Stacey Schroeder

It has been a big week (as usual) for Supply Chain Now! Did you miss an episode? Check them all out here: Listen as Daniel Studdard with the Atlanta Regional Commission, talks with Greg and Scott from MODEX 2020 about keeping freight moving:   Rodney Apple with SCM Talent Group joins Greg and Scott from MODEX 2020 to chat about securing top supply chain talent:   On Tuesday, Scott and Greg were joined remotely by Jan van Niekerk with SpotSee, to talk about leveraging technology to protect your shipments during transit:   Scott and Greg were joined by Bob Bova with Accuspeech Mobile from MODEX 2020 and discussed voice automating workflows:   On Thursday we published the new and improved Supply Chain Buzz, with Scott and Greg sharing and discussing the latest news and events in Supply Chain and beyond:   And to finish out the week, Mark Messina and Rick DeFiesta with Geek+ joined Scott and Greg for a discussion about COVID-19’s impact on consumer behaviors, warehouse operations, automation initiatives, and more:   Make sure you subscribe to Supply Chain Now so you never miss an episode and we will see you next week with all new livestreams and…

At MODEX 2026 in Atlanta, the energy was unmistakable. With thousands of supply chain professionals gathered, one theme echoed across conversations: uncertainty is no longer episodic. It’s constant and seemingly endless. In a candid discussion with Scott Luton, Pete Blair, VP of Product & Marketing at Pickle Robot, unpacked how organizations are navigating volatility, workforce challenges, and the growing role of automation in keeping operations moving.   Navigating Tariffs and a Moving Target If there’s one word defining today’s global supply chain environment, it’s unpredictability. Blair points to tariffs as a prime example; and not just their presence, but their volatility. “The biggest thing we see… is the chaos of tariffs. It’s not so much that customers have to pay tariffs or not pay tariffs, it’s that they don’t know how to plan,” Blair explains. That lack of predictability is forcing organizations to rethink their networks in real time. Companies are shifting sourcing strategies, standing up temporary distribution centers in new geographies, and even making drastic decisions about whether importing goods makes financial sense at all. What’s particularly challenging isn’t the cost itself. But rather, it’s the inability to forecast. Supply chains, while resilient, aren’t designed for abrupt swings like…