Maggie Hume

Warehousing historically hasn’t been a particularly exciting topic. But times have changed. Thanks to technological innovations, warehouse automation has made the receiving, housing, and distributing of goods truly fascinating stuff. At Supply Chain Now, we spotlight companies doing exciting things throughout the industry. In modern warehousing, the innovations garnering attention include systems integrations involving robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI); the use of optical character recognition (OCR) technology in yard management; an “elegant” automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS); and a solution called Chuck. Warehousing at a Crossroads: Innovation for Efficiency “The warehousing industry is experiencing a technological revolution, with advancements in automation, robotics, IoT, AI, and data analytics transforming operations and driving efficiency. These innovations are not just enhancing operational capabilities but are also paving the way for smarter, more connected, and efficient warehouse environments,” an October report by Taiwan-based logistics property developer ALP said. ALP said AS/RSs, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and robotics “are at the forefront of the smart warehousing revolution. These systems enhance efficiency, reduce labor costs, and improve accuracy.” AI and Robotics: A New Frontier for Modern Warehousing A Forbes Council post in November said that “one of the most visible impacts of AI and…

Supply chain organizations have never lacked data. What they have often lacked is the ability to connect it, normalize it, trust it, and turn it into better decisions. That was one of the central themes in a recent conversation between Scott Luton and Matt McKinney, Co-Founder and CEO of Loop. Drawing on his experience helping build Uber Freight and now leading a logistics technology company, McKinney offered a clear-eyed view of where AI is already creating value, as well as why the data foundation still matters more than the model itself. The Real Problem Is Not Data Volume McKinney traces Loop’s origins back to a recurring problem he and his co-founder (Shaosu Liu) saw at Uber Freight: rapid growth on the revenue side paired with a back office still dependent on people manually reconciling invoices, contracts, proofs of delivery, and surcharges. The bigger realization was that this was not unique to Uber. “The thing people miss is that the value isn’t in the quantity of data, it’s in the utility of it,” McKinney explained. “Most companies have plenty of data. What they don’t have is data that connects.” That disconnect is especially painful in logistics, where data is scattered across…