Brian Arrington

At MODEX 2026 in Atlanta, Scott Luton caught up with Mike Harris, VP of OMRS at Ocado Intelligent Automation, to explore how robotics, software, and evolving customer expectations are reshaping modern warehouse operations. While robots may grab the spotlight, Harris makes it clear: the real value lies beneath the surface, as in the intelligence that powers them.   Rising Expectations and the Cost-to-Serve Challenge Warehouse operators are under increasing pressure from both ends of the supply chain. Costs continue to climb, while customer expectations are rising just as quickly. “Cost to serve is continuing to increase and customers expect things faster and completely accurate” Harris explains. This dynamic creates a constant balancing act. Organizations must improve speed and accuracy while controlling costs, a challenge that requires more than incremental improvements. It demands smarter, more adaptive systems.   Flexibility and Long-Term Thinking Take Center Stage In today’s volatile environment, Harris sees a clear shift in how companies approach automation investments. “We’re finding that customers are looking to invest in technologies and partners that they want to stay with for a while,” he notes. Rather than chasing one-off solutions, organizations are prioritizing long-term partnerships and scalable platforms that can evolve with their…

Stay up to date on all the latest conversations, interviews, and episodes we released this week here at Supply Chain Now. On Monday’s episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton leads the conversation on reverse logistics and welcomes Tony Sciarrotta with RLA and Rich Bulger with Cisco to the show. On This Week in Business History, Scott tells the rags to riches story of Airbnb and more. On Tuesday we released a classic episode of TEKTOK in which Karin Bursa shares the 3 Things C-Level Execs Need to Know About Sales & Operations Planning and Inventory Optimization. On Tuesday we also released a new episode of TECHquila Sunrise. Greg White welcomed Kubera Venture Capital’s Balaji Gopinath and special guest Robin Gregg, CEO of RoadSync. On Wednesday, Scott had the opportunity to talk with some of the University of Georgia’s up-and-coming Supply Chain Rising stars, Jessie Bailey and Elena Griggs. We also released another episode of the Supply Chain Buzz featuring Mike Griswold, and presented by OMNIA Partners. Scott, Greg, and Mike discussed everything from rising COVID-19 infections impact of the supply chain to the United Nations response to climate change. On Friday, host Page Siplon sat down with Griff Lynch…