paying closer attention to workplace conditions in their warehouses and DCs, where lighting, ambient temperature, noise levels, ergonomics and things as simple as easily accessible water stations influence worker sentiment about jobs and workplaces.

The human factor

Wages matter, but other factors also contribute to the high employee churn in the warehousing and fulfillment environment.

The work itself is demanding. Employees often spend long shifts walking aisles, lifting cartons, scanning items and moving product from one location to another. Even in automated facilities, workers still handle much of the physical activity required to keep goods flowing through the building.

The challenges of the job don’t end there either. Pickers and packers may perform the same motions for hours at a time as they scan items, build orders and move cartons down the line. With all of their heavy equipment, moving vehicles and busy dock areas, warehouses present ongoing safety concerns. Even minor incidents can affect morale and influence how workers feel about their jobs.

These and other factors are reshaping how companies think about the warehouse work environment. Norm Saenz, partner at St. Onge Company, says operators today are trying to support both people and automation inside the same facilities.

“The fulfillment environment is pretty complex right now,” Saenz explains. “Companies want workers to feel safe and productive, but they’re also adding more automation into their buildings. That puts more demands on the facility and the people working in it.”

Let there be light

Walk into an older DC and you’ll probably notice the dim, yellowish haze from old halogen fixtures immediately. The type of lighting strains eyes, slows workers down and sends a clear message that it hasn’t been upgraded in years (or maybe even decades).

According to Saenz, most modern facilities have moved past that, upgrading to LED systems that deliver sharply better visibility while cutting energy costs. He says the industry benchmark for warehouse lighting is around 240 lux, with a color temperature of roughly 5,000 Kelvin, which produces the crisp, daylight-quality light that helps workers read labels, spot damage and move safely through busy aisles.

“Most of the buildings I go into have updated their lighting,” Saenz says. “After all, it’s pretty important to be able to see what you’re doing.”

The numbers behind the switch to LED speak for themselves. According to Pacific Energy Concepts, LEDs use up to 80% less energy than metal halide or fluorescent fixtures, and modern LED lights can operate efficiently for more than 100,000 hours, which means far fewer bulb replacements and lower maintenance costs.

That last point matters more than it might seem: Every time someone has to swap out a fixture in a high-bay ceiling, there’s a safety exposure. Smarter control systems are adding another layer of value. LED systems can be programmed to automatically dim, brighten or shut off based on occupancy and activity, which the company says can shave an additional 10% to 20% off energy costs while also generating data that helps facility managers track and monitor system performance over time.

Underfoot matters, too

Floors are easy to overlook—or at least take for granted—in warehouse design discussions, but they affect nearly every aspect of day-to-day operations.

Workers spend entire shifts walking miles of concrete aisles, pushing carts and operating forklifts across the same surfaces hour after hour. When those floors become uneven, worn or poorly maintained, it can impact safety, productivity and overall workplace comfort.

Mark McLain, national sales and business development director at CoGri USA, says the issue becomes more noticeable as companies add automation. Companies will carefully plan for robotics and throughput targets, yet overlook the condition of the concrete underneath.

“Whether it’s brownfield or greenfield, every floor can have conditions that are averse to robotic systems,” says McLain. “When automated vehicles or lift trucks repeatedly cross joints or uneven areas, it can create a very noisy operation and put additional strain on equipment.”

For organizations planning new fulfillment facilities or upgrades, McLain says the key is making sure the slab is ready for the systems that will operate on it.

“The floor should be fit for purpose,” he explains, noting that companies should evaluate surfaces early to ensure they meet the specifications required by incoming automation. In existing facilities, the answer isn’t always replacing the entire floor, according to McLain, who adds that companies can “often improve conditions by identifying and repairing the areas that are causing the most disruption.”

Reducing warehouse noise

As facilities run faster and move more carts and equipment through the building, operators are paying closer attention to how loud those environments have become. And for good reason, too: according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), occupational hearing loss is one of the most common workplace injuries.

The CDC also says that 40% of all transportation and warehousing workers have been exposed to hazardous noise, which is defined as any sound with the frequency, intensity or duration to cause permanent hearing loss.

Mark Lippert, president of Hamilton Caster, says customers increasingly ask about noise levels, particularly when workers are pulling trains of carts across warehouse floors.

“There’s more and more sensitivity around having a quiet warehouse,” Lippert says. “Employees don’t want to come to work in a loud environment, so companies are paying closer attention to decibel levels.”

That awareness is influencing decisions about equipment and materials throughout the warehouse. Even details like the type of wheel used on carts can affect how much noise a facility generates.

Lippert says some polyurethane wheels, for example, create more noise than others when rolling across concrete floors, prompting companies to look more closely at those specifications as part of broader workplace improvements.

The right temperature

Walk into a busy warehouse during the summer and one thing becomes clear quickly: Temperature control matters. In buildings that stretch hundreds of thousands of square feet, keeping employees comfortable during long shifts isn’t always simple. The problem is that most warehouses aren’t fully climate controlled, largely because conditioning that much space can be expensive.

Instead, operators rely on practical solutions that make the work environment more manageable where employees actually spend their time. “People want to be comfortable. They want good temperature management and they want to feel safe in their environment,” says Saenz. “At the end of the day, employees are more productive when those things are in line.”

In many facilities, that means focusing on airflow rather than full building cooling. High-volume ceiling fans, improved ventilation and portable cooling systems positioned near docks and packing stations help move air through the building and reduce heat buildup during warmer months. “It’s not always realistic to put a full HVAC system into a large DC just for comfort,” Saenz explains. “So, companies look at ways to move air and cool specific work areas.”

Cold environments present different challenges. Freezer and refrigerated warehouses require specialized clothing, limited exposure times and equipment such as forklifts with enclosed cabs to protect workers from extreme temperatures.

“Some operations have gone to using ‘warm rooms,’ where employees can step in and regulate their temperature,” Saenz says. “Those kinds of things make a big difference when you’re asking people to work in a freezer environment.”

People will notice

Improving the work environment doesn’t always require massive capital investments. Sometimes smaller operational changes can also make a noticeable difference in how employees experience the job. Something as simple as making water more accessible on the warehouse floor is one example.

“Instead of making workers walk long distances to a break room,” says Saenz, “some companies are placing hydration stations closer to work areas. That way, employees can cool down and recharge without leaving their stations for extended periods.”

Companies are also experimenting with creative shift strategies, shorter shifts and longer breaks or lunches, all with the goal of keeping employees feeling comfortable and valued. With turnover still high across the sector, Saenz says most of them know they have to keep working on these issues. “When a company puts effort into making the job easier and the environment better, people notice.” 

Retail delivery is not well-suited to the traditional full pallet and requires the right equipment to get in and out of a store as fast as possible without impeding a customer walkway or disrupting retail staff from their workflow. Challenged by space constraints and increased labor demands, distributors and shippers are finding success with smaller pallets to meet retail’s diverse requirements.

“Half pallets are usually requested for the unique needs of retailers,” says Zach Thompson, product manager at ORBIS Corp. “Facilities, product load, load type and materials handling equipment dictate when a small format pallet is required versus standard-size pallets, which are primarily used in racking, warehousing and truck transport since these environments rely on standard and common footprints to best optimize space.”

By contrast, almost no two retail stores are ever the same, with varying layout and product requirements.

“In the beverage space or just in store spaces, these drivers move products from the parking lot through sometimes a single door, up ramps and tight turns,” explains Kevin McWilliams, director of major accounts, beverage team for Yale Lift Truck Technologies. “The smaller pallets and smaller footprint delivery machine allow them to get deeper into the store, and having a platform that can lift product to assist in the restocking process allows drivers to put that product on the shelf right in front of them, and since the smaller footprint machine can detach from the larger, base pallet jack, there’s no need to hand stack it down onto a cart … so that together with the smaller, reusable pallets, it allows you to minimize touches as you’re making the delivery.”

This set up not only saves time but improves labor conditions for drivers.

“That half pallet allows you to be more efficient with your time; it also enables longevity of your driver and your merchandiser because you’re packing out on that pallet before you get to that store, and you’re taking it directly to where it needs to go,” says Shannon Sackett, vice president of marketing at the Rehrig Pacific Company. “You’re saving not only time, but you’re saving in labor and improving the lives of those drivers, so you have a higher job retention because of the way that you’re being thoughtful about how you’re packing out before you even leave, rather than wasting that time and that manpower at a store.”

Navigating space constraints

In many retail environments, space is limited and maximizing facings per square foot is the end goal. This makes delivering pallets full of product to the retail floor particularly challenging.

Alternatively, small format pallets enable associates to maneuver safely through tight corridors and negotiate small turning radii, according to Thompson, noting that ergonomically, the reduced weight of half pallets also makes them safer for employees to handle.

In addition to safer handling, smaller pallets reduce the overall labor load of delivery drivers who can get deeper into the store and minimize merchandising delays.

“That’s really the heavy labor part of the delivery, so if it allows you to get closer into where the product is ending up, they can get it unloaded and get out of there quicker,” says McWilliams.

This flexibility is especially important in the food and beverage industry where distributors are handling more SKUs, product types and flavor varieties than ever before. Distributors need to be able to easily mix product loads as opposed to bringing in a traditional pallet loaded with multiple cases of the same product.

“The half pallet is really good because it allows them to pick mixed product loads easier, which will then get more of the product that the retailer actually wants into the store, which turns the product over quicker, and then ultimately, the distributor is more profitable by getting them what sells quicker,” says McWilliams.

Half pallets have considerable storage benefits as well because they take up less space overall on the retail floor, the backroom and in the warehouse.

“If you can think of a stack of 50 stringer pallets, I can put essentially twice as many of these pallets in that same footprint because they nest together,” explains Ben Timmons, vice president of sales at Litco, noting that taking up less warehouse space with empty pallets is crucial for many operations.

“Narrower profiles enable retailers to protect and store their goods while providing adequate space for employees to move throughout the backroom,” says Thompson. “Being able to use smaller materials handling equipment is also a benefit.”

For example, Timmons has a customer in California who struggles with space constraints in the warehouse due to regulations that restrict them from storing pallets outdoors because it’s considered a fire hazard.

“They like using our pallets because they can—in the same footprint they need to keep 500 regular pallets—put 1,100 [half] pallets … so they have better utilization of their warehouse space,” explains Timmons.

Lower shipping costs with closed loop stops

Perhaps more critical than navigating space constraints, half pallets give distributors and shippers a standard platform to pick and divide their orders exactly as needed for each delivery stop on one mixed pallet. This provides critical time and cost savings on that last mile of delivery.

“In the retail supply chain, minimizing inbound and outbound freight cost per piece is a common goal,” says Thompson. “Small format pallets enable distribution centers to maximize the positions per trailer on their outbound shipments. Additionally, smaller pallets allow DC-to-store transporters to carry smaller handling equipment and use unloading methods that can be more agile.”

Rather than having to unbox or unstack a full pallet at each stop, half pallets can be preplanned and pulled in full into the retail location for delivery.

“If you have a smaller product, you don’t need to send a full 48 x 40-inch pallet, so you don’t need to pay for that whole footprint to ship,” says Timmons. “You can put it on a smaller pallet and then have a better use of your shipping space.”

In this type of distribution model, half pallets are also reusable in a closed loop system, McWilliams adds.

“They’re making closed loop stops every day, so having it where they’re dropping one off and putting one pallet back on the truck, bringing it back for picking even that night, is a big improvement for their cost of operations,” says McWilliams.

Sackett also acknowledges the benefits, but cautions that this distribution model requires upstream knowledge of how each pallet gets packed out and delivered to each different point of distribution.

Faster, more appealing merchandising

Plastic half pallets make great merchandising displays, often used at the end of an aisle for seasonal product or items that are frequently switched out.

Traditional wooden pallets can serve the same purpose, but they’re not always as visually appealing with odd-shaped dimensions, splinters and nails protruding through the bottom deck board.

“As those pallets get kind of slid around the grocery store, they kind of scratch the flooring, remove some of the wax, and then that collects dirt and makes it look not so pretty,” says Timmons.

In comparison, half pallets, which are typically made from plastic or pressed and molded wood, are not built with nails but have smooth rounded edges that can easily be moved around.

“That’s where we’ve seen a lot of success, a lot of good feedback from the grocery stores,” says Timmons, referring to Litco’s engineered molded wood pallets. "They’re smooth, they’re easily movable, there’s not a concern about nail pokes or splinters from these pallets, and then at the end of the day, they can be nested back together and take up minimal amount of square footage." 

Thompson agrees, noting half pallets are “well-suited for small merchandising displays, keeping product off the floor and protecting it from the flow of traffic.”

This was a key concern for Wonderful Pistachios when they partnered with Litco to reduce damage to their seasonal point-of-purchase displays during transit.

In addition to shipping issues, recycled wood stringer pallets were causing safety concerns for warehouse and retail staff, and retail customers regularly complained of scratches on store floors caused by exposed nails and splinters common in wood pallets.

Wonderful Pistachios made the switch to Litco’s quarter-size engineered molded wood pallets resulting in less damage and product loss during shipping, increased packing efficiency, and safer handling throughout the supply chain.

Overall, the nestable pallets allowed Wonderful to ship more than four times as many pallets per truckload compared to recycled wood pallets (4,200 vs. 1,000), cutting shipping costs and maximizing warehouse space.

Equipment matters

When it comes to direct-to-store delivery, “the equipment that moves it is as important as the pallet itself,” says Sackett.

Last-mile delivery requires the smallest footprint truck available, but at the right capacity to get what’s needed into the store most efficiently.

