At the Modex exhibition and conference in Atlanta, attendees can get up close and personal with sizzling new technology, equipment, and services for the supply chain.
If you work in supply chain, you know how rapidly the technology is advancing. Hardly a day goes by when you don't hear about new developments in, say, automated guided vehicles, robotics, or augmented-reality picking systems.
But hearing about these innovations is one thing; seeing them in action is quite another. If you'd like to check them out in person, the Modex 2020 Show organized by MHI might be just the ticket. One of the largest expositions for supply chain solutions in the Americas, Modex will be showcasing products and services from more than 950 exhibitors at Atlanta's Georgia World Congress Center from March 9-12.
For ease of navigation, the Modex 2020 exhibit halls will be divided into function-specific solution centers: Manufacturing & Assembly, Fulfillment & Delivery, Information Technology, Transportation & Logistics, and Emerging Technologies. Exhibitors from across North America will be on hand to showcase the following technologies and services:
Packaging, containers, and shipping equipment, which encompasses not just pallets and containers, but also wrapping systems, equipment designed for the inspection of products by weight or scanning, and palletizing equipment.
Dock and warehouse equipment and supplies, such as dock levelers, pads, and doors; flooring; hoists; cranes; monorails; and below/hook lifting devices.
Inventory management, information technology, and controlling technologies, which include computers, controllers, and software as well as wireless control systems and voice recognition systems.
Automatic identification equipment and systems, such as bar-code printers and scanners, vision systems, voice recognition systems, and radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems.
Transportation and logistics, such as road, rail, sea, and air freight transportation services; autonomous vehicles and robotics; and third-party logistics and reverse logistics.
Material handling and logistics equipment and systems, which include a broad array of products, ranging from the highly complex (like automated guided vehicles and automated storage and retrieval systems) to the elegantly simple (like casters, racks, and shelves).
Emerging technologies, a category that includes everything from sensors and software to driverless vehicles and robotics to augmented reality and wearable technologies.
Supply chain management, which serves as a catch-all category for such products and services as alternative fuel systems, parcel management and distribution, reverse logistics, and inventory security services.
A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE
In addition to the exhibition, an extensive educational conference will run concurrently with the show. The conference features four keynote addresses, a "Women in Supply Chain Industry Forum," and more than 150 supplier-led seminars on a broad array of manufacturing, distribution, and supply chain topics.
The Modex keynote presentations will offer a glimpse of the future and insights into how businesses can prepare themselves for what lies ahead. On Monday, March 9, Nikki Haley, who has served as governor of South Carolina and U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, will deliver the opening keynote address. In an interview with **{DC Velocity} Group Editorial Director Mitch Mac Donald, Haley will share her personal story of leadership and talk about the supply chain's critical role in both U.S. economic development and global commerce.
On Tuesday, March 10, Tan Le, founder and CEO of bio-informatics and tech company Emotiv, will deliver a talk on how technological advances on the near horizon will offer us ways of integrating humans and machines. Arguing that automation and AI (artificial intelligence) are not competitors to humans, but rather part of an extended, augmented human organism, Le will explain how that could affect supply chains in her presentation, "The Neurogeneration—The Future Is Closer Than You Think."
On Wednesday, March 11, George W. Prest, MHI's chief executive officer, and Thomas Boykin, supply chain specialist leader at Deloitte Consulting LLP, will preview the findings of MHI's "2020 Annual Industry Report," which focuses on the supply chain trends and technologies that are transforming supply chains. After the presentation, they will moderate a panel of manufacturing and supply chain leaders on the real-world significance of the report's findings.
Later that day, Peyton and Archie Manning of NFL fame will join **{DC Velocity'}s Mac Donald for a "fireside chat." In the session, the Mannings will share their stories about the power of teamwork, collaboration, preparation, and giving back both on the field and in business. Their keynote promises to be an inspirational and dynamic discussion about football and what it can teach you about life.
EXPERT-LED SEMINARS
Following the keynotes each day, Modex visitors can choose from a wide array of supplier-led educational seminars. These 45-minute sessions will be presented in theaters located right on the show floor. This format allows attendees to learn about various manufacturing, distribution, and supply chain solutions in the educational sessions and then actually see the equipment, systems, and services that can implement those solutions. This year's seminars are divided into seven tracks: automation and robotics; data capture, analytics, and information management; manufacturing, planning, and sourcing; sustainability and risk management; transportation, distribution, and warehousing; workforce and labor; and the Internet of Things.
New to the schedule this year are special sessions held in a Sustainability Theater hosted by the Reusable Packaging Association (RPA). Topics covered in these sessions include sustainable materials management, zero-waste supply chains, energy and resource conservation, reusable packaging systems, asset-tracking technologies, and public policy developments. The complete seminar schedule is available at the show's website, www.modexshow.com/education.
Pre-registration for Modex 2020 is free online by visiting www.Modexshow.com. There is no charge to attend the exhibits, Modex keynotes, or show-floor educational sessions. The website also offers exhibitor search tools, floor plans, a complete list of educational sessions, and information about travel and accommodations.
