Laura Madajewski, CPA, MBA

This post is written in partnership with Reuters Events: Supply Chain. Reuters Events connects the world’s most senior supply chain leaders through conferences, research, and digital content. Learn more: events.reutersevents.com/supply-chain/usa   When decisions cannot keep pace with change There is a moment most planning leaders recognise right now: A tariff announcement lands. A carrier pulls capacity. Demand accelerates faster than the forecast adjusts. The decision window compresses, and by the time there is confidence in the data, the cost of delay is already building. These pressures across supply chains are not new. What has changed is the speed at which conditions move underneath a decision, often faster than organisations are set up to respond. Customer expectations do not flex when supply does not. The cost of a wrong call, whether inventory in the wrong market, capacity committed too early, or service levels slipping before anyone flags them, compounds quickly. Most organisations have responded by investing. Better tools. More data. AI pilots. Network reviews. The core problem persists: decisions are still being made without full confidence. Planning and execution do not align when conditions change. In many cases, the issue is not disruption itself. It is how long organisations take to…

At MODEX 2026 in Atlanta, Scott Luton sat down with Christian Lieberoth-Leden, Principal and Global Senior Expert, and Florian Salamon, Director of Consulting at 4flow, to unpack a complex warehouse transformation project that highlights the realities of modern supply chain growth. The discussion offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to design, implement, and scale a next-generation operation while keeping business moving uninterrupted. When Growth Forces Reinvention The project began with a clear challenge: a rapidly growing customer had outgrown its existing U.S. warehouse network. According to Christian Lieberoth-Leden, the company anticipated “doubling volume” over the next decade while simultaneously managing a major operational shift from B2B to B2C fulfillment. The existing facility simply could not support the future business requirements. A new warehouse was inevitable – – but this wasn’t just about adding capacity. It was about rethinking the operation entirely. At the same time, the stakes were extremely high. The warehouse would become a mission-critical hub for the company’s U.S. business, meaning there was little room for error. Start with Requirements, Not Tech One of the most important themes from the conversation is that successful transformation projects begin long before automation decisions are made. Christian emphasizes…