“You need kind of a combination of lightweight plus maneuverable plus small in stature to be able to get into the area where you are,” says McWilliams. “It’s kind of a little bit of push and tug on each one of the crucial items.”

Yale recently introduced a new truck specifically aimed at meeting the needs of the retail delivery market. The Route Runner combines a walkie pallet truck with a detachable motorized nesting sled that allows operators to move products from trailers into stores without changing equipment.

“The walkie takes the brunt of the parking lot and the potholes and all that kind of stuff, and then the sled portion is your indoor unit, which that’s where the increase in productivity and efficiency is,” says McWilliams. “It’s got a power drive to get you over the threshold back to where you need to be quicker, and then an ergo lift feature that raises the forks up so now you’re no longer picking that product up off the floor. You’re picking it up at waist high and putting it right on the shelf in front of you.”

Rehrig Pacific offers a similar product, called the Duo Lift, that simplifies the direct-to-store delivery process. The Duo Lift is one lift that does two jobs. It can both pickup pallets from the truck and then carry those pallets into the store, navigating between tight aisles and sharp corners—a job traditionally reserved for a manual hand truck.

“So instead of dropping a pallet in front of one of these convenience stores and then having to transfer your powered material onto a hand truck, which is a lot of times how it works, you’re wheeling in and then dropping it in the cooler, and then doing all that manual merchandising,” explains Sackett.

For Rehrig, eliminating that back-breaking manual labor to improve the lives of delivery drivers is always top of mind, with Sackett noting their innovations focus on how they can get into a store and make that last mile, that direct-to-store delivery more seamless and easier for a drive.

“We are really passionate about that driver and about that end user, because it’s really their lives that are improved by using half pallets,” she concludes. 

Global e-commerce sales hit $6.42 trillion in 2025 and they’re headed to $7.89 trillion by 2028, when online purchases will account for nearly a quarter of everything people buy worldwide. Last year, more than three billion people shopped online.

The pandemic pushed millions of first-time online shoppers into the habit of buying online, and most of them stayed. At the same time, smart phones put a store in everyone’s pocket and consumers got so comfortable with mobile payments that presenting a physical credit card at a register feels like work.

B2B is following the same path, with business buyers increasingly expecting the same fast, self-serve purchasing experience they get as consumers.

The massive shift isn’t lost on the order packaging process, which has been through some serious iterations over the last five to 10 years. The same warehouse that mainly handled pallets of merchandise might now be shipping a single tube of lip balm to an apartment in Austin, a mixed box of skincare products to a single-family home in Denver, or a single oversized item to a business address in Atlanta, all before noon the following day.

Each one of those orders needs the right size box or mailer, the right protective material and the right label. It also has to stand up to newer trends like unboxing, where a TikTok or YouTube user films themselves opening a package, with the goal of sharing the experience with their followers. One crushed corner, sloppy tape job or huge box stuffed with excess void fill can turn a single fulfillment mistake into a brand reputation problem with a very public audience.

“The unboxing experience has become part of the brand,” says Bryan Boatner, chief revenue officer at Ranpak. “When customers receive a package now, the experience is often documented and shared on social media. For many companies, that moment when the box gets opened is the customer’s first real interaction with the product.”

This viral trend has forced fulfillment operations to rethink how products are packed before those goods leave the DC or warehouse. Right-sized packaging, consistent packing methods and protective materials that keep products secure without stuffing boxes with excess filler all help shape that experience.

Generational forces

Gen Z is also influencing how companies think about e-commerce packaging. This generation grew up with online shopping and social media, and many of them pay close attention to how products arrive at their doorsteps. Excess packaging, single-use plastics and oversized boxes can quickly turn customers off, and one bad unboxing moment can spread like wildfire online.

Recent research backs that up. A SmartLifeco survey found that more than half (53%) of Gen Zers stopped buying a product or brand because of excessive plastic packaging, while 21% said they always check packaging labels for sustainability claims. The findings highlight how closely younger shoppers are watching the materials companies use and how quickly packaging choices can influence brand loyalty.

“Gen Z is now one of the largest demographics in e-commerce, and there’s evidence they’ll change brands if they receive a lot of unsustainable packaging,” says Boatner. “If there’s excessive plastic or materials that can’t easily be recycled, customers notice that, and it affects how they feel about the brand.”

Automation exposes a new bottleneck

TikTok videos and concerns over excessive use of popcorn in oversized boxes aren’t the only forces reshaping e-commerce packaging. Within the four walls of the warehouse, a new wave of automation is also changing how orders move through fulfillment operations and how products ultimately get packed.

Over the last few years, many DCs invested heavily in mobile robots, automated picking systems and other technologies designed to speed up order fulfillment. Those systems improved picking productivity, but they also pushed a new challenge further down the process.

James Malley, CEO and co-founder of Paccurate, says many operations are discovering that packaging stations have become the new bottleneck.

“Automation has proliferated pretty widely on the picking side,” Malley says. “Once you remove that bottleneck, you suddenly have much more volume moving downstream and packaging becomes the next constraint in the process.”

In response, companies are re-evaluating how packing stations are designed and how packaging decisions are made on the warehouse floor. Some operations are adding automated packing equipment or redesigning packing workflows so they can keep up with higher order volumes moving through the building.

You can’t solve packaging problems with process

Companies are also taking a harder look at how packaging decisions happen inside their fulfillment operations.

In the past, Malley says those choices often relied on experience and workarounds developed over time. If a product arrived damaged once, for example, the typical response might be to wrap it in large amounts of protective material rather than analyze the root cause of the problem.

“For a long time, companies tried to solve packaging problems with process,” Malley says. “If something got damaged in transit, the reaction might be to wrap it in a huge amount of bubble wrap because there wasn’t a technical way to solve it.”

Today, new software tools and packaging analytics support more precise decisions about box sizes and protective materials. Instead of relying on guesswork or institutional knowledge, fulfillment teams can test packaging configurations and create rules that determine how different products should be packed. Even slight modifications are helping e-commerce companies deal with rising transportation costs and tighter margins.

“The pressure to preserve margins is up,” Malley says. “Customers aren’t putting up with inefficiency in packaging anymore, and companies are realizing they need to get their arms around it quickly.”

Right-sized and on-demand packaging gain traction

Companies are investing millions of dollars in warehouse automation, yet in many facilities the person standing at the pack station is still manually selecting boxes from a lineup of 10 to 20 different sizes.

That disconnect has opened the door for a new generation of right-sized and on-demand packaging systems designed to create a box that fits each order instead of forcing products into pre-set carton sizes.

Brian Reinhart, chief revenue officer at Packsize, says the change reflects a broader shift underway in e-commerce fulfillment. “For a long time, the focus was growth at all costs. Ship it fast no matter what,” Reinhart says. “Now e-commerce operations are becoming more focused on profitability, damage reduction and returns mitigation. Companies want to make sure they’re getting real value out of the business.”

Dimensional weight has become one of the biggest drivers behind that shift, particularly as carriers price shipments based on how much space a package takes up in transit. “Any time companies are looking for an economic advantage,” says Reinhart, “that’s where right-sized packaging and on-demand packaging become much bigger considerations.”

Reinhart says maintaining clean product data has also become a growing challenge for many e-commerce operations. With thousands or even millions of SKUs moving through fulfillment networks, product catalogs change constantly as new items are introduced and others are phased out. When that data isn’t accurate or up to date, it becomes harder for fulfillment teams to determine which carton size will work best for a given order.

“E-commerce operations deal with an abundance of SKUs, and they’re often changing significantly,” Reinhart says. “Maintaining accurate data is always something they’re battling against.”

To work around the issue, some companies are adopting packaging systems that create boxes after items have already been picked. Instead of relying on stored product data to determine carton size in advance, the order is picked into a tote, scanned in real time and then packed into a box that is created on demand around the products inside.

The approach allows companies to maintain right-sized packaging even when product data is incomplete or constantly changing, while also helping reduce excess corrugate, dunnage and shipping costs.

Some companies are pulling ahead

Looking ahead, Boatner says technologies like on-demand printing are beginning to push e-commerce packaging beyond basic protection and cost control. New systems can print customized graphics or messages directly on cartons as they’re formed, allowing companies to personalize packaging at the individual order level.

“We have printing technology that can customize packaging down to the order level,” Boatner says. “If a package is being delivered for a birthday or a special occasion, you can personalize that message directly on the carton.”

Packaging automation is also helping fulfillment centers address some of their most persistent operational challenges. By reducing manual decision-making at pack stations, for example, companies can cut down on packing errors and ease labor shortages inside the warehouse.

Automated systems also allow companies to right-size cartons more consistently, reducing shipping volume and material usage at the same time.

With transportation, materials and labor costs rising, operators have less room for inefficient processes than they did just a few years ago. Malley says companies that treat packaging as a strategic part of fulfillment will be better positioned as e-commerce continues to evolve.

“We’re seeing companies trying to get more efficient, greener and faster at the same time,” he adds. “The ones that are making those improvements now are the ones that are pulling ahead.” 

Far from a new concept, digital twins have been around for more than a decade, even if they didn’t start with that specific name. With the addition of AI, today they provide far more insights than ever imagined back when the term was coined in 2010.

At the time of introduction to warehousing, the original digital twins began as computer-aided design and moved into building information modeling. These early versions involved no live features, but as they evolved, began to include sensors and warehouse management systems (WMS), becoming what many people today consider dynamic digital twins—even if that’s not quite the case.

By 2023, Maersk began rolling out digital twin simulations that “predict what will happen operationally in the near term.” This was a critical turning point. “Historically, digital twins have relied heavily on system-of-record data, but without real-world validation, they drifted from reality,” says Joseph Mirabile, vice president of operations at Gather AI.

Then AI entered the picture, and digital twins became the robust tools they are today. “Physical AI bridges the gap by continuously capturing visual ground truth and syncing it with WMS and cloud systems,” said Mirabile.

This “ground truth” is a game changer, and what makes today’s digital twins so valuable in warehousing. “Digital twins are a dynamic representation of the processes, the assets, the labor and layout of a facility,” says Raj Senguttuvan, senior vice president of product at Roboteon. “This isn’t a static view, but a look at a living, breathing facility, captured and represented on a pane of glass.”

In practical terms, today’s digital twins allow warehousing to optimize inventory placement, pick paths and more. When using them on a regular basis, digital twins can lead to continuous improvement and the ability to scale quickly and more easily than ever before. Warehouses recognize this, and the digital twin market reflects that growing adoption: Research indicates the market size was nearly $36 billion globally in 2025, estimated to reach $328 billion by 2033.

While AI-enabled operations and tools are seemingly everywhere—and in some cases overblown—with digital twins, there’s no putting this genie back in the bottle.

From static to real-time

For AI to become a piece of the digital twin landscape, it first needed data capture tools to mature. Traditional technologies like bar coding and RFID, IoT sensors that measure temperature, movement and equipment status, robotics and software like WMS all play a role in data capture, which feeds the AI-driven models that provide a living twin.

“Modern warehouses have a whole range of systems that need to connect into one platform,” explains Senguttuvan. “You can’t orchestrate a virtual world if you can’t capture as much as possible from the real world. Most systems today have standardized API protocols that make integration easy.”

Before live data capture, building a digital twin involved significant manual mapping, integration work, and assumptions about how operations run.

“With modern machine vision and connected equipment, much of that set up can be automated through live data capture,” says Mirabile. “This effort shifts from manual modeling to integrating real-time visual intelligence into existing systems.”

Today’s digital twins operate in conjunction with WMS systems, helping overcome the limitations of WMS, which only operate at a logical level, never closing the data loop with “ground truth,” says Andrei Danescu, founder and CEO at Dexory.

“The digital twin is built from the ground up using real scans of the warehouse, incorporating data from autonomous robots that collect data,” Danescu explains. “This process allows for the reconciliation of WMS data and other system information with the three-dimensional elements and availability of product on the ground, creating a single piece of truth.”

Robotics are an increasingly integral piece of the digital twin process, introducing speed and variability that static models can’t keep up with. “If the digital twin doesn’t accurately reflect how robots, forklifts and autonomous systems are interacting with inventory, it quickly becomes outdated,” says Mirabile. “Modeling these processes ensures the twin reflects true throughput, congestion and execution performance, not just planned workflows.”

The effort required to get a digital twin up and running depends on the complexity and scale of the operation, says Kelly Bartlett, director of operations optimization at Dematic. “Ideally, you’d want your digital twin technology to integrate into your overall solution design during the planning phase rather than treating it as an afterthought.”

A strong data foundation is key, says Bartlett. As a project moves from design to commissioning and then into live operations, updates to layouts, equipment and software should be connected back to a shared database backbone.

“This helps ensure the virtual model stays aligned with the physical system and prevents teams from working off outdated information,” Bartlett adds. “While setting up a digital twin requires coordination across engineering, IT and operations teams, it typically aligns with normal system design and commissioning activities, minimizing additional disruption. When done well, it can reduce ramp-up time and lower risk during go-live.”

Once you’re in a groove with digital twins, you can take advantage of the time horizons concept. “When you have the power to see what has happened, you can look at the heat maps and determine what you’ll need at a given point in the future,” says Senguttuvan. “For instance, if you need six workers in a certain aisle at a certain hour, how will that impact your production? You can test it in the virtual environment and see how this might work in the future.”

Digital twins can help in both the short-, mid- and long-term, according to Bartlett. “By supporting decisions across these different time horizons, digital twins help operators move from reactive, disconnected planning to proactive, data-driven planning at every level of the organization,” she says. "Real-world digital twin data isn’t static, and that’s the differentiator. This enables the platform to evolve beyond a visibility tool and run scenario analysis based on actual information, avoiding assumptions or simplifications."

