Jake Heldenberg, Director of Sales Engineering at Vanderlande, brings expertise in warehouse automation and scalable solutions. He discusses flexibility in automation, advanced robots and lights-out warehouses. The conversation also covers using stores for fast fulfillment and the rise of gamification to engage and retain warehouse staff.
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insights INSIGHT
Flexibility Will Define Automation
Flexibility in automation means adapting fulfillment methods and scaling capacity to shifting consumer demands.
Jake Heldenberg says warehouses must be able to change order fulfillment modes quickly to protect ROI.
insights INSIGHT
Innovate Commodity And Advanced Tech
Innovation must improve both commodity and advanced automation to boost capability and maintainability.
Jake warns that standard components and serviceability are as important as new robotics features.
insights INSIGHT
Automation Can Improve Employee Experience
Employee perceptions of automation are shifting from threat to benefit when automation removes repetitive, strenuous tasks.
Jake says automation can free workers for more skilled, less physical roles and improve job satisfaction.
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Our guest on this week's episode is Jake Heldenberg, director of sales engineering, Warehouse Solutions, North America at Vanderlande. We are only a bit more than a month into 2026 and it is hoped that automation companies will see a glimmer of hope after a somewhat uneven 2025. Our guest today offers insight into the automation market and he shares trends and predictions for the remainder of the year.
Finding and retaining warehouse talent is a challenge these days. However, this week, Gartner released research about what companies are doing to address that challenge—and they found that warehouse and distribution center leaders are focused on developing better employee engagement strategies. And “gamification” is at the top of the list. Victoria Kickham reports.
This week, Ben Ames took a deep dive this week into retail logistics when he attended the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) annual Link trade show, held in Orlando. That’s a show where you have a lot of the nation’s biggest shippers and biggest carriers, all packed into the same convention center to talk about the retail industry. And with all those interests side by side, you get some really interesting conversations. Ben shares about some of the more interesting things he heard affecting the retail industry.
Supply Chain Xchange also offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane. It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. A new series is now available on Top Threats to our Supply Chains. It covers topics including Geopolitical Risks, Economic Instability, Cybersecurity Risks, Threats to energy and electric grids; Supplier Risks, and Transportation Disruptions Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe and to listen to past and future episodes. The podcast is also available at www.thescxchange.com.
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