Occupiers signed leases for 49 such mega distribution centers last year, up from 43 in 2023. However, the 2023 total had marked the first decline in the number of mega distribution center leases, which grew sharply during the pandemic and peaked at 61 in 2022.
Despite the 2024 increase in mega distribution center leases, the average size of the largest 100 industrial leases fell slightly to 968,000 sq. ft. from 987,000 sq. ft. in 2023.
Another wrinkle in the numbers was the fact that 40 of the largest 100 leases were renewals, up from 30 in 2023. According to CBRE, the increase in renewals reflected economic uncertainty, prompting many major occupiers to take a wait-and-see approach to their leasing strategies.
“The rise in lease renewals underscores a strategic shift in the market,” John Morris, president of Americas Industrial & Logistics at CBRE, said in a release. “Companies are more frequently prioritizing stability and efficiency by extending their current leases in established logistics hubs.”
Broken out into sectors, traditional retailers and wholesalers increased their share of the top 100 leases to 38% from 30%. Conversely, the food & beverage, automotive, and building materials sectors accounted for fewer of this year's top 100 leases than they did in 2023. Notably, building materials suppliers and electric vehicle manufacturers were also significantly less active than in 2023, allowing retailers and wholesalers to claim a larger share.
Activity from third-party logistics operators (3PLs) also dipped slightly, accounting for one fewer lease among the top 100 (28 in total) than it did in 2023. Nevertheless, the 2024 total was well above the 15 leases in 2020 and 18 in 2022, underscoring the increasing reliance of big industrial users on 3PLs to manage their logistics, CBRE said.
Oh, you work in logistics, too? Then you’ve probably met my friends Truedi, Lumi, and Roger.
No, you haven’t swapped business cards with those guys or eaten appetizers together at a trade-show social hour. But the chances are good that you’ve had conversations with them. That’s because they’re the online chatbots “employed” by three companies operating in the supply chain arena—TrueCommerce,Blue Yonder, and Truckstop. And there’s more where they came from. A number of other logistics-focused companies—like ChargePoint,Packsize,FedEx, and Inspectorio—have also jumped in the game.
While chatbots are actually highly technical applications, most of us know them as the small text boxes that pop up whenever you visit a company’s home page, eagerly asking questions like:
“I’m Truedi, the virtual assistant for TrueCommerce. Can I help you find what you need?”
“Hey! Want to connect with a rep from our team now?”
“Hi there. Can I ask you a quick question?”
Chatbots have proved particularly popular among retailers—an October survey by artificial intelligence (AI) specialist NLX found that a full 92% of U.S. merchants planned to have generative AI (GenAI) chatbots in place for the holiday shopping season. The companies said they planned to use those bots for both consumer-facing applications—like conversation-based product recommendations and customer service automation—and for employee-facing applications like automating business processes in buying and merchandising.
But how smart are these chatbots really? It varies. At the high end of the scale, there’s “Rufus,” Amazon’s GenAI-powered shopping assistant. Amazon says millions of consumers have used Rufus over the past year, asking it questions either by typing or speaking. The tool then searches Amazon’s product listings, customer reviews, and community Q&A forums to come up with answers. The bot can also compare different products, make product recommendations based on the weather where a consumer lives, and provide info on the latest fashion trends, according to the retailer.
Another top-shelf chatbot is “Manhattan Active Maven,” a GenAI-powered tool from supply chain software developer Manhattan Associates that was recently adopted by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. The Exchange Service, which is the 54th-largest retailer in the U.S., is using Maven to answer inquiries from customers—largely U.S. soldiers, airmen, and their families—including requests for information related to order status, order changes, shipping, and returns.
However, not all chatbots are that sophisticated, and not all are equipped with AI, according to IBM. The earliest generation—known as “FAQ chatbots”—are only clever enough to recognize certain keywords in a list of known questions and then respond with preprogrammed answers. In contrast, modern chatbots increasingly use conversational AI techniques such as natural language processing to “understand” users’ questions, IBM said. It added that the next generation of chatbots with GenAI capabilities will be able to grasp and respond to increasingly complex queries and even adapt to a user’s style of conversation.
Given their wide range of capabilities, it’s not always easy to know just how “smart” the chatbot you’re talking to is. But come to think of it, maybe that’s also true of the live workers we come in contact with each day. Depending on who picks up the phone, you might find yourself speaking with an intern who’s still learning the ropes or a seasoned professional who can handle most any challenge. Either way, the best way to interact with our new chatbot colleagues is probably to take the same approach you would with their human counterparts: Start out simple, and be respectful; you never know what you’ll learn.
With the hourglass dwindling before steep tariffs threatened by the new Trump Administration will impose new taxes on U.S. companies importing goods from abroad, organizations need to deploy strategies to handle those spiraling costs.
American companies with far-flung supply chains have been hanging for weeks in a “wait-and-see” situation to learn if they will have to pay increased fees to U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement agents for every container they import from certain nations. After paying those levies, companies face the stark choice of either cutting their own profit margins or passing the increased cost on to U.S. consumers in the form of higher prices.