Getting it straight

As with any fast-moving technology, the general understanding of digital twins in the warehousing industry is often misconstrued.

“The term is used pretty loosely in our opinion,” says KG Ganapathi, founder and CEO at Vimaan. “Too often, we’ll hear people considering a piece of inventory and its location at a given point in time in the WMS a digital twin. That’s extremely inadequate.”

Instead, said Ganapathi, to have a digital twin, you must describe everything about that piece of inventory that is contextually relevant from a business standpoint. This can include what item came into the warehouse, when, what its condition is, how big it is, its serial number and more. In other words, the details go well beyond the data captured on a bar code and include all the operations associated with the item.

Confusion also exists between digital twins and simulation, and potential customers often conflate the two.

“Simulation environments can be more open-ended and do not necessarily have to be a functional replica of a physical site, allowing for various levels of resolution, from high-fidelity operations to low-fidelity logical optimization,” says Danescu. “In contrast, a digital twin must be an actual representation of the physical world, built from the ground up using real data rather than synthetic data or simplifications of reality.”

A digital twin can be used for simulation, but having a simulation environment does not equate to having a digital twin of that specific location.

When rolled out and implemented, today’s digital twins can lead to impressive returns. Jaipur Living, a luxury rug manufacturer, is a good example. The company struggled with high velocity inventory movement and order fulfillment.

Its dense inventory proved particularly challenging for the team, especially as they were equipped only with RF scanners for inventory location. Average bin accuracy was around 50%, and the overall building accuracy ran about 70% to 75%.

At a trade show, Jaipur learned about Vimaan’s StorTrack cycle counting solution, which includes a digital twin application called ViewDeck. By adding visual evidence, Jaipur has identified inconsistencies and errors, improving inventory accuracy by 100%, and cycle counting speed by 40%.

Because the modern iteration of digital twins is still relatively new, the companies behind them still have their work cut out for them with education.

“We’re seeing good success as we try to penetrate markets,” said Ganapathi. “We’re early in the journey, but we’re helping companies rethink how to represent inventory, and how that can generate an ROI.” 

The answer was a full redesign of its Las Vegas distribution center in partnership with a supplier (FORTNA). The plan called for consolidating operations, retiring an older California facility and creating a centralized hub that could support higher volumes with better efficiency. Instead of making incremental improvements, Moen chose to rethink how the building worked from end to end.

After evaluating the existing operation, the team deployed a customized AutoStore system, a high-density grid of stacked bins accessed by autonomous robots. The system allows products to be stored vertically and retrieved quickly, reducing travel time and maximizing space inside the building.

Warehouse execution and control software (FORTNA) manages activity across receiving, storage, picking, packing and shipping, helping keep orders flowing smoothly throughout the day.

Beyond goods-to-person automation, Moen added advanced sorting and materials handling systems to streamline carton movement. Orders are directed to the correct lanes with fewer touches, reducing unnecessary travel and congestion on the floor.

The company also invested in workforce training to ensure employees were comfortable with the new technology and workflows from the start.

The impact was significant. Moen increased throughput at the Las Vegas facility by 435%, allowing the company to process far more orders than before. At the same time, automation and redesigned workflows reduced reliance on manual labor by 60%. That shift helped stabilize operations in a tight labor market while improving consistency and accuracy.

Centralizing distribution into a modernized hub also improved delivery performance to retail partners and end customers. With faster processing and fewer bottlenecks, Moen can move product out the door more predictably. The redesign included right-sized packaging that reduces waste, lowers freight costs and trims the overall shipping footprint.

“Partnering with FORTNA once again to optimize our new greenfield location in North Las Vegas was a key decision for us. Our approach strategically resulted in a facility that maximizes our warehouse performance, allowing us to enhance efficiency across every phase of our operations,” says Christopher Toma, senior director of distribution at Moen.

By combining dense storage, coordinated software and streamlined material flow, Moen built a distribution model designed for higher volumes and steadier performance. The result is a facility that supports growth without relying on constant labor expansion or patchwork process fixes. 

However, this month’s issue offers a solid reminder that running a successful warehouse requires attention to far more than any one trend. From workplace design and employee retention to emerging digital technologies, automation of physically demanding tasks and the growing complexity of e-commerce fulfillment, the modern DC touches a surprisingly wide range of operational disciplines.

Included in this diverse collection of features this month, editor at large Bridget McCrea examines one of the most fundamental issues facing warehouse operators today—creating a workplace where employees actually want to work.

“Despite all the attention being paid to automation, warehouses still depend heavily on people,” says McCrea. “Workers receive inventory, pick orders, replenish stock and manage returns. Yet the labor challenges facing the sector remain significant.” According to ManpowerGroup, 74% of companies in warehouse/DC sector report talent shortages, while voluntary turnover in warehousing continues at surprisingly high levels.

As McCrea reports this month, the reality is forcing operators to look beyond wages and focus on the workplace itself. Lighting, ergonomics, flooring, temperature control and noise levels are increasingly being recognized as factors that influence employee satisfaction and retention. In other words, the warehouse environment itself has become an operational strategy.

Advanced technology is also reshaping how warehouse managers understand and manage their facilities. This month, contributing editor Amanda Loudin explores the growing role of digital twins—virtual models that mirror the physical warehouse in real time.

Digital twins allow operators to visualize operations, analyze performance and simulate changes before implementing them on the warehouse floor. Powered by sensors, robotics, warehouse management system data and increasingly artificial intelligence, these digital replicas provide a new level of operational visibility and planning capability.

“What once began as static modeling has evolved into dynamic, data-driven tools that help operators move from reactive decision-making to proactive planning,” reports Loudin.

Meanwhile, some of the most significant advances in warehouse automation are occurring in areas that historically received less attention. Loudin looks at the evolution of automated depalletizing—long considered one of the most physically demanding and unpopular jobs in the warehouse.

Taken together, our collection of features this month illustrate an important reality about the modern warehouse. Inside the four walls, success depends on far more than just one technology, one system or one operational strategy. It requires a careful balance of people, processes, technology and infrastructure—all working together. 

Title: Senior director of fulfillment center systems

Location: Chicago

Experience: Nearly 14 years at Parts Town; leads WMS and warehouse systems strategy; Parts Town’s point
person on its partnership with Aspire, a nonprofit serving people with disabilities.

Modern: For readers who may not be familiar, what exactly is this Aspire program and Parts Town’s role in it?

Kenny William: Aspire is a nonprofit that supports people with disabilities, and they launched a warehouse training program to prepare young adults for jobs in distribution and fulfillment. The idea is to give them hands-on experience in a simulated environment before they enter the workforce.

At Parts Town, we already had a relationship with Aspire. We’ve hired from them before, and one of our vice presidents, Larry Hartley, previously served on their board. When the opportunity came up to help build a more formal training center, we saw a chance to contribute in a bigger way.

Modern: How did the concept of a simulated warehouse training center come together?

William: Larry had seen something similar at a previous company and knew it was possible. When he approached me, my team specializes in warehouse management systems (WMS), specifically Infios, which we use to run our own fulfillment centers.

Instead of creating a theoretical training tool, we thought, why not set up a simplified version of the system we use? That way, trainees would work with real scanners, real prompts and workflows, and a real WMS environment, just without real customer data. We wanted it to feel authentic.

Modern: The program has now been live for about a year. What does the training actually look like?

William: It launched in January 2025 and runs quarterly cohorts of about 10 participants. The training lasts 10 weeks, and part of it includes time onsite at Parts Town so trainees can see a live fulfillment operation.

What’s powerful is when they walk into our building and realize the scanners are the same ones they’ve been using. The screens look familiar. The prompts feel familiar. That recognition builds confidence right away.

The system we built is intentionally simplified. We donated and purchased small parts, so they have around 70 to 80 SKUs staged in short aisles that resemble a real warehouse layout. Every night, the system resets, so it looks the same the next morning. We don’t want them dealing with stockouts, inventory adjustments or complex exceptions. The goal is training, not running a business.

Modern: What was your biggest challenge when building this environment?

William: For me, it was figuring out how much to simplify. In a real warehouse, you design everything to protect data integrity. You don’t let users reset devices or bypass steps because that can create bigger problems.

Here, I had to suspend those instincts. If someone gets stuck in a workflow, the trainers need to be able to reset the device and start over. In a live operation, that would be a red flag. In a training center, it keeps learning and moving forward.

It took about a month for my senior architect and me to stand up the system. The stakes are lower than deploying a live customer-facing operation, but the creative thinking is similar. It’s still about designing processes that work for the user, just with fewer real-world consequences.

Modern: From a hiring standpoint, what makes this program valuable?

William: You don’t really know what someone can do until they try. Traditional interviews are often a loose assessment of history and experience. This program gives people a real way to demonstrate their ability.

The participants have the technical aptitude to succeed in a warehouse but may lack some of the softer career skills, such as navigating interviews or the job search process. By the time they finish the program, they’ve proven they can execute processes that closely mirror a live fulfillment center. 

That was the situation Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits faced when it decided to consolidate two legacy DCs in Louisiana into one new site to serve its growing markets in Louisiana. The new site in Geismar, La., near Baton Rouge, is a new warehouse that can handle more order volume more efficiently than the legacy sites could.

In addition to a big step up in throughput and efficiency, other strategic objectives of the projects included:

• Improving ergonomics and creating a more appealing warehouse environment.

• Increasing order picking efficiency and accuracy for customer-specific pallet builds to support flawless route deliveries.

• Building a structured, preplanned expansion path into the facility and automation design to accommodate future growth without halting production.

• Standardizing automated DC design for wine and spirits distribution, including both warehouse automation hardware and supporting software such as the warehouse control system (WCS).

To address all these goals at Geismar, Southern Glazer’s brought in a system integrator (Dematic) to design the pick modules, conveyor and sortation, along with other elements central to the site’s efficiency. While Southern Glazer’s works with multiple integrators and technology providers depending on regional or site needs, Dematic’s design for Geismar is being leveraged for an additional DC with similar needs in Columbia, S.C.

Geismar hits multiple objectives, explains Karli Sage, vice president of supply chain management technology and engineering for Southern Glazer’s. While the wine and spirits industry needs to comply with state regulations that often limit a DC to in-state distribution, Southern Glazer’s is seeking to standardize the range of automation technologies and software it is deploying, with a planned method for scaling the DC over a 15-year plus timeframe, Sage says.

“We now have more of a blueprint for facilities of this type and some technology vendors we know we want to work with,” says Sage. “In terms of scalability—that aspect is huge because we can handle the volumes of today and have the ability to grow the facility into a matured state without having to make disruptive additional changes.”

Toward standardization

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits is the world’s largest distributor of beverage alcohol, including wine and spirits, mixer beverages, and in some markets, beer. The multi-generational, family-owned company has operations in 47 U.S. markets and Canada, as well as brokerage operations through its Southern Glazer’s Travel Retail Sales & Export Division in the Caribbean, Central and South America.

The scale of the company’s network is massive, with 15 million square feet of warehouse space, a fleet of 3,000 trucks, roughly 6.7 million customer deliveries annually, across thousands of brands. The size of the company expanded significantly in early 2016, when Southern Glazer’s was formed when Southern Wine & Spirits merged with Glazer’s Inc.

Given that the size, volume and types of products handled vary within the network, Southern Glazer’s doesn’t seek to put the exact same warehouse automation infrastructure in every DC. Some smaller sites may also use manual methods and storage, or voice-directed software.

Other sites are heavily automated. For example, in Las Vegas, where Southern Glazer’s distributes beer in large volumes, the company has deployed an automated robotics-based system from Symbotic. Another major DC in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas had an extensive warehouse automation solution installed a few years back, and those systems are operating efficiently.

Much of the standardization is tied to Southern Glazer’s push to consolidate older DCs with minimal automation into larger DCs that leverage proven automation such as pick modules, conveyor and sortation, as well as semi-automated palletizing stations, so the operation can handle higher throughput with greater labor efficiency. For the workforce, this blend of automation also is less strenuous versus traditional manual case handling workflows.

“We are always thinking about how to make for a safer, less strenuous work environment, through the systems we put in,” says Sage. “We want to avoid that constant bending and any overhead lifting, and by keeping people in a tight zone of the warehouse, to reduce extra walking that they may have to do to fill orders.”

Another common denominator at sites such as Geismar, as well as the new DC in Columbia, which is set to go live in Q1 2026, is the need to build up mixed-SKU pallets for route delivery. The automation, WCS and case pick processes and sequencing of picked cases are all done with route delivery in mind. The systems ensure the last stop is loaded first, and the first stop is loaded last.

The pick modules, conveyor/sortation and palletizing stations are more labor efficient than manual methods. While the new sites continue to have reserve storage for single SKU pallets, and some case-level shelf storage for slow movers, on most days, nearly all the fulfillment work is with the new automation. At Geismar, for example, on some shifts, more than 90% of the case picking is handled through the pick modules, says Juliana Purcello, Southern Glazer’s vice president of operations for the region.

The automation also ensures high accuracy for customer deliveries, since fixed-position scan points are located at the takeaway. The conveyor runs at each level of each pick module to spot issues such as mis-picks or cases lacking a label. These are immediately set aside in a hospital lane to be corrected.

“The legacy warehouses did not have this automated functionality for doing a UPC (universal product code) validation at a scan tunnel,” Purcello says. “Now, our new system will read the shipping label and compare it against the UPC to ensure everything is correct, which ultimately helps prevent mis-ships to customers.”

