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Your TNW Weekly Recap - 8/30/2026
Published about 1 month ago • 4 min read
It's hard to believe summer is already coming to an end. My son is back to school on Thursday and I'm back on the road next Thursday for some great events.
Speaking of great events, last week was a logistics paradise in NYC with three great events over the span of Monday and Tuesday. Monday evening was the kick off where Matt Hertz of Third Person hosted a dinner for 60 folks from the e-commerce world at Keen's. Amazing steak and a real who's who of the e-comm world. It was great eating with friends from Barrett and Bergen Logistics.
Tuesday morning we kicked off the day co-hosting a breakfast with Traba and another group of great operators. We went around the room sharing what AI agents we would build if there were no limits. Some great ideas and certainly some funny ones like an AI agent to eliminate Slack (there were a few Slack haters in the group!). I also had a great conversation with some HR leaders about how they are navigating upskilling their employees for the influx of AI, especially their frontline workers. We're going to make that a podcast so stay tuned!
Tuesday night was the main event of the week with Breez Hub hosting a huge party on a boat out of Brooklyn. The views and the weather were just perfect for the evening. I was on MC duties and there were two huge panels at this event. When I say huge I mean the amount of knowledge and experience on them was just massive. A big kudos to the organizer for getting those groups together. We'll be sharing both panels as podcasts in the coming weeks in case you missed them.
While there was a ton of discussion around many things in the industry that evening, one of the most intriguing was a discussion around companies having AI policies. We talk a lot about AI in general and all of the different things it can do but what is the regulation internally for your organization. This is something I'll be diving deeper into as there seems to be a split between those who have one and those who don't. One of the hardest things seems to be creating a policy that can continue to evolve as fast as AI is evolving.
Do you have an AI policy at your organization? How do you keep it updated? I'd love to know.
Check out our episodes from last week below and where I'll be in the coming month at the bottom of this email.
Monday's Episode - Physical AI in Warehousing: Berkshire Grey
On this episode, we jump into the topic of physical AI in the warehouse. I'm joined by Dave Paratore, CEO of Berkshire Grey, to explore physical AI’s growing role inside modern warehouses.
If you aren’t familiar with Berkshire Grey, they develop AI-enabled robotics for picking, sortation, and trailer unloading.
Dave explains how these systems perceive changing conditions, make decisions, and complete physical tasks.
Effortlessly manage international employees and contractors in over 160 countries. Simplify global payroll, compliance, and onboarding with a unified HR platform.
Wednesday's Episode - Toyota Material Handling: Insights on Forklift Technology with Brett Wood
Welcome to this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, recorded at Toyota Material Handling North America’s headquarters in Columbus, Indiana. Kevin is joined by Brett Wood, President and CEO of Toyota Material Handling North America.
Wood looks at where forklifts and material handling are heading next. The conversation covers electrification, automation, operator experience, customer-driven innovation, and Toyota’s long-term strategy. The discussion comes as Toyota Material Handling opens a new electric forklift factory and expands its broader material handling capabilities across North America. It also shows how a major equipment manufacturer is preparing for rapid technology change without losing sight of the people using it.
Friday's Episode - WMS Selection for 3PLs, AI Trends, and Build vs Buy with Fullstride Founder Casey
At MODEX 2026, Kevin from The New Warehouse Podcast interviews Casey, founder of Fullstride, about helping 3PLs select WMS software amid hundreds of vendors and an opaque market. Casey explains his alternative to heavy RFPs by identifying “critical levers” and grading a short list of vendors, while also assessing vendor business maturity, partnerships, onboarding capability, implementation approach, and cost signals like first-year subscription versus professional services ratios. He shares what he’s seeing at MODEX: deeper AI demos and proof-of-concepts, faster software development compressing timelines, and systems expanding beyond traditional “alphabet soup” categories as capabilities blend. On build vs buy, Casey advises buying a core WMS and building lightweight edge-case tools via APIs rather than building a full WMS, and predicts newer vendors will emerge strongly in two years as legacy platforms struggle to evolve quickly.
I'm kicking things off in Atlanta and Chattanooga on 9/10 & 9/11 where I'll be attending the ribbon cutting for Kenco's new innovation lab.
The week of 9/13 is a big one - I'm in Dallas to spend some time with EPG, then Barrett and Pallite, then the Supply Chain Excellence Awards the evening of 9/15, then it's time for Intralogistex on 9/16 and 9/17 and I'm closing out the week in Vegas for Shiphero's Horizon event. On 9/16 we're hosting a very special Warehousing After Dark at the top of Reuion Tower in Dallas.
9/22 I'm where ever I want to be because Warehousing After Dark is virtual! Join us here.
On 9/29 I'm off to Long Beach to speak at ASCM's CHAINge where I'll be discussing the warehouse workforce of the future and how operations can prepare themselves now.
Then it's off to Chicago for ProGlove's ProPulse event at the Art Institute of Chicago (what a cool venue!) - join us here.
That's it for September! October will have me in Louisville, Chicago, Boston and Austin as of right now. More on that soon.
Will I see you at any of these places? Let me know and I'd love to connect.
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