Scott Wolfer

Special Guest Blog Post written by Jeff Eckel, Director of Product Marketing, e2open   “Dad, why are they out of my favorite cereal?” your 10-year-old asks you at the grocery store, noticing that their favorite breakfast food is missing. The answer is more complex than they could imagine – hurricanes don’t just bring bad weather; they create far-reaching supply chain disruptions that affect everything from food to toys. Each hurricane season often brings catastrophic floods and wind damage. While communities will rebuild after the devastation, supply chains – the force behind keeping stores stocked – also experience powerful shocks beyond the storms’ path. The ripple effect of hurricanes across global trade The impact extends well beyond the immediate devastation. Critical port hubs for global trade close as hurricanes batter coastal regions. Cargo ships carrying essential goods like food, medical supplies, and consumer products must reroute or anchor offshore, waiting for storms to pass. This creates massive supply chain delays. Ports with backlogs of ships trying to dock and unload. Over-the-road and rail transportation networks face fallen trees, flooded roads, and damaged infrastructure that make movement difficult. Inland distribution centers face pressure Inland distribution centers – strategically located hubs where goods…

Uncertainty Is the New Baseline At Manifest 2026, Scott Luton spoke with Romain Moulin, CEO and co-founder of Exotec, to discuss how warehouse automation is evolving in an era defined by volatility. “The big trend of last year was uncertainty,” Romain said, reflecting on 2025’s tariffs, economic tensions, and shifting trade dynamics. “Anything that would be done needed to deal with uncertainty.” Rather than waiting for stability, companies are designing operations that assume change is constant. “Anything that is going on now must be projects that are able to reorganize themselves,” he explained. Warehouses must be robust, agile and flexible as to whatever the next disruption brings.   From Conveyors to Configurable Robotics Exotec is known for inventing 3D warehouse robots (Skypods) that move across the floor and climb racks up to 14 meters (46 feet) to retrieve totes and deliver them to operators. But beyond the visual wow factor, the real transformation is simplification. “The time of bespoke complex warehouses tailored to a very specific need is over,” Romain said. Customers are moving toward more generic, adaptable warehouses. Exotec replaces hardware complexity with intelligent software. “We don’t program the solution,” he noted. “We let the software find the best…