The standardization trend at Southern Glazer’s includes software. The company now uses warehouse management system (WMS) software from Manhattan Associates for almost all of its sites. Meanwhile, for new automated sites including Geismar and Columbia, S.C., Dematic’s WCS is being deployed. The WCS orchestrates the automation zones, as well as all the case and split-case picking activities, to enable fluid, timely loading for route deliveries.

Columbia will have the same WCS and nearly identical automation (a bit more hardware, since it’s designed to handle more volume). With common visualization and analytics, the WCS helps manage the flow of work, says Carlos Osma, senior director of engineering and operations with Southern Glazer’s.

“Both of these facilities are using the exact same software, controls and actually the automation hardware, too,” says Osma. “When you standardize across all these levels, you get better results. You know what to expect from the systems and how to use them.”

The level of analytics and dashboarding with the new cloud-based WCS is a major improvement in visualization versus the nearly 20-year-old WCS solution at the legacy sites, adds Osma.

“I’m a big fan of visual aids when it comes to WCS,” Osma says. “Now we have a better picture of what is happening in near real time. If there is a jam or other exception in the system, we can see it flagged right on a map. It helps day to day, and with training when you have these visual aids.”

Key systems in use

The systems at Geismar include two, four-level pick modules. Each level has a dedicated conveyor line to transport cases to downstream sorting and palletizing. Additionally, a single-level pick module was designed for expansion, as well as a bottle-pick area below the main sortation merge, which is for picking mixed SKU cases of wine and spirits. Associates here use voice-directed picking.

The picking in the case pick modules is manual using pre-printed shipping labels. It is a manual process in some respects, but with minimal worker travel. The case handling, compared with picking cases from shelving, doesn’t involve as much reaching and bending, which makes it more ergonomic.

“We are able to slot full pallets into the pick module pick location, and the conveyor is waist height, so most of the picking is done at waist height, with little travel involved to set a case on the conveyor,” says Purcello.

Picked cases are sorted to semi-automated palletizing stations with a waist-height processing table. Once a layer is manually positioned by the operator, the pallet sinks down a level so that the next layer remains at an ideal working height. For the operator, this means little lifting—more of a matter of sliding and positioning the cases rather than hefting cases.

Immediately below each palletizing platform is a stretch wrapper, so the finished pallet build can be wrapped immediately and placed onto a short stretch of pallet conveyor that acts as a short-term buffer for fully finished pallets awaiting pickup by a lift truck operator.

The main shipping merge for the building uses a belted-slug merge that brings together cases coming from different zones of the DC and releases them at high volume. Southern Glazer’s has used this type of belted-slug merge at other DCs, says Osma, since they are well suited to higher-volume operations that need to palletize for route deliveries within a short time window.

Another challenge with the legacy sites is that they lacked adequate storage capacity, leading to the need to maintain overflow buildings, and an inter-building transfer process. Geismar eliminated the need for those overflow buildings.

Geismar is not a fully automated operation. A conventional reserve storage area houses full pallets and some shelf-based case storage for slower-moving SKUs. To automate cycle counting in the reserve storage area at Geismar, an autonomous drone inventory monitoring system from Corvus Robotics is used. The vision data captured by the drones is fed into an analysis tool from the supplier that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to produce an inventory audit that syncs with Southern Glazer’s WMS data to continually monitor for inventory accuracy in reserve storage area.

The new Geismar DC, with advanced automation, has increased picking volume by 25% over the legacy site. In the future, Geismar could handle even higher volumes by expanding its automation footprint.

Future proofing, baked in

Southern Glazer’s designed Geismar to be able to handle 10 years of growth without major changes, but as the markets there grow, the project preplanned specific ways to expand subsystems without disrupting production. For example, the one-story pick module can be expanded by adding levels.

In the outbound sortation, the automation designs more downlines in the outbound shipping sortation. Over time, this could gain the DC 40% more capacity for its outbound sortation, and since the area for future downlines is off to one side of the present downlines, the expansion could happen without disrupting operations.

“This future scalability was planned at Geismar, and we are doing the same in South Carolina, because it’s hard to predict what our markets will be like in 10, or 12, or 15 years,” says Sage. “Increasingly, we are asking our integrator partners, ‘how do you carry us to a position where this site can be successful 20 or 25 years from now, and what is the tech stack that will take us there, with minimal disruption.’”

Implementing at Geismar first while Columbia was still being designed also provided a way to apply lessons learned to Columbia. For example, Sage says, one element of the palletizer divert-arm in the conveyor system at Geismar was slowing down the system’s rate, so it was retrofitted with a more robust configuration. This learning was transferred to Columbia, so that similar constraints were engineered out at the installation.

Another modification at Geismar was the addition of extra lighting beneath the multiple levels of conveyor and sortation infrastructure, so associates working at an exception handling area below had ample lighting. Some additional lighting drops solved this issue at Geismar. The additional drops for lighting were replicated for the Columbia DC.

The consolidation of older sites holds another benefit: new, temperature-controlled buildings, which help attract and retain associates. While fans were used at the legacy sites of Louisiana, the conditions at Geismar are far more comfortable for workers, and the controlled humidity level also avoids issues like condensation on floor surfaces, or challenges with getting labels to stick. With the increased productivity of the new site, the shift structure is now more streamlined at Geismar, which is another plus for employee recruitment and retention.

As Sage explains, the new sites are not only more productive than the legacy sites that had aging automation and antiquated WCS software, they are more appealing places for frontline workers.

“That’s a big part of our focus—how do we enhance the nature of the work that our associates are doing so that they want to continue to come to work every day,” Sage adds.

Making static storage smarter with autonomous drones

The technology cuts traditional cycle counting chores, while providing insights for the inventory control team

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits new DC in Geismar, La., features some advanced automation for efficient picking, sorting and palletizing, but the facility also has plenty of space for traditional static reserve storage and lift truck workflows. However, the reserve storage areas are benefitting from digital inventory monitoring with autonomous drones.

The Corvus One drone system from Corvus Robotics was deployed in Q3 of last year, shortly after the automated facility opened earlier in the year. The fleet of four drones, which can self-launch and land, run daily data capture missions that eliminate the need for most manual cycle counting.

The stream of camera data from the drones feeds into Corvus Robotics’ software, detecting pallets or cases that aren’t the locations that are expected to be under the site’s warehouse management system (WMS).

In effect, the drones ensure goods were put away or picked from correct locations, and pinpoints discrepancies between the actual physical reality of the warehouse, and the WMS view of inventory, on a continuous basis.

“Corvus’ drone technology gives us a real strategic operational advantage,” says Karli Sage, vice president, supply chain management, technology and engineering. “It delivers continuous, accurate visibility into our reserve storage environments, giving us a level of real-time insight we haven’t had before. As we scale this solution, it’s empowering our teams with better information and supporting faster, more data-driven decision making across our supply chain.”

Regular use of the drones also lessens the data collection burden for the inventory control team, while boosting the accuracy of the inventory location data in the WMS. Now when pallets or cases are needed for replenishing the site’s pick module systems and order processing automation, there is high confidence goods will be exactly where the WMS indicates they will be.

“The drones assist us with inventory location accuracy and improve visibility into reserve storage location. This allows our cycle counters to focus their time on other areas such as forward pick locations, bulk storage and hand stack locations,” says Juliana Purcello, vice president of operations, Louisiana, for Southern Glazer’s.

The inventory monitoring solution also provides a dashboard with high-level metrics on inventory levels and storage utilization for managers, but the software can also drill down to specific locations where discrepancies have occurred. Southern Glazer’s is now using Corvus One at nine sites nationwide.

Automation, software and scalability key ingredients for wine & spirits DC

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits consolidated two legacy DCs in Louisiana into one new site to serve its growing markets in Louisiana. The new site can handle more order volume more efficiently than the legacy sites could.

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits state-of-the-art DC in Geismar, La., opened in May 2025, replacing multiple legacy facilities. Designed to support Southern Glazer’s long-term growth in the market, the Geismar facility serves as a strategic anchor in Louisiana, ensuring scalability for the next 30 years.

The technology deployed with the help of systems integrator includes an advanced conveyor and sortation system, multiple pick modules and full integration with a palletizing station equipped with automated stretch wrapping. The DC’s workflows and subsystems are coordinated by warehouse control system (WCS) software, to support direct store route deliveries throughout Louisiana.

Inbound goods, mostly palletized, come in on trucks at the receiving docks (1) and are unloaded using manually operated lift trucks, and the shipments are checked for accuracy at the adjacent receiving area (2). From there, most goods are placed into designated reserve storage areas (3) by lift truck operators.

Most of the case picking is done in the DC’s three pick modules (4), which are replenished using lift trucks. Compared to legacy picking, the process here involves minimal associate travel and keeps case handling at a more ergonomic work height with less reaching, lifting and bending.

Each level of the pick modules has a takeaway conveyor line on which associates place their picked cases after attaching a label. The conveyor system (5) transports picked cases to a slug merge (6) system sorting and buffering system where goods can be temporarily buffered and consolidated with slower moving goods, or with mixed-SKU cases coming from a bottle pick module located beneath this merge. The slug merge is able to buffer and release cases, in the correct sequence for route delivery needs, at high volume.

Near the slug merge area is an area called Jackpot (7) which processes mixed cases of high value goods or other goods that need to be added late to complete a customer route delivery.

From the slug merge, cases can either be conveyed to semi-automated palletizing area (8), while some goods are routed to outbound shipping by the shipping sortation system (9). This shipping sorter system has multiple downlines, with room for future expansion with more downlines and shipment staging areas. In actual operation, most product is floor-loaded directly from the downlines onto the trucks. Only a portion of the volume is palletized — specifically, orders coming from the palletizer or full pallet picks. These goods are staged for reverse‑stop route deliveries and loaded at the shipping docks (10) using lift trucks.

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits

Location: Geismar, La.

Products handled: Wine, spirits, mixers, palletized for route delivery

SKUs: Roughly 10,000 SKUs in the warehouse

Square footage: 375,000 square feet

DC employees: 100 associates and lift truck operators

Throughput metric: DC can handle up to 35,000 cases nightly

Shifts: One day shift, five days a week, focused on inbound receiving; one mid-shift, four days a week, focused on replenishing pick modules; and one night shift, four days a week, focused on picking, palletizing, and outbound shipments.

System Suppliers

Systems integration: Dematic

Conveyor/sortation: Dematic

WCS/warehouse execution software: Dematic

Semi-automated palletizing & stretch wrappers: NūMove Robotics & Vision

WMS: Manhattan Associates

Drone/AI inventory monitoring: Corvus Robotics

Bar code printers: Zebra Technologies

Narrow-aisle lift trucks: Bendi

The new vertical storage system increases storage density, improves picking speed, and optimizes warehouse space, Kardex added. The AutoStore system supplied by Kardex comprises a high-density grid supporting 14,000 storage bins, seven R5 AutoStore robots, and three picking ports. Scalable future growth can be supported by adding additional robots, ports or storage, without disrupting existing operations, Kardex added.

WEG’s Duluth facility supports engineering, sales, and distribution operations across North America. However, as the business expands, so has WEG’s small parts inventory, and this led to challenges in storing and managing material within the existing warehouse footprint. 

WEG opted to implement the Kardex FulfillX warehouse execution system (WES) to orchestrate the flow of thousands of small-parts items in the high-density vertical storage grid. According to Kardex, FulFillX is designed to enhance the performance of the AutoStore ASRS to eliminate extra travel, improve inventory accuracy and visibility, and provide real-time control. The FulFillX operator interface supports picking, putaway, and cycle counting, and is fully integrated with WEG’s ERP system.

Since partnering with Kardex to deploy the solution, WEG has seen small parts picking speeds double and it is able to handle higher order volumes. The Duluth facility has also been able to redeploy several employees from manual picking tasks to higher value-added activities and it has reduced the need for forklifts for picking and putaway.

"Strategically, AutoStore strengthens our distribution capabilities by increasing responsiveness, supporting scalable growth, and enabling faster fulfillment across our US network," said Scott Campbell, logistics manager, WEG. "It has enabled us to free up floor space for products that require conventional racking or larger storage areas, improved inventory accuracy, and given us the ability to store more SKUs without expanding the physical warehouse footprint.”

Kardex, WEG and AutoStore are providing the opportunity to see the system in action at an AutoStore Xperience Day at the Duluth facility on Wednesday April 15, 2026.  Kardex is also appearing at the MODEX 2026 manufacturing and supply chain event at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta on April 13-16, 2026.

Linde is part of the global KION Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of lift trucks and warehouse equipment, as a major provide of intralogistics automation and software. The company is represented in all major regions around the world through a service network spanning more than 100 countries.

UgoWork explained the approval allows Linde customers to integrate UgoWork’s UL-listed energy solutions alongside KION’s existing battery offering, giving its customers flexibility in choosing the forklift power system that best supports their operational objectives. For material handling teams running multiple shifts and in cold/hot environments, the combination offers high throughput levels and extends the lifespan of battery investments, UgoWork added.

“Linde has a long-standing reputation for building robust, precision-engineered lift trucks, and our energy solutions are designed to complement that standard,” said David Mucciacciaro, CEO of UgoWork. “This approval means Linde customers can count on our leading lithium-ion battery solutions that support the performance of their fleet while offering a clear path to efficiency, safety, and long-term cost control. We’re very proud to be part of an energy ecosystem that lets customers choose which OEM solution works best for them.”

Following the recent appointment of its new CEO—an American leader based in the Midwest—UgoWork said it  is accelerating expansion across North America. The company will exhibit at MODEX 2026 in Atlanta, April 13–16, at booth C11983.

The Association for Advancing Automation, also known as A3, announced it has launched a new online course to help workers better understand how industrial robots work and where they fit within the business.

