2023 Virtual Summit: Orchestration front & center

While our most recent equipment outlook survey showed a more measured approach to investment this year, the need for warehouse automation and supply chain software is growing by the hour, as companies continue to struggle to keep up with e-commerce pressures and labor constraints.

Modern readers tell us they’re focused on increasing productivity, improving organizational resiliency and fostering innovation while continually being asked to “do more with less” in the midst of economic uncertainty and change.

While the need for accelerated use of automation is clear, it’s a good time to take a deep breath and seek some advice before you dive into the evaluation and selection process.

And we can help. Modern’s Virtual Summit goes live on Thursday, July 27—watch your e-mail. We designed sessions to help you take the next step in the evaluation phase of the software, automation, mobility and robotics solutions, allowing you to re-imagine your processes and embrace the changes necessary to orchestrate an end-to-end supply chain.

Kicking things off this year in our keynote address, we’re honored to welcome Sally Miller, global digital transformation officer, DHL Supply Chain. Sally will sit down with senior editor Roberto Michel for a conversation about how the global third-party logistics leader collaborates with its robotics partners—from proof of concept to deployment—to usher in innovation throughout its global facilities.

Norm Saenz, partner and managing director for supply chain consultancy St. Onge Company, then joins us to offer his first-hand perspective of what’s driving the need to automate as he sets out to help warehouse/DC professions figure out what automation is the right solution to meet your required objectives.

David Krebs, executive vice president of enterprise mobility at VDC Research, sets out to help assess the current advanced state of mobile technology solutions, including device trends, wearables, and RFID and then shares how all that captured data integrates into systems to inform on work in process.

Supply chain management (SCM) software is now essential, as it ties the enterprise and the workforce together. In his session, Howard Turner, director of supply chain execution systems at St. Onge Company, explains this now vital, synergistic relationship between software, operations and the employee experience.

We’re offering two sessions this year that touch on the evolution of robotics. Rueben Scriven, research manager at Interact Analysis, will explain the underlying dynamics behind piece-picking robotics; what’s involved in terms of hardware and software; and give an overview of the expected growth and deployment curve.

And then Dwight Klappich, vice president and fellow at Gartner, explains how the trend toward robotics from multiple providers has given rise to a software niche that’s being called “multi-agent orchestration”—platforms that coordinate processes between heterogeneous fleets of robots, other forms of automation, and can tie into business systems like WMS.

Keep an eye open for your personal invitation coming soon—this is solid advice you’ll want to put to work.