Tom Raftery

In a recent conversation, 4flow’s Akhilesh Mohan joined Scott Luton with Supply Chain Now to explore a critical shift underway in global supply chains: the move from siloed functional optimization to truly connected decision-making. The discussion highlights a growing realization across the industry. As organizations continue to invest heavily in digital platforms, Mohan makes it clear: the next wave of value won’t come from adding more tools, but from aligning how decisions are made across the enterprise ensuring those decisions are connected end-to-end.   Beyond Systems: The Rise of Decision Integration For years, companies have digitalized supply chains function by function: ERP systems, planning tools, warehouse management, transportation platforms. While necessary, these investments often created islands of capability rather than a cohesive whole. Despite this investment of technology, Mohan says “in many organizations those capabilities still operate in silos ,” limiting the value companies hoped to achieve. The result? Planning, logistics, manufacturing, and customer service frequently operate with different priorities and incomplete visibility. Mohan emphasizes that the real transformation lies in connecting these decisions: “It is less about having more systems and more about making those systems, processes, and teams work together.” This is the shift from system integration to…

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…