The announcement comes ahead of National Robotics Week, which runs from April 4 through April 12.

As robotics spreads beyond traditional manufacturing roles, companies are finding that many employees lack even a basic understanding of how the technology works. A3 said the goal of the new course is to close that gap by making robotics easier to understand for a wider audience.

“The rate of automation adoption is accelerating, driving the need for individuals across organizations to understand how these systems work and where they deliver value,” said Christelle Keefer, director of training and certifications for A3. “Whether you’re new to robotics, transitioning into an automation-focused role, or looking to strengthen your foundation, this course provides a practical starting point grounded in real-world applications.”

The “Introduction to Industrial Robotics” course is designed as a short, on-demand program that takes about 2.5 hours to complete. It covers how robots function, where they are used, and how they create value in real-world settings.

Unlike more technical training programs, the course is built for people who may not have a background in robotics. That includes professionals managing automated systems, workers entering the field, and business leaders making decisions about automation.

The course also takes a vendor-neutral approach, meaning it is not tied to a specific robotics company or platform. Instead, it focuses on broader concepts that apply across different systems.

A3 said this is the second course in a larger effort to expand training and education around automation as demand for robotics continues to grow.

Pricing for the course is set at $50 for A3 members and $75 for non-members through June 30.

Founded in 1959, Johnson Equipment has operated as a family-owned business for decades and has worked alongside Rite-Hite over the years. The deal brings that relationship closer as Rite-Hite continues to expand its distribution network.

“The Johnson culture and values align perfectly with ours,” said Micaela Bomhack, President and CEO of Rite-Hite. “With a focus on the customer, a deep belief in the Rite-Hite products and solutions and an unwavering commitment to safety, innovation and integrity, this is a great match for both companies.”

Rite-Hite said customers will continue working with the same Johnson Equipment teams they know today.

“We plan to take a thoughtful approach to integrating our businesses so we can capitalize on the best of both organizations,” said Dan Anderson, President of Global Distribution at Rite-Hite.

The Johnson Equipment sales and service offices now become part of Rite-Hite’s growing network of company-owned distribution locations, which serve customers across North America and global markets.

Rite-Hite manufactures a range of material handling products used in warehouses, distribution centers, and industrial facilities, including dock equipment, industrial doors, and safety systems.

The deal expands Rite-Hite’s reach in the southern U.S. and adds to its direct distribution presence in key markets.

MHI CEO John Paxton and Wanda Johnson of Deloitte will present highlights from the report, followed by a panel discussion on how those trends translate into real-world supply chain decisions. “This year’s report moves beyond identifying trends,” Paxton says. “It offers practical examples and a playbook approach to help companies apply automation and artificial intelligence (AI) in their supply chains.”

Panelists include:

• Stephanie Thomas, Associate Professor of Practice of Supply Chain Management Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas
• Andrew Rice, Senior Product Manager of Warehouse Management Systems, Gallo
• Frederick Cox, Director of Manufacturing at Central Shops, Disney
• Camille Blake, Regional Director, Logistics, Carvana

The report focuses on hot topics like artificial intelligence, automation and digital technologies, and includes case studies that show how companies are putting these tools to work in their own operations. Attendees will have early access to the report findings and a clearer view of how emerging technologies fit into current supply chain strategies.

2026 MHI Annual Industry Report Keynote Panel

Wednesday, April 15

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Location: Thomas Murphy Ballroom

Building B, Level 5

At Modex 2026, that energy takes center stage at the StartUp Pavilion and Pitch Competition, where emerging companies showcase breakthrough solutions designed to keep supply chains moving. The StartUp Pavilion—which initially debuted at Modex 2024—will showcase 14 emerging companies whose breakthrough technologies are shaping the future of manufacturing, logistics and distribution.

A live Startup Pitch Contest anchors the StartUp Pavilion on Tuesday, April 14 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the StartUp Theater. Paul Trainor, MHI’s exhibit sales manager, said three finalists will present their solutions in an interactive session before a live judging panel of supply chain practitioners.

“One standout StartUp will be crowned the winner and awarded a $10,000 prize during Wednesday evening’s MHI Industry Night,” said Trainor, “making this a must-see event for anyone focused on what’s next in supply chain innovation.”

The companies have been working together for the past 18 months, using Corvus’ drone system to automate inventory checks inside Southern Glazer’s facilities. The drones fly through warehouse aisles, scanning pallet locations and syncing data directly with the warehouse management system without interrupting picking activity.

So far, the system has completed about 5,000 flights and identified more than 35,000 inventory discrepancies across the network, the companies said.

Southern Glazer’s said improved inventory accuracy has led to a 100-basis-point increase in cases processed per hour, helping facilities move product more efficiently.

The rollout also marks a shift in how inventory is managed. Instead of relying on quarterly counts, Southern Glazer’s has moved to biweekly inventory measurements, giving teams a more current view of stock levels and reducing the risk of errors affecting outbound orders.

“Across our network, inventory accuracy directly impacts how effectively we serve our customers,” said Karli Sage, Vice President, Supply Chain Management, Technology & Engineering, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits. “By increasing the frequency and precision of our reserve inventory validation, we are identifying issues earlier, improving fill rates, and enabling our teams to focus on proactive problem-solving instead of reactive counting. The speed at which we have scaled this technology across nine sites reflects the value it is delivering to our operations.”

For Corvus Robotics, the deployment is one of its largest to date and shows how drone-based inventory systems are moving beyond pilot programs.

“Southern Glazer’s operates at a scale where small improvements in accuracy have meaningful downstream impact,” said Jackie Wu, CEO of Corvus Robotics. “Their team has embraced autonomous inventory as core infrastructure within their supply chain transformation initiative. Scaling to nine facilities with more than 40 drones demonstrates strong operational buy-in and sets a new benchmark for how beverage distributors can modernize inventory control without slowing the floor.”

A version of this article first appeared on sibling brand Supply Chain 24/7. Catch the full content from that story here.

Governor Andy Beshear spoke on March 24th at the Hebron facility in recognition of this achievement, underscoring the significance of this honor for both Ancra Cargo and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The VPP Star certification is awarded to organizations that go above and beyond standard safety requirements by implementing comprehensive safety and health management systems. Certified sites demonstrate strong leadership commitment, active employee involvement, proactive hazard prevention, and injury and illness rates below industry averages.

“This recognition reflects more than a safety system; it represents a culture built on accountability, teamwork, and genuine care for one another,” said Larry Bethel, Ancra Cargo President. “Achieving VPP certification requires commitment and participation from employees at every level of the organization, and today we celebrate the people who make safety part of their everyday work.”


“Ancra Cargo’s recognition with OSHA’s VPP Star Award highlights the kind of leadership and responsibility that make Boone County a great place to work and do business, states Boone County Judge/Executive Gary W. Moore. "Their commitment to safety benefits not only their employees, but our entire community.”


“Congratulations to the entire Ancra Cargo team on its commitment to safety, best practices and continuous improvement,” said BE NKY Growth Partnership CEO Lee Crume. “Achieving the OSHA VPP of Kentucky award demonstrates the excellence of Ancra’s culture and that the company is a safety leader in our community.”


Ancra Cargo is proud to operate in Hebron and to contribute to Kentucky’s strong manufacturing community while continuing to prioritize a safe and empowering workplace for its employees.

The report, Building an AI Advantage in Packaging Equipment, updates a paper published by PMMI in 2024 and attributes the growth in AI’s role to:

• Lower costs and increased accessibility for companies of all sizes.
• Higher awareness and movement beyond pilot projects.
• Stronger confidence in the technology and willingness to invest.
• Greater acceptance as workers, especially on the frontline, experience tangible benefits.

A global product line manager at an industrial technology and automation company predicts a future with even greater benefits: “In the next five years, the trajectory will move from isolated optimization to coordinated orchestration. Plant-wide systems that dynamically balance throughput, quality, cost, and energy consumption across every production stage will mature from specialized installations to standard capability.”

Based on interviews with AI vendors, packaging machinery manufacturers, and consumer packaged goods companies, the latest report discusses technical innovations, driving forces, barriers to adoption, and examples of successful real-world implementations.

“Manufacturers across the packaging value chain are recognizing that AI can help address some of their most pressing challenges, from workforce knowledge gaps to operational efficiency. What we’re seeing now is a shift from isolated pilots toward broader adoption, where AI supports smarter, more connected production environments,” says Jorge Izquierdo, vice president, market development at PMMI.

As use of AI expands, the most common applications fall into five categories, with knowledge transfer and machine vision currently experiencing the highest momentum, followed by predictive maintenance, regulation and compliance, and data transparency.

Despite growing usage, obstacles remain to implementing AI. Primary concerns include data hallucinations and accountability for AI-generated errors. This has increased interest, especially from smaller firms, in software-as-a-service models that shift risk to providers. In addition, although progress has been made in strengthening security, cybersecurity remains a major issue. Other barriers include internal attitudes, ROI, latency challenges, existing data infrastructure, job security, and gaps in operational readiness.

The report outlines five steps needed to achieve a successful AI strategy:

1. Identify business or product challenges.
2. Consult AI experts and identify a suitable approach.
3. Assess system readiness.
4. Manage change and drive adoption.
5. Foster collaboration across stakeholders.

Izquierdo adds: “Artificial intelligence is becoming a practical tool for improving packaging operations, and Pack Expo International offers a unique opportunity for companies to see these innovations in action and explore how they can be applied on the plant floor.”

The AI landscape is advancing at an unprecedented pace, with transformative developments occurring within remarkably short cycles. See the latest innovations in AI at Pack Expo International 2026 (Oct. 18–21; McCormick Place, Chicago) and experience the largest and most comprehensive packaging and processing event in North America. Explore 2,600 exhibitors and discover machinery, materials, and technology solutions for 40+ industries — all in one place. With 48,000 attendees, targeted pavilions, and curated planning tools, it’s easier than ever to find what your operation needs, uncover emerging trends, and make valuable connections. Held only once every two years, Pack Expo International is a can’t-miss opportunity for packaging and processing professionals. To learn more and register, visit packexpointernational.com today. Registration for the show is $30 until Sept. 25, after which it increases to $130.

The companies announced a partnership to bring high-power wireless charging to Dexory’s next-generation autonomous warehouse robots, removing the need to stop for plug-in charging or battery swaps.

As more warehouses rely on real-time data, robots are being asked to do more and stay active for longer stretches. That puts pressure on battery life and uptime, especially in large or busy facilities.

Dexory’s latest robots are designed to operate at higher levels for longer periods, and the new charging system is meant to support that. The wireless setup can handle a wide range of power levels and battery types, making it easier to roll out across warehouses and regions.

The move could help companies avoid the slowdowns that come with manual charging or battery replacements, which can disrupt workflows and reduce efficiency.

“We move incredibly fast as a business, and we need partners who can match that pace,” said Andrei Danescu, CEO of Dexory. “Multipowr combines strong engineering with the ability to respond fast, adapt and work closely with us as our technology evolves. That matters just as much as performance when you are building systems that operate continuously in dynamic, live warehouse environments.”

Multipowr says the focus is on making sure the charging systems can handle the demands of modern warehouses, where robots are expected to run almost nonstop.

“As warehouse operations become more dependent on real-time data, uptime becomes critical,” said Peter Besard, CEO of Multipowr. “Our focus is on delivering wireless charging systems that are reliable, flexible and ready to integrate into complex environments, while working closely with partners like Dexory to meet their specific needs.”

The companies also said they are working together to tailor the technology for different operational needs, suggesting more customization could be on the way.

This rollout of the smart pick-and-place robotics will address the automated handling of shoeboxes. Nomagic's Shoebox Picker is the AI perception and robot control system with an intelligent end-of-arm gripper designed for high-reliability handling of two-piece and unsealed shoeboxes. This leads to a secure process even for unsealed shoeboxes with separating lids, without taping, crushing or losing the lid. The robotic units specialise in item-level picking, scanning, and seamless induction into automated pocket sorters. 

“The testing phase with Nomagic proved that their robotics are an excellent fit for Zalando’s logistics centres,,” said Marcus Daute, Vice President Logistics Network at Zalando. "Following the quick and successful deployment of the first 10 units, we have decided to scale our partnership, gradually rolling out more robots as our network evolves. The sheer scale of our operations demands smart automation that works with our people, not alongside them. By delegating simple processes to AI-powered robots, we achieve the operational excellence our customers and business partners expect while supporting employees’ growth.”

Advanced computer vision is guiding the physical hardware, allowing the robot to “recognise” the specific product type and its orientation in real-time, automatically adjusting its grip type and picking technique to suit each individual item and its orientation, Nomagic explained. 

“Zalando has a great team we collaborate with, both on a project management level and in the warehouses,” said Kacper Nowicki, CEO and Co-Founder of Nomagic. "We highly value our partnership, their trust and especially their openness to implement the latest automation technology like the new Shoebox Picker. By combining the intelligence of AI with a physical system, it solves real-life physical challenges and turns one of the industry’s biggest bottlenecks into a streamlined, automated process."

The first units are already in use in Germany (Lahr, Moenchengladbach) and Italy (Verona). Additional robots will be deployed across Zalando’s key logistics hubs in the Netherlands (Rotterdam), Sweden (Stockholm), France (Paris) and Zalando’s newest fulfilment centre in Giessen (Germany), which is scheduled for its operational ramp-up later this year.

As an industry neutral association, AIM serves as the ISO International Registration Authority (RA) for the ISO/IEC 15459 Standard. ISO/IEC 15459 is an international standard for the unique identification of physical and virtual entities (items, transport units, containers, etc.) across supply chains. It defines rules for generating globally unique identifiers represented via barcodes, 2D symbols, RFID, and other data carriers. These unique identifiers ensure traceability and interoperability between disparate entities.

