Rob Schaefer

Heading right into October (can you believe it’s next week??) with more great interviews, conversations, livestreams, and episodes!   We started the week with a new episode in our Logistics with Purpose series. Pat Plonski joined Scott, Greg, and Enrique to celebrate 50 million books for Africa!     On Tuesday, Scott and Greg welcomed Mike Griswold with Gartner back to the podcast as they discussed the top three things to know in supply chain today and tomorrow.     We published our Supply Chain Buzz on Wednesday, and Scott and Jamin were happy to welcome Sarah Barnes-Humphrey with Let’s Talk Supply Chain to the show!     On Thursday, Greg continued his conversation with Ben Gordon of Cambridge Capital for part two of the interview for TECHquila Sunrise.     And Friday, Scott and Greg were excited to welcome one of their favorite Supply Chain News writers, Emma Cosgrove with Supply Chain Dive, to the podcast!   Which was your favorite episode? Never miss an episode by subscribing to Supply Chain Now! Make sure you tune in next week for more great conversation, timely topics, and exceptional guests.

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…