MHI Solutions Improving Supply Chain Performance
BY SANDY SMITH
WITH THE RAPID changes in warehouse automation, The Robotics Group is a place where competitors work together to move the industry forward. The group’s leaders say that role is more important than ever as robotics adoption shifts from novelty to necessity.
Chris Lingamfelter, co‑founder and managing partner of Robot Advisory Group and current TRG chair, has watched the buyer mindset change dramatically in just a few years. “In 2024 and 2025, it was ‘get us a robot at all costs,’” he says. “There wasn’t necessarily an ROI. ‘We want a cool robot for the cover of our annual report,’ or, ‘We’re a 3PL and people want us to be inventive.’”
That era, he says, is ending. “In 2026, what we’re seeing now is that there has to be a justifiable return and a lot of these solutions have that. In many cases, you see folks buying their second system.” TRG’s role, as he sees it, is to help buyers understand what’s real, what’s overhyped, and what’s right for their operation. “If we can prevent one failed implementation a year, that’s huge. Those failures are terrible for the customer, terrible for the provider, and terrible for the environment.”
A key to preventing that type of failure is in collaboration, says co‑vice chair Amel Ali, head of product marketing at GreyOrange. “When you get within the four walls of TRG, we really work together to understand how to provide value and correctly give the narrative of what robotics does today,” she says. “We leave the marketing aside and come together as thought leaders.”
TRG does more than educate the industry about the pros and cons of robotics. They invest heavily in outreach. Recently, TRG participated in an event with high school students, sharing career opportunities for young engineers. “They know what engineering is, but what do you do with an engineering degree? Maybe robotics is the answer,” says Josh Cloer, general manager‑North America for Nomagic and a TRG co‑vice chair. TRG also organizes site visits and events that show robotics in real warehouse environments, not just on trade show floors.
Educating the industry and end users on the opportunities within the robotics sector results in “truly unbiased” content, Ali says, including blogs, podcasts, white papers, and conference sessions. “When you have so many companies coming together, you’re getting honest opinions, not a sales pitch.”