AIM is responsible for managing the registration, issuance, and tracking of unique Issuing Agency Codes (IAC) and the issuing agencies (IAs) that allocate Company Identification Numbers (CINs). AIM’s function as the RA for this critical ISO/IEC standard ensures conformity to the standard and ultimately the issuance of globally unique identifiers.

The ISO/IEC 15459 lookup service takes the current Issuing Agency Register in paper format and transforms it into an online, open, federated, interoperable searchable database. It leverages IAC-CIN combinations to establish the trust context of associated datasets, identifiers, applications, or services, and to provide references to subordinate lookup or resolver services. Consumers and regulators can utilize this automated system to access comprehensive product information including authenticity and sustainability tracking, while streamlining access to user manuals and guidelines.

“The IAC-CIN Lookup Service is especially critical for the EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) regulations by enabling accurate, trustworthy tracking from manufacturing to recycling, and facilitating compliance with upcoming regulations for batteries, textiles, and electronics. A standards-based lookup service is needed to ensure safety, interoperability and efficiency across products, services, processes, and stakeholders, including the general public. Unlike proprietary, for-profit systems, a standards-based approach provides a level playing field for everyone to securely retrieve relevant, up-to-date information,” explained AIM Global CEO, Mary Lou Bosco.

The ISO/IEC 15459 IAC-CIN Lookup Service will be operational by the end of May 2026, according to the association.

The enhanced partnership is designed to accelerate growth in corrugated automated packaging solutions, a critical area for customers seeking improved productivity, reduced waste, and stronger total cost performance, Veritiv explained. Through this collaboration, Veritiv and Packsize will offer value-added solutions that complement Veritiv's broader partner ecosystem, while helping customers advance their operational and sustainability goals. 

Building on early success, both companies have developed an expanded plan to support growth and customer engagement. According to Veritiv, benefits of the plan will include:

• Advancing sustainable packaging through next-generation automation and right-sized technology.
• Supporting more agile packaging operations by enabling on-demand box production that allows customers to respond quickly to changing product mixes and fulfillment needs.
• Delivering faster turnaround for smaller, niche, and highly customized corrugated packaging solutions through on-demand box production.
• Creating tailored programs that simplify adoption and deliver measurable operational improvements.
• Helping customers reduce their carbon footprint by significantly lowering the amount of corrugated inventory that must be manufactured, transported, and stored.

"Veritiv's partnership with Packsize reflects our vision to be the preferred specialty packaging distributor, delivering value-added solutions that strengthen relationships and accelerate long-term growth," said Stephanie Mayerle, Veritiv's Chief Growth and Innovation Officer. "Together, we are helping customers modernize their packaging operations with smarter automation and right-sized packaging solutions that improve efficiency, reduce waste, and deliver long-term value."

"This partnership represents a meaningful step forward for our customers," said Paul Roy, SVP Global Partnerships and Business Development at Packsize. "By combining Veritiv's distribution expertise with Packsize's on-demand automation, we're making it easier for companies to adopt smarter packaging workflows that can quickly improve efficiency, reduce waste, and strengthen their operations."

“Each year, our Dealers of Distinction set the standard for performance excellence and continuous improvement,” said Bob Sattler, Vice President, Dealer Business Development, Hyster. “This elite group of dealers uses their deep expertise in materials handling to help customers enhance productivity and unlock smarter, more efficient operations. They consistently demonstrate their capabilities as a trusted partner, whether the need is immediate rental support, regular operator training or turnkey motive power and fleet management solutions.”

To receive the award, lift truck dealers must meet rigorous business practice standards and performance criteria that are reassessed and modified annually to align with evolving customer expectations and heightened industry demands.

2025 Dealer of Distinction recipients

• Alta Material Handling – Eastern Michigan, New England North
• Arnold Machinery Company - Colorado
• Berry Material Handling
• Briggs Equipment – Gulf Coast
• Burns Industrial Equipment – Cleveland, Pittsburgh
• Deep South Equipment – Legacy, Oklahoma
• Eastern Lift Truck Company, Inc. – Baltimore-Washington, D.C.-Delaware, Philadelphia-South New Jersey
• Fairchild Equipment – Wisconsin South
• Gregory Poole – Carolinas, Virginia
• LiftOne – North, South, West
• MH Equipment – Great Plains, Illinois, Indianapolis, Iowa, Kentuckiana
• Papé Material Handling – Central Washington, Eugene, Portland, Seattle, Spokane

“The U.S. remains an important hub for global collaboration, and Modex plays a key role in bringing those conversations together,” says Daniel McKinnon, chief exhibitions officer at MHI. “International participation continues to be a vital part of the show.”

International delegates have access to a dedicated international business center with meeting space and a lounge for networking and planning. Delegates can also participate in guided exhibition show floor tours tailored to their industries, interests and business needs, helping them focus on relevant technologies and suppliers across the Modex exhibit halls.

“Modex continues to see strong international participation, particularly from Canada and Mexico,” says McKinnon, who invites all qualified attendees to a dedicated reception on Sunday evening at the international business center, located in the Georgia World Congress Center.

The venue is a short Uber or Lyft ride from the Georgia World Congress Center and offers indoor miniature golf, food and drinks in a casual setting designed for easy conversation after a full first day at the show. The event is open to Modex attendees age 40 and under and centers on building peer connections across roles, companies and career paths.

Rather than formal programming, the reception gives young professionals space to meet others navigating similar challenges and opportunities in the industry. You’ll need to pre-register and the cost is $10. Attendees can register during the Modex registration process by adding the Young Professionals Networking Reception to their registration.

To learn more: modexshow.com/attendees/networking

MHI Young Professionals Networking Reception 

Monday April 13th from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Where: Puttshack- Atlanta-Midtown (2nd floor)

1115 Howell Mill Rd. Atlanta, GA 30318

“Careers in supply chain evolve in different ways for different people,” says Rebecca Woods, director of talent and development at MHI. “This session gives women the chance to learn from others’ experiences and gain clarity about their own direction.”

An industry panel will share candid perspectives on career growth, leadership development, sponsorship and resilience, drawing from lived experience rather than theory. The session then moves into a guided Career Mapping Lab, where participants reflect, compare notes and identify practical next steps. “This is about helping women see options and feel confident navigating them,” Woods says, noting that the session also includes time for peer connection and open Q&A.

The Women in Supply Chain Forum will take place on Tuesday, April 14th, in the Georgia Ballroom Building C, Level 3 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. A separate fee and registration are required for this event.

UgoWork Co-founder and previous CEO Philippe Beauchamp will transition to Chief Technology Officer where he will focus on technology strategy, product roadmap and continued innovation. 

“UgoWork has been built on a truly differentiated, advanced battery technology. Solving our customers' energy challenges while positively impacting their bottom line is my passion,” said Philippe Beauchamp, former CEO and now CTO at UgoWork." But as we rapidly scale our customer base—particularly given our recent successes in North America—it became clear that we needed to accelerate our go-to-market strategy and bring in additional experience for global market expansion. At the crossroads of my focus, I met David and it was eye opening“On top of his outstanding personality and grit, David was a perfect fit for our team and ambitions. Coming from a global public company, his relevant experience matched perfectly with our founding vision: scale the best technology with discipline and excellence.”

UgoWork does make lithium-ion batteries, but sees its value in providing a broader energy solutions management platform for lift trucks fleets.

“I am deeply honored to join UgoWork at such an exciting moment in its journey,” said Mucciacciaro. “What stood out immediately was the strength of the team, the quality of the technology, and the ambition of the founders and Board for what this company can become. UgoWork has built a differentiated platform addressing a major shift in how industrial fleets are powered. I look forward to working alongside the team, our customers, and our investors to accelerate commercialization and scale the impact of UgoWork’s solutions.”

UgoWork will be at MODEX 2026 in Atlanta from April 13–16 in booth C11983

The show will be the largest in its history, featuring 1.3 million net square feet of exhibit space, more than 2,600 exhibitors, and approximately 48,000 professionals from over 40 vertical markets. The event brings together packaging and processing solutions across industries including food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, logistics and supply chain, pet food, processing, personal care and more.

Industry research from show producer PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, highlights why attending PACK EXPO International is more important than ever. According to PMMI’s 2026 Building an AI Advantage in Packaging Equipment white paper, the range of AI applications in packaging equipment has expanded significantly in the past two years, with solutions becoming increasingly affordable and sophisticated. As awareness and proof-of-concept implementations grow, AI is becoming accessible to a wider range of manufacturers and brand owners.

At the same time, the industry continues to face significant workforce challenges. PMMI’s 2025 Inside the Workforce Gap report identifies the shortage of skilled technical workers as one of the most significant barriers facing manufacturers today, a challenge many expect to persist or even worsen in the coming years.

“In the two years since our last show, trends like AI, robotics, and automation have taken off and become prominent in the industry,” says Laura Thompson, vice president, trade shows, PMMI. “We’ve also seen workforce challenges, sustainability demands, and regulatory pressures remain top concerns.”

PACK EXPO International provides a unique opportunity for attendees to address these challenges firsthand. The show floor will feature thousands of solutions designed to improve productivity, streamline operations, and support evolving industry needs, from automation and AI-driven technologies to sustainability innovations and workforce development tools.

“PACK EXPO International offers brands an opportunity to see thousands of solutions to these pressing industry challenges on the floor in real time, learn from leading industry experts, and utilize their time effectively to come away with tangible results,” Thompson says.

In addition to technology demonstrations, attendees will have access to more than 150 free educational sessions on five different stages located directly on the show floor, providing insight into the industry’s most important topics including the State of the Industry (packaging and processing), Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), GS1 Sunrise 2027, recycling, material handling, logistics, supply chain, and more.

New for 2026

To support small and medium-sized businesses, PACK EXPO International will introduce the SMB FastTrack program, highlighting exhibitors and educational sessions tailored to the needs of small to medium-sized businesses (SMB).

Returning Pavilions

PACK EXPO International will once again feature specialized areas dedicated to key industry sectors, including:

• Logistics Pavilion
• Confectionery Pavilion
• PACKage Printing Pavilion
• Healthcare Packaging Pavilion
• Containers and Materials Pavilion
• Food and Beverage Processing Zone
• Reusable Packaging Pavilion

Networking, Students, and Show Resources

Attendees will also benefit from numerous networking opportunities and special events such as A Night Out with PACK gives BACK®, the Packaging & Processing Women’s Leadership Network (PPWLN) Breakfast, and the Young Professionals Networking Reception sponsored by Beckhoff Automation. Gold sponsor for the PPWLN Breakfast includes Morrison Container Handling Solutions. Silver sponsors include BW Packaging, Plexpack Corp., and Septimatech Group Inc.

Students exploring careers in packaging and processing can participate in programs such as the Amazing Packaging Race, PACK Challenge, and the Future Innovators Robotics Showcase.

To help attendees maximize their time at the show, PMMI provides a variety of planning tools including the new Visual Category search where attendees can find packaging and processing equipment at the show by category. Also, My Show Planner is a personalized tool for organizing must-see exhibitors, sessions, and meetings before, during, and after the show.

“We know attendees are focused on driving results,” says Thompson. “That’s why PACK EXPO International is both expansive and easy to navigate — from targeted pavilions to programs designed specifically for SMBs. The goal is to help every attendee leave with practical insights, strong connections, and a clear path forward for their business.”

Registration is $30 through Sept. 25, increasing to $130 afterward.

To learn more and register, visit packexpointernational.com. 

With more than 8,000 collaborative robots already active across its global operations, SVT's latest plug-and-play platform allows DHL to deploy robotics integrations up to 12 times faster than traditional custom-coding setups, the companies said. The SOFTBOT Platform is now live in 30 DHL Supply Chain sites worldwide, with plans to expand to more than 100 sites across all geographies over the next three years.

Prior to implementing the software, automation projects required separate custom coding for every new technology, taking up to six to eight weeks to initiate new solutions, the companies explained. This made enterprise-wide rollouts and upgrades slow and costly. The SOFTBOT platform, the companies added, enables faster modular warehouse setups that accommodate multiple automated solutions and can be reconfigured as technology and customer needs evolve.

“The logistics industry is characterized by rapid change – whether it's customer profile, volumes, or newly emerging technology – so our automation solutions need to adapt just as quickly,” said Sally Miller, Global CIO, DHL Supply Chain. “The SOFTBOT Platform gives us an effective and efficient way to connect different types of robotics to our warehouse systems, monitor performance in real time and scale solutions across sites with confidence.”

In addition to accelerating the speed of automation deployments and accommodating different robotic technologies in its tech-agnostic system, the SOFTBOT platform provides a single, multi-site dashboard for teams to efficiently monitor system-wide operations.

“Our operations worldwide are already seeing clear benefits from deploying robotics and automation via SVT," said Tim Tetzlaff, Global Head of Digital Transformation, DHL Supply Chain. "As a standard integration layer, the SOFTBOT platform provides the glue between our warehouse management system (WMS) and our digitalization agenda. It has enabled us to replicate Goods‑to‑Person solutions across Europe with integration work completed in just three hours. We’ve also added new operational technology to live operations in Asia Pacific with zero downtime. The platform’s global, real‑time data access also unlocks significant opportunities to scale logistics AI.”

AK Schultz, CEO and Co-Founder of SVT Robotics, commented that, “It’s been exciting to collaborate with DHL on their accelerated digitalization efforts and to support their team in their use of our SOFTBOT Platform. In fact, DHL now does the majority of implementations without hands-on support from SVT. This means they can scale even faster and further reduce costs, accelerate their deployments, and take advantage of the data visibility that our platform uniquely provides. These are benefits that positively impact their customers.”

