CATEGORY

MODEX2026 MODEX2026

Discover the latest insights and stories

MODEX 2026 Atlanta Preview: 1,000 Exhibitors, 15,000 Visitors, Full-Automation Demos

MODEX 2026, North America’s largest manufacturing and supply-chain trade show, will occupy Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center from 13–16 April. More than 1,000 suppliers and an expected 15,000 buyers will test robotics, freight tech, and digital logistics platforms across 500,000 square feet of exhibit space. Show Floor Expands to 500,000 Square Feet Exhibitors booked the entire B and C halls, pushing organizers to lay temporary decking in the loading yard. The layout equals nine U.S. football fields and will hold gear ranging from hand-crank pallet jacks to 40-ft stacker cranes linked by 5G warehouse software. A fenced 0.8-mile outdoor loop lets cargo-bike start-ups race electric trikes against diesel vans while parcel-firm engineers log torque and battery drain. Demonstrations restart every hour so operations managers can line up competing systems without calendar gaps. Daily Keynotes Focus on Digitization ROI Finance leaders from Levi’s, Nestlé USA, and Norfolk Southern open the main stage at 08:30 Monday, explaining how cloud control towers trimmed eight-figure carrying costs. Tuesday shifts to tech, with Georgia Tech researchers presenting an 800,000-SKU simulation that shows AI vision can cut cycle-count labor 34 %. Wednesday spotlights MHI’s Annual Industry Report, drawn from 2,400 global respondents who graded their readiness for port strikes, chip shortages, and cyber attacks. Overflow screens simulcast each session; attendees keep 90-day on-demand access. Micro-Theaters Offer 180 Tactical Briefings Thirteen pocket theaters, each seating 80, run hourly blocks on niche issues: