Dr. Morgan Swink

From Grocery Innovator to Global Tech Enabler At Manifest 2026, Scott Luton spent time with David Scheffrahn, Vice President of Sales with Ocado Intelligent Automation, to explore how fulfillment technology is evolving in an era defined by volatility. While Ocado is widely known in the UK and Europe for its e-commerce grocery leadership, Scheffrahn explained that the company’s North American focus is different. Over 25 years of building its own advanced grocery e-commerce and fulfillment operations, Ocado developed a powerful technology stack to drive efficiency. “What we’ve done in the last five years,” he shared, “has taken the tech stack that we built for our own use, and now we’re offering it to other companies to buy and use for their operations.” Today, Ocado supports 3PLs and global brands with end-to-end automation solutions that enable companies to maintain greater control over their omnichannel fulfillment, especially those looking for alternatives to marketplace giants.   Volatility Hasn’t Gone Away When asked about dominant supply chain themes heading into 2026, Scheffrahn was direct: “Volatility has not gone away.” He described 2025 as “a massive shock in the system,” with tariffs and shifting trade policies forcing customers to pause projects and reassess strategy. “Almost…

A Shift in the Narrative for 2026 In a recent conversation, Scott Luton spoke with Mark Gilham, Vice President & Head of Global Advisory at Enable, about what supply chain and commercial leaders should expect from the year ahead. While many annual outlooks attempt to forecast the next major disruption, Gilham offered a different lens: 2026 may become the “year of no excuses.” After years defined by a global pandemic, inflationary shocks, geopolitical instability, supply shortages, and the rapid rise of AI, organizations have already endured extraordinary volatility. Businesses not only survived, but in many cases adapted and grew. According to Gilham, that reality weakens the argument that disruption alone explains underperformance. Disruption is not disappearing, he cautioned, but leaders can only lean on it for so long.   Why a Calmer Year Raises the Bar Gilham argued that if external conditions stabilize even slightly, the pressure on leadership actually increases. A less chaotic environment removes convenient explanations and shines a brighter light on internal shortcomings. Process gaps, misaligned incentives, and execution failures become harder to ignore when the world is not on fire. Rather than waiting for certainty, Gilham believes leaders should act decisively. This does not mean radical…