Exotec will equip KDS’ 760,000 square foot facility in Savannah, Georgia with its Skypod robotic system and a fully integrated automation solution. The site is designed to support significant projected growth in D2C volume across apparel, home goods, and consumer products brands, including Komar-owned labels such as Cuddl Duds, Le Mystère, alongside 3PL clients. 

KDS anticipates strong growth in parcel volume over the next year, with some clients already managing more than 100,000 parcels per month. To meet that demand while navigating labor shortages, tariff volatility, and rising consumer expectations for speed, the company sought a flexible automation partner, Exotec said.

The Savannah fulfillment center is expected to have full automation by early 2027 and is currently onboarding new client programs. 

Exotec noted the new system is expected to: 

• Increase throughput by up to 50 percent 
• Improve storage density by 30 percent 
• Enable both each- and case-picking within a single solution 
• Reduce reliance on hard-to-fill warehouse roles 
• Flex dynamically during peak and promotional periods 

“Our customers are growing fast and expect us to grow with them,” said Tyler Harris, President at KDS. “We needed a scalable solutionbuilt for speed, density, and adaptability. Exotec gives us the ability to process orders in minutes, maximize our footprint, and operate efficiently even in an unpredictable environment.” 

The integrated solution includes Skypod robots, Skypath conveyors, carton sealing, inbound and outbound scanning, and Exotec’s warehouse execution software, called Deepsky.

“KDS’s customers are contending with challenges that many growing, successful businesses face: meeting Amazon-level customer expectations for speed while effectively managing costs,” said Arthur Bellamy, CRO of Exotec. “Our modular solution is the most reactive design on the market, enabling customers to prep orders in two minutes or less. This gives maximum flexibility to operate fast in a hard-to-predict environment.” 

Founded in 1998 as a division of Komar (est. 1908), KDS is a 3PL provider with facilities in Savannah, GA; Eastvale and Perris, CA; and McAlester, OK, Komar Distribution Services supports a diverse range of industries.

April 13 Keynote: Richard McPhail, CFO, The Home Depot

Join Richard McPhail, CFO, The Home Depot for an authentic and thought-provoking discussion about leadership, strategy, and excellence. Learn what McPhail has to share about leading trends like nearshoring and digitization as well as lessons learned from the front line of the supply chain landscape.

April 14 Keynote: Salim Ismail, Exponential Strategist, Founder & Chairman of OpenExO

In this keynote, Salim Ismail shows how exponential thinking can transform supply chains for a volatile, fast-moving world. Traditional models are cracking under pressure, and Ismail reveals how applying ExO (exponential organization) principles to logistics and operations unlocks agility, efficiency and resilience at scale. Using real-world cases, he demonstrates how AI, IoT, blockchain and autonomy converge to create adaptive networks that sense demand, self-optimize and deliver.

April 15 Keynotes:

Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR Legend

With his signature authenticity and insight, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., will share stories from his racing career, his transition to broadcasting, and his passion for preserving motorsports history. Whether you're a lifelong fan or new to the world of NASCAR, this is a rare opportunity to hear directly from one of the sport’s most beloved figures. Expect laughter, reflection, and inspiration as Earnhardt discusses perseverance, resiliency, leadership and what it means to carry a legacy forward in the fast lane.

John Paxton, CEO, MHI, and Wanda Johnson, 2026 MHI Annual Industry Report Keynote Panel

Gain early access to this new report on the supply chain trends and digital technologies that are transforming supply chains. Wanda Johnson of Deloitte will join MHI CEO John Paxton to present the report findings. They’ll be joined by a panel of manufacturing and supply chain thought leaders to discuss the real-world significance of the report findings.

This year, the event will feature 180 total seminars in 13 different theaters. The 10 different tracks include automation and robotics, distribution and warehousing, manufacturing planning and sourcing, and sustainability and alternative energy, to name a few.

Rachel Picot, exhibitor services coordinator at MHI, says there will also be a new “Supply Chain Resiliency Theater” in Hall A. This theater features presentations and panel discussions focused on the latest product and technology developments that companies can use to “ensure that supply chains can anticipate, adapt to and recover from disruptions,” Picot says.

Modex 2026 will also feature the MHI Industry Group Theater, which debuted at ProMat 2025. “Because of its success, we’re bringing it to Modex,” says Picot. The theater features sessions presented only by MHI’s industry groups, which provide a forum for members to exchange knowledge, insights and best practices specific to their area of expertise and to create educational content for the market.  

After Modex 2026, Picot says digital entry will be available to all attendees, who will have instant access to over 1,000 exhibitor showcases, 180 on-floor seminars, four keynotes and more.

You’ll find the on-floor seminar directly online at: [url=https://mx2026.mapyourshow.com/8_0/sessions/# ]https://mx2026.mapyourshow.com/8_0/sessions/# [/url];

The AI-based simulator takes into account variables such as forecasted demand in each region, transportation costs, and the operational capacity of each warehouse to test various inventory replenishment policies without affecting real-world operations. “The genetic algorithm enables multiple simulations to be run using different parameters until the most efficient logistics strategy is identified. Companies can compare scenarios and select the one that best fits their operations,” says Dr. Matthias Winkenbach, Director of Research at the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics and the Intelligent Logistics Systems Lab.

Once data and variables are entered into the system, GENESIS generates the optimal solution along with advanced statistical dashboards. Users can analyze indicators such as consumption patterns, regions with high demand variability, SKUs with a greater risk of stockouts, or warehouses experiencing supply issues.

Redistribute before purchasing
One of the system’s key features is its ability to rebalance inventory across warehouses. Instead of automatically placing new orders with suppliers, the tool analyzes whether it is more efficient to transfer products from another facility within the network where excess inventory is available. In this way, companies can reduce costs and make better use of existing stock.

The system also recommends how to organize transportation. For example, it suggests whether shipments should be consolidated to optimize truckloads or whether specific orders should be fulfilled from a particular location to reduce delivery times and costs.

“The real challenge wasn’t finding the right algorithm — it was making it fast enough to be practical. We developed GENESIS from the ground up to evaluate thousands of scenarios simultaneously rather than sequentially. What used to take days now takes minutes, which means companies can use it for real tactical planning, not just theoretical analysis,” says Rodrigo Hermosilla, Research Engineer at the MIT Intelligent Logistics Systems Lab.

Unlike analytical solutions reserved for specialized users, GENESIS is designed for both technical teams and business decision-makers. “The goal is to help companies minimize the total cost of their logistics network while ensuring the highest service level,” says Javier Carrillo, CEO of Mecalux.
Upcoming AI applications

The AI-powered simulator is one of the first tangible results of the joint initiative between Mecalux and MIT CTL. The collaboration is now entering a new phase focused on expanding the application of AI to other logistics processes, such as internal replenishment, digital twins in high-density automated storage systems, and slotting optimization.
 

This change will mark a significant step in Mitsubishi Logisnext’s ongoing transformation, guided by the “Logisnext Vision 2035.” As part of this process, ML has formed a partnership with Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) as the new strategic partner to support sustainable growth and long-term value creation. Consequently, all group companies will begin adopting the new company name starting on the 30th of April.

“Today’s announcement reflects our forward momentum as a company, but it does not change who we are at our core,” said Berry Mansfield, President of Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas. “For decades, customers have relied on us for dependable equipment, consistent service, and solutions that drive their success, and that foundation remains unchanged.”

The company's existing Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks portfolio will be rebranded to Logisnext Forklifts, a reliable equipment line designed to meet today’s evolving material handling demands. This reflects dependable engineering, consistent global performance standards, and a broadened range of solutions that deliver lasting value to customers and dealers.

Throughout the transition, the organization is focused on stability and consistency for its dealers and customers. All current support and service structures will remain in place, ensuring uninterrupted operations.

Customers and partners can expect a seamless experience as the rebranded Logisnext Americas will continue delivering the trusted equipment and services they rely on.

The company said the site opening marks the most recent milestone in a sustained period of North American growth for Dexory. Since establishing its initial U.S. presence, Dexory has closed Series B and Series C funding rounds, launched its next-generation autonomous robot and strengthened its U.S. executive team. The customer base now includes GXO, Maersk, DHL, NFI, ODW Logistics, Flexport, Iron Mountain, Stellantis and GE Appliances among others. These companies use the robots and the solution's DexoryView software for continuous, real-time visibility over inventory accuracy and related trends.

“The U.S. is a critical market for Dexory," said Andrei Danescu, Co-founder and CEO of Dexory. "This facility reflects our long-term commitment to delivering greater value to customers across North America. The region’s scale, customer demands and operational complexity push warehouse networks to their limits. That is exactly where Dexory performs best. The more demanding the environment, the more impact our real-time data and actionable insights can deliver.”

Authored by MHI and Deloitte, the report, now in its 13th year, is based on an in-depth global survey conducted in late 2025 of hundreds of supply chain professionals. The research analyzes the adoption of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, blockchain, and robotics. It also examines the challenges organizations face as they modernize their supply chain operations.

The keynote panel will be moderated by John Paxton, CEO of MHI, and Wanda Johnson, Supply Chain Technology Fellow at Deloitte. Panelists lending their logistics expertise include:

• Frederick Cox, Director of Manufacturing at Central Shops, Disney
• Camille Blake, Regional Director, Logistics, Carvana
• Andrew Rice, Senior Product Manager of Warehouse Management Systems, Gallo
• Stephanie Thomas, Associate Professor of Practice of Supply Chain Management, Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas

The 2026 MHI Annual Industry Report keynote will be held at 1:00 pm on April 15. MODEX 2026 offers free registration, which includes complimentary access to all four keynote presentations and educational seminars throughout the event.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China, ENEROC is a global leader in lithium batteries and battery management systems (BMS), as well as chargers for a wide range of applications, including forklifts, Class I, II, and III, very narrow aisle lift trucks, golf carts, aerial work platforms, sweepers and scrubbers, and more.

"ENEROC USA is here to redefine the energy landscape for industrial and off-highway EVs," said Sandro Pagliarulo, CEO of ENEROC USA. "With our state-of- the-art technology, robust after-sales support, and commitment to sustainability, we are confident we will exceed the expectations of our North American customers in terms of product excellence and customer service." 

ENEROC will be exhibiting at Modex 2026 in Atlanta, at booth# C10599.

ENEROC’s global footprint spans 30+ countries, with regional offices in Germany, Japan, Italy, Korea, Singapore, and now the USA. To date, ENEROC has sold over 180,000 battery packs. ENEROC USA has assembled a team of professionals specializing in the material handling and industrial battery sectors, with over 100 years of combined experience, the company noted. 

Hosted by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), AUTOMATE is the largest robotics and automation trade show in North America. The 2026 event returns to McCormick Place in Chicago. New for 2026 is a dedicated Humanoid Robot Pavilion, sponsored by NVIDIA. The pavilion will spotlight a range of humanoid robots and offer live demonstrations. The event also co-locates the third annual Humanoid Robot Forum, offering deep-dive programming on humanoid development, deployment and enabling technologies. 

The event will be held June 22-25, 2026. Key issues and trends at the show are expected to include:

• How AI is moving from pilot projects to full-scale deployment on factory floors 
• The expansion of robotics beyond automotive into life sciences, food production, construction and logistics 
• The emergence of humanoid robotics and real-world deployment pathways 
• Workforce implications as automation adoption accelerates across industries 
• The role of automation in manufacturing growth and industrial policy discussions 

To find out more about the event visit here.

“We’re proud to support students for more than two decades in their educational pursuits, recognizing that they represent the next generation of leaders in the material handling industry,” said Ross Vanderlaan, Vice President, Corporate Planning at Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas. “Isha’s interest in STEM and engineering, and her passion for using technology to uplift others makes her a role model for her fellow students to grow in their interests.”

With plans to pursue a degree in computer science, Isha intends to apply her passion for technology to help address real-world problems and give back to her community. Her extensive commitment to community service includes volunteering and helping plan local events. A natural leader, she has founded and organized the Summer STEM Camp at her local intermediate school for middle school students, designing its layout and developing activities focused on coding, robotics, and engineering. She also serves as president of both the Oak Ridge High School Student Council and the Interact Club, among her other activities. 

“With this scholarship, I’ll be able to not only dedicate myself to my studies, which will help turn my ideas into impactful solutions, but will also be able to help relieve financial pressure for my family and enable me to support and provide for my parents in the future,” said Isha Sahnan, 2026 Cat^® Lift Trucks Scholarship Winner. 

Since its launch in 2005, the Cat Lift Trucks Scholarship program has awarded a cumulative $150,000 in educational assistance to 30 outstanding students from the Greater Houston area.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas portfolio of solutions spans across five leading brands – Mitsubishi forklift trucks, Cat lift trucks, Rocla AGV Solutions, UniCarriers Forklifts and Jungheinrich warehouse and automation products. 

“The magnitude of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo requires a reliable network of equipment to ensure the operations of our event run smoothly — a mission made possible by hundreds of forklifts working behind the scenes,” said Chris Boleman, president and CEO of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. “We are proud to continue our decades-long partnership with a company whose values align with ours, prioritizing family, teamwork, and efficiency.”

The Rodeo has partnered with Cat Lift Trucks and DARR Equipment Co., for more than 20 years, utilizing nearly 190 lift trucks, which are used across NRG Park both year-around and during the swift six-week setup and take down of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

This partnership is essential to building and operating the Rodeo’s temporary footprint, the companies explained. As tenants of NRG Park, every structure, barrier, stall and workspace is mobile, making quality equipment vital. Large-capacity forklifts move off-season shipping containers, position portable buildings, and relocate cement barriers to create safe pedestrian zones. Medium-capacity lifts transport and place metal and steel panels used to build animal stalls across all three facilities. Smaller forklifts support day-to-day operations, from unloading increased deliveries to moving dumpsters to maintain a clean and functional site.

“We couldn’t be more proud to continue our long-standing partnership with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo through 2029,” said Berry Mansfield, President of Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas.  “Supporting an organization that embodies community, tradition, and Texas spirit is an honor, and we’re truly grateful to play a role behind the scenes in helping such an iconic event come to life.”

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is scheduled for March 2 through March 22. 

Roberto Michel
Roberto Michel, Modern’s senior editor, has covered manufacturing and supply chain management trends since 1996. He has been a contributor to Modern since 2004, and joined the staff as senior editor in 2020. He has worked on numerous show dailies, including at ProMat, the North American Material Handling Logistics show, and National Manufacturing Week. Roberto has worked on more than 11 Show Daily publications with Modern.

Bridget McCrea
Bridget McCrea, an editor at large for Modern, is a freelance business writer who has covered the supply chain/logistics field for Logistics Management, Supply Chain Management Review, and other publications since 1996. An award-winning author of six books, Bridget is an editor at large for Peerless Media. This is Bridget’s 11th in-person Show Daily with Modern.

Amy Wunderlin
Amy Wunderlin, a contributing editor for Modern, is a freelance supply chain and technology writer. She has written for several weekly and daily newspapers, in addition to trade publications such as Supply & Demand Chain Executive, Food Logistics and Building Operating Management, among others. She is a 2013 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she earned her B.A. in journalism. This will be Amy’s fourth Show Daily with Modern.

Michael LaRocca
Michael LaRocca, a contributing writer for Material Handling Product News, is a journalism graduate student at Quinnipiac University set to complete his studies in May. He has written stories on the basics of material handling for MHPN since March 2024. This is Michael's second Show Daily for Modern.

Noël P. Bodenburg
You won’t see Noël Bodenburg, Modern’s executive managing editor, on the show floor. She will stay back at the office and run the production end of the Show Daily operation. Noël has been with Modern and Material Handling Product News since 2006. This is her 20th Show Daily with Modern.

Modex 2026 is scheduled to be held April 13-16 at Atlanta's Georgia World Congress Center. The tradeshow will showcase the latest manufacturing, distribution and supply chain solutions in the materials handling and logistics industry. Modern’s complete coverage of the show.

Operating live inside the Dermalogica warehouse, the Corvus One drone system performs fully autonomous aerial inventory scans outside of active picking hours. The system images the warehouse 52 times per year, representing a 600 percent increase in inventory imaging frequency compared to prior manual cycle counting processes.

Before deployment, inventory counting required a dedicated cycle counter and could take up to two months to complete a full pass through the facility. With Corvus One, Dermalogica has repurposed approximately 120 labor hours per month, reallocating that time to higher-value operational work.

“Deployment was seamless and required no downtime,” said Jason Brown, Director of U.S. Logistics at Dermalogica. “Corvus Robotics has become a valuable partner in modernizing our inventory management. Corvus One delivers the consistent accuracy we need to protect revenue and operate to tight forecasts. With continuous warehouse visibility, we can sell what we produce with confidence and plan future growth on a stronger operational foundation.”

Dermalogica builds production to tight sales forecasts with minimal buffer. For high-value products manufactured for global distribution, accurate inventory visibility directly impacts revenue, fulfillment performance, and customer experience, Corvus Robotics explained. . 

“Retailers and brands operating global distribution networks cannot afford blind spots,” said Jackie Wu, CEO of Corvus Robotics. “Dermalogica’s Carson facility is a high-throughput environment serving customers around the world. Corvus One provides continuous, autonomous inventory intelligence without disrupting operations. This is the standard modern supply chains are moving toward.”

Corvus One operates without human pilots or warehouse infrastructure modifications. The fully autonomous aerial system navigates complex indoor environments using onboard AI and computer vision, capturing high-resolution inventory data. A full video detailing the deployment at Dermalogica’s Carson headquarters is available here.

You call the customer and they check the dock and warehouse floor, but no luck. The container could have been moved to the overflow yard, picked up by a different driver or left behind a stack of pallets. 

Because these containers disappear into distribution networks the minute they roll out the door, these scenarios play out all week long at facilities running returnable container programs. Some containers make it back on schedule, but others vanish for weeks or months, sitting idle somewhere in the network while operations teams scramble to fill orders without them.

Trying to use spreadsheets and phone calls to track these assets is a losing battle, especially when hundreds or thousands of containers are circulating across multiple states. In the end, facilities run short on containers they already own while procurement orders unnecessary replacements.

In this Q&A, Loic Barancourt, CEO at Digital Matter, explains how hybrid IoT tracking helps companies find missing containers, reduce losses from 20% to less than 1%, and stop throwing money at replacement orders.

Q: What’s driving the need for better visibility on returnable containers?

A: We see this in the postal industry during peak seasons like Christmas. Tier one merchants keep returnable packaging like cages, which creates problems because postal operators can’t move parcels fast enough. Some customers also use returnable packaging to manage their own work-in-process inventory. 

When you have visibility, you can set rules like, ‘don’t keep my returnable packaging longer than a few weeks.’ When you can manage peaks better, you lose fewer assets and always have enough on hand when you need them most.

Q: At what price point does tracking make financial sense?

A: When containers cost $300 to $400 each, the business case stacks up pretty quickly, with return on investment (ROI) running up into the millions of dollars in some cases. For crates that cost $10 or $20 each, the economics work differently and you need other approaches, but we see the ROI working for returnable packaging in both closed loop and semi-closed-loop setups.

Q: How does hybrid tracking reduce costs compared to tracking every container individually?

A: If assets travel in cohorts of 20 or 30 at a time in a closed loop, you can equip only 10% with cellular trackers and connect the balance with less expensive Bluetooth tags. These hybrid networks deliver the insights with industrial-grade equipment that can operate for 10 years. You deploy once and get a 10-year solution. This approach reduces the cost of producing data for supply chains where assets move together.

Q: What are the alternatives to battery-powered trackers?

A: You could use bar codes, but someone has to manually scan those codes. You could install RFID gates but that doesn’t work with distributed supply chains. The only alternative that makes economic sense is battery-powered trackers with SIM cards that connect for seven to 10 years, reporting two to four times daily and telling you where assets are indoors or outdoors. Add Bluetooth to that tracker, and it becomes a gateway that connects to tags on other containers in the cohort.

Q: Which industries are adopting this technology?

A: Right now, automobile and glass manufacturers lead adoption because if they don’t have the right returnable packaging at the right place at the right time, production lines stop. When you process glass, it needs to be stored on an A-frame because you can’t put it on the floor. Without enough A-frames, production may stop for an afternoon or several days. We also see companies that use intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) embracing the technology. They may not have thousands of containers in play, but knowing where these large, reusable containers are at any given time can be a game changer for them. 

Q: How much do companies typically lose if they’re not tracking their reusable containers?

A: Some businesses lose 20% of their totes every year. With tracking, that drops to less than 1%. The reason is simple: They know exactly where their containers are and they can make a call and get them back. Take the company that rents IBCs to smaller operations. Well, all IBCs look the same, which means competitors would grab them and stick them in their own warehouses. Now those rental companies can call and say, ‘OK, I see you have my containers. Bring them back.’  

Take paper rolls, for example. They are heavy and prone to damage, making them difficult to handle without the right equipment. Paper roll clamps solve this problem by clamping rather than squeezing a paper roll to pick it up and move it with minimum damage. 

“The paper roll clamp is trying to get that damage down, because if the roll is damaged a certain amount, then they have to scrap the role and start over,” explains Casey Coats, regional sales manager OEM at Bolzoni North America. 

Bolzoni has a long history with paper roll clamps and lift truck attachments across global industries, working with companies to solve their unique challenges. 

“We’re here to find a solution that’s the best fit for the customer,” says Coats. “If it’s something that we don’t have or we need to modify, then we bring that back and we do that for the customer.” 

Paper rolls are a good example of a product that often requires a custom attachment because each roll is not going to be equal every time. 

“We need to select the paper handling attachment that suits the property of the roll... There’s different ways to handle the same paper roll clamps, so matching the equipment to the operation’s needs is very key,” says Coats. 

The reward for pairing the right attachment with a specific task is often a boost in efficiency. 

“You’re definitely going to see an uptick in being able to move your product from A to B a lot faster, without the damage,” says Coats. 

Coats points to a customer during Covid who couldn’t find enough people to move their product. After installing a Balzoni paper roll clamp, she says they were able to move product a lot faster with less people.  

Improved safety is another significant benefit. Attachments can reduce manual handling and provide more stability and precise control over a product or material. They also help to decrease workplace injuries with greater overall visibility for the truck operator, thanks to innovations in sensor and camera technology. 

“Safety is No. 1,” says Coats. “That’s what we keep in mind on all of the design … you want to be able to have visibility. The driver needs to have visibility when handling the product.”  

But before evaluating capital investment to improve operations, it may be wise to ensure your operations are as effective and efficient as they can be without capital investment. An operations audit can serve to ensure that as well as provide additional benefits to any distribution operation.

Distribution center operations—from the smallest stock rooms to the largest multi-million square foot facilities—all have several characteristics in common. Every operation has staff executing the required daily tasks with tools, systems, equipment and other aids provided by their management; and managers are overseeing and guiding the operation against standard operating procedures, planning forecasts and metrics, all of which are either actively developed or passively understood over time. 

Every distribution center is similar in these aspects to every other center, but no two operations are exactly alike—just like people. And just like people, the health and robustness of a distribution center operation often depends upon regular check ups to ensure the facility and operations are consistently performing at the peak of their potential, even as the facility ages, process demands placed upon it change, and staff and management grows, shrinks or turns over time.  

The best way to ensure the operation is performing as well as possible is to give it a check up. In short, a pre-emptive audit of sorts—not necessarily to address an identified issue, but to evaluate what the operation could be doing better, where it’s falling short of customer requirements, and where it may be in danger of being outperformed by the competition’s operation.   

Once you decide to perform an audit, assessment or process improvement project within your operation (pick which ever term you believe will evoke the least amount of adversity within your organization’s staff), there are several approaches you might take to executing the audit.  

The detail level of the audit, particularly an initial diagnostic audit, is very important. There are pitfalls associated with some “higher level” approaches as well as risks with an approach focused only on individual operating department details. 

Operational audits cannot focus only on the discrete tasks within the operation and attempt to evaluate or optimize them. The result of such an approach without a keenly developed awareness of the interdependencies of each task within the distribution operation often leads to overall sub-optimization. 

Likewise, simply evaluating the overall facility output in terms of cost per unit handled, or order fulfilled, will provide information regarding where you stand as compared to benchmarked competition or operations, but may do little to inform where to specifically focus on how performance might be improved or costs reduced. 

Alternately, a preferred approach is to evaluate each functional department, including operations management approaches and the tools available to facilitate those approaches, and optimize the entire operation by formulating solutions for each functional area requiring them—but that will also contribute synergistically toward the entire operation’s performance.  

The audit should follow your process through your entire operation—from pre-receipt information visibility and planning against projected business, to physical receiving, put away, pick line replenishment (if applicable) order picking, packing, assembly, shipping and loading.  This operational observation allows to the team to perform many assessments and evaluations of the operation.  

These observations should facilitate:

1. Comparison of actual operations to previously established Standard Operation Procedures.  

2. An immediate breeding ground for ideas regarding improvements that could be made in the operation at the departmental level at the very least. This is the proverbial “low-hanging fruit” that could be easy to harvest.

3. Development of an understanding of current performance standards—in terms of productivity, accuracy, storage density effectiveness, overall facility throughput, safety and ergonomics—that can allow you compare your operation to other operations or industry benchmarks.

4. Evaluation to determine if there are practices themselves that may need further study.

The operational walk through, which should require anywhere from a full day to a week depending upon the size and complexity of the operation, should allow the assessment team to diagnose what might be improved.   

Once the results of the operational evaluation have started to coalesce into potential action items, the management approach to overseeing the operation should be assessed for possible areas of improvement.   

Are the methods of day-to-day management still viable and supporting the operation in the best way possible? Are there enough management or supervisory personnel (span of control) on the floor, given the volume and complexities of the operation, to both address issues as they will inevitably arise and drive consistent execution? Does management have a formal daily planner to evaluate staffing needs by department based on the complexion of each day’s workload? 

Finally, are there set metrics that management is working toward achieving on a consistent basis? Do those metrics effectively delineate all important components of the facility’s operation?

The assessment should review all areas that appear to require attention and ensure that change in any one area of the operation will not be at the expense of another area. In short, a synthesized list of improvements should be developed, with attention directed at improving the entire operation, rather than one area at the expense of others. 

Once the improvements needed have been identified, plans to address those needs can be developed—from operational changes, to equipment and layout changes and additions, to management practices and tool development. 

This, of course, assumes the audit reveals multiple areas in need of improvement. As with any check up, the patient might need little change in lifestyle or habits, or critical action may be needed, or you might realize the only path to additional improvement may be automation and the associated capital investment. 

Whatever is necessary, the only way to identify the path to improvement is to thoroughly, completely and openly assess the operation from the receiving dock to the shipping doors, and every process in between.  

Bryan Jensen is executive vice president and chairperson with St. Onge Co. He has 41 years of experience in retail and wholesale distribution, transportation and logistics, 27 of those years with St. Onge Company (stonge.com).