Industry Trends

BY RICK FOX, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, FOX IV TECHNOLOGIES, AND MEMBER, MHI BOARD OF GOVERNORS   AT FIRST, I didn’t see the value of trade associations. Early in my career, a colleague invited me to join him at a trade association meeting. I was dubious, but he insisted that I would learn a great deal and quickly understand how a ...

Building high‑performing supply chains and achieving other key business objectives starts with a clear strategic vision, but even the most brilliant strategies often fail due to poor execution, stranding organizations short of their goals and leaving billions in unrealized value on the table. Experts see potential in leveraging artificial intelligence to overcome barriers to implementing strategy and close the strategy‑execution ...

  BY SANDY SMITH   AUTOMATION IS POWERFUL in theory, but when a material handler confronts irregular shapes or sizes, that theory can become difficult to execute. MHI member Freespace Robotics—winner of the ProMat 2025 StartUp Pitch Competition—aims to solve that problem with an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) designed to handle an unusually wide range of product dimensions. ...

IoT sensors and edge computing are transforming supply chains by enabling real‑time insights, predictive maintenance and faster operational decisions. As these technologies mature and integrate with AI and standardized systems, companies can achieve greater visibility, efficiency and resilience across their operations. BY SARA PEARSON SPECTER   IN TODAY’S ULTRA‑COMPETITIVE logistics landscape, data visibility alone isn’t enough. Companies must act on ...

BY CHRISTIAN DOW, EVP OF INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP, MHI THERE IS NO doubt about it, the dawn of the artificial intelligence (AI) age is no longer approaching. It has arrived—in full force. As a result, end users must understand how predictive analytics and digital twins are influencing fundamental, traditional reliability practices. After all, they’re jointly strengthening reliability practices throughout the entire ...

How Physical Artificial Intelligence and Data‑Driven Robots Will Transform Warehouse Logistics   BY MARY LOU JAY   THE EVOLUTION OF robotic technology and artificial intelligence (AI) ‑driven warehouse management systems has paved the way for the next step in warehouse automation: physical AI. With physical AI, advanced technology can interact directly with the physical world through equipment such as robots, ...

Physical AI, Agentic AI, Digital Twins and the Dawn of Autonomous Logistics   BY CHRIS LEWIS   AS MIKE GEYER, head of industrial digital twins at NVIDIA, prepares for the future of supply chain operations, he believes they’re set to become “living ecosystems.” How so, you may ask? According to Geyer, each physical process will be “mirrored and optimized through ...

BY TOM GRESHAM   EVEN IN A time marked by disruption and complexity across all supply chains, pharmaceutical and health care supply chains face a notable array of challenges. “Supply chains remain fragile, vendor solvency risk and product shortages continue, costs are increasing and resiliency is a must,” Christy Christian, senior industry principal at Kinaxis, said. “Disruptions are the norm, ...

The group works to clarify mobile automation’s real capabilities while supporting safer, smarter adoption.   BY KATIE KUEHNER‑HEBERT   MEMBERS OF MHI’S Mobile Automation Group (MAG) are eager to share the latest innovations in automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs)—and to dispel some common myths. “People are looking to move things very quickly, easily, 24/7—and automation is ...

The Rack Manufacturers Institute (RMI) is preparing for a shifting warehouse landscape by providing education, standards and support. BY SANDY SMITH WHILE RACKS HAVE not changed much over the years, the Rack Manufacturers Institute (RMI), an industry group within MHI, is not about to stand still. RMI sees its work rooted in engineering rigor, safety and member value, and continues ...