The impact could be particularly harsh for American manufacturers, according to Kerrie Jordan, Group Vice President, Product Management at supply chain software vendor Epicor. “If higher tariffs go into effect, imported goods will cost more,” Jordan said in a statement. “Companies must assess the impact of higher prices and create resilient strategies to absorb, offset, or reduce the impact of higher costs. For companies that import foreign goods, they will have to find alternatives or pay the tariffs and somehow offset the cost to the business. This can take the form of building up inventory before tariffs go into effect or finding an equivalent domestic alternative if they don’t want to pay the tariff.”
Tariffs could be particularly painful for U.S. manufacturers that import raw materials—such as steel, aluminum, or rare earth minerals—since the impact would have a domino effect throughout their operations, according to a statement from Matt Lekstutis, Director at consulting firm Efficio. “Based on the industry, there could be a large detrimental impact on a company's operations. If there is an increase in raw materials or a delay in those shipments, as being the first step in materials / supply chain process, there is the possibility of a ripple down effect into the rest of the supply chain operations,” Lekstutis said.
New tariffs could also hurt consumer packaged goods (CPG) retailers, which are already being hit by the mere threat of tariffs in the form of inventory fluctuations seen as companies have rushed many imports into the country before the new administration began, according to a report from Iowa-based third party logistics provider (3PL) JT Logistics. That jump in imported goods has quickly led to escalating demands for expanded warehousing, since CPG companies need a place to store all that material, Jamie Cord, president and CEO of JT Logistics, said in a release
Immediate strategies to cope with that disruption include adopting strategies that prioritize agility, including capacity planning and risk diversification by leveraging multiple fulfillment partners, and strategic inventory positioning across regional warehouses to bypass bottlenecks caused by trade restrictions, JT Logistics said. And long-term resilience recommendations include scenario-based planning, expanded supplier networks, inventory buffering, multimodal transportation solutions, and investment in automation and AI for insights and smarter operations, the firm said.
“Navigating the complexities of tariff-driven disruptions requires forward-thinking strategies,” Cord said. “By leveraging predictive modeling, diversifying warehouse networks, and strategically positioning inventory, JT Logistics is empowering CPG brands to remain adaptive, minimize risks, and remain competitive in the current dynamic market."
With so many variables at play, no company can predict the final impact of the potential Trump tariffs, so American companies should start planning for all potential outcomes at once, according to a statement from Nari Viswanathan, senior director of supply chain strategy at Coupa Software. Faced with layers of disruption—with the possible tariffs coming on top of pre-existing geopolitical conflicts and security risks—logistics hubs and businesses must prepare for any what-if scenario. In fact, the strongest companies will have scenarios planned as far out as the next three to five years, Viswanathan said.
Grocery shoppers at select IGA, Price Less, and Food Giant stores will soon be able to use an upgraded in-store digital commerce experience, since store chain operator Houchens Food Group said it would deploy technology from eGrowcery, provider of a retail food industry white-label digital commerce platform.
Kentucky-based Houchens Food Group, which owns and operates more than 400 grocery, convenience, hardware/DIY, and foodservice locations in 15 states, said the move would empower retailers to rethink how and when to engage their shoppers best.
“At HFG we are focused on technology vendors that allow for highly targeted and personalized customer experiences, data-driven decision making, and e-commerce capabilities that do not interrupt day to day customer service at store level. We are thrilled to partner with eGrowcery to assist us in targeting the right audience with the right message at the right time,” Craig Knies, Chief Marketing Officer of Houchens Food Group, said in a release.
Michigan-based eGrowcery, which operates both in the United States and abroad, says it gives retail groups like Houchens Food Group the ability to provide a white-label e-commerce platform to the retailers it supplies, and integrate the program into the company’s overall technology offering. “Houchens Food Group is a great example of an organization that is working hard to simultaneously enhance its technology offering, engage shoppers through more channels and alleviate some of the administrative burden for its staff,” Patrick Hughes, CEO of eGrowcery, said.
The 40-acre solar facility in Gentry, Arkansas, includes nearly 18,000 solar panels and 10,000-plus bi-facial solar modules to capture sunlight, which is then converted to electricity and transmitted to a nearby electric grid for Carroll County Electric. The facility will produce approximately 9.3M kWh annually and utilize net metering, which helps transfer surplus power onto the power grid.
Construction of the facility began in 2024. The project was managed by NextEra Energy and completed by Verogy. Both Trio (formerly Edison Energy) and Carroll Electric Cooperative Corporation provided ongoing consultation throughout planning and development.
“By commissioning this solar facility, J.B. Hunt is demonstrating our commitment to enhancing the communities we serve and to investing in economically viable practices aimed at creating a more sustainable supply chain,” Greer Woodruff, executive vice president of safety, sustainability and maintenance at J.B. Hunt, said in a release. “The annual amount of clean energy generated by the J.B. Hunt Solar Facility will be equivalent to that used by nearly 1,200 homes. And, by drawing power from the sun and not a carbon-based source, the carbon dioxide kept from entering the atmosphere will be equivalent to eliminating 1,400 passenger vehicles from the road each year.”