Last week I had the pleasure of being on site at Dexory's North American HQ for their grand opening in Nashville. They've really put together a nice destination for those that want to explore the possibilities of their solution and a place where you can really see the Dexory bot in action (it's a full on warehouse).

While I got to see all the different demos they have there which include inventory auditing, storage health, block counts and more; the best part was getting to moderate a panel for the event which featured four of their current customers from C.H. Robinson, Samsung, DHL and NFI.

The conversation centered around the customers' approach to automation and the data they are able to capture through the Dexory solution. However, there was one theme that emerged and stuck with me which was partnerships. This is a highly used term in our industry and it seems like everyone is partners with everyone these days but they started to define what an actual partnership looks like.

The definition wasn't necessarily intentional on their part but as they shared different scenarios, possibilities and how they navigated the solution it was clear that they felt they had a partner going through it with them and not just a vendor. In the conversation multiple Dexory team members were called out by name by the panelists for helping them navigate through different problem sets they were trying to solve for.

What this highlighted to me was the necessity for a partnership of that level to be able to not only move innovation forward for your own company and operation but for the industry as a whole. When we think about these advanced technologies, for many it is the first time they are exploring this type of technology and that can be a little daunting to navigate. If the vendor is not providing a partnership level of support then the potential possibilities of the actual solution can start to slowly slip away. With a negative experience the ripple effect starts to begin and one operator talks to another about their bad experience and that starts to impact the advancement of the innovation itself.

While we hear the word "partnership" all the time, it's important to understand what a true partnership looks like and how it can benefit not only you but the industry as a whole. Working together, brainstorming, developing together, listening to each other and maximizing results are all keys to a solid partnership. Make sure that you're getting that when you enter into an agreement with one of these solution providers.

What has been your best partnership experience and your worst partnership experience? Reply and let me know!

Monday's Episode - Product Identification Across the Supply Chain

In this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, Kevin Lawton chats with Jim Bureau, President and CEO of Loftware, about why product identification sits at the center of modern supply chain operations. With nearly 40 years in the market, Loftware has seen identification evolve from basic labels to a strategic enabler of collaboration, automation, and visibility.

Jim shares how connected packaging, standardization, and cloud-based systems help organizations break down internal and external silos while reducing costly disruptions. The conversation also explores the human side of automation and what’s next for identification technologies across manufacturing, life sciences, and consumer goods.

Tuesday's Episode - SnapFulfil at Manifest: Tackling Warehouse Downtime, Resiliency & Hybrid WMS

At Manifest, Kevin interviews Brian Kirst and Smitha Raphael from SnapFulfil, a cloud-based Tier 1 WMS serving 3PL, e-commerce, medical, and food customers.

They discuss their recent market research report on warehouse resiliency and downtime, driven by recent outages and disruptors like cloud provider issues, internal/external network failures, internet service disruptions, power outages, and cyberattacks.

Key findings include the most disruptive impacts occurring in shipping/carrier processes and the importance of measuring downtime costs, especially for 3PLs where credibility is at stake. They tease a spring product release to be officially launched at MODEX, focusing on multi-site networks with a hybrid architecture (cloud plus onsite/edge failover) and thoughtfully deployed AI capabilities.

Wednesday's Episode - Inside the Modern Warehouse: Why Culture is the New Logistics

Welcome to this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, recorded live from Manifest 2026. Kevin chats with Michelle Harris, a leader at Our Serviceworks (OSW), a Dallas-based 3PL providing outsourced customer care and fulfillment services.

With roots going back to 1988, OSW has evolved alongside its customers, expanding from customer care into fulfillment while keeping culture and experience front and center. In this conversation, Harris shares how carrier strategy, operational discipline, and people-first hiring shape the fulfillment experience brands and customers actually feel.

Thursday's Episode - Amplifier CEO Macon Stokes on Exception Management, Viral Unboxing, and Tech That Respects Your WMS

Macon Stokes, CEO of Amplifier in Austin, explains how the 25-year-old third-party e-commerce logistics provider uses a technology-oriented approach to support brand customizations without hurting operational throughput, focusing on special “one out of a thousand” shipments that can drive a viral unboxing moment. He describes the shift from trying to make every order special to deliberately choosing when human-driven personalization matters, especially as automation can feel robotic. Stokes frames these special touches as “cool exceptions,” tying them to standard exceptions management workflows and noting Amplifier holds two patents for modifying shipments mid-flight from the brand side. At Manifest, he’s most interested in low-integration automation like autonomous carts and pallet-moving robots. His advice: keep the WMS clean and add an external layer to apply business rules that inform when orders should flow into the WMS.

Live Episode: Everything You Need to Know About MODEX 2026

It's that time of year again! MODEX time.

40,000+ material handling professionals will be descending upon Atlanta April 13th-16th to see the latest in material handling equipment, software, tech and more. They'll also be enjoying numerous education settings put on by MHI and of course some great networking with industry peers.

In this livestream we'll dive into everything you need to know about the upcoming show, what's new for 2026 and what to expect on the floor. If you've got questions about MODEX, this is the time to get them answered.

Friday's Episode - Don't Break the Supply Chain: Enterprise Testing for Modern Warehouses

In this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, Kevin chats with Josh Owen of Cycle Labs live from Manifest. Josh, who has spent more than 20 years deploying supply chain systems, shares how warehouse technology has evolved from manual operations to layered WMS, TMS, OMS, and WES environments.

As systems have multiplied, so has complexity. Cycle Labs focuses on enterprise test automation, helping organizations introduce change faster while maintaining quality. The conversation explores why warehouses avoid change, how poor testing erodes trust, and why continuous automation is becoming essential in modern distribution environments.

That's it for last week! We got a busy few weeks coming up with the IWLA Conference and MODEX. We'll be hosting in-person Warehousing After Dark events at both so let me know if we'll see you there and I'll send you the invite.

Have a great week!

Thank you,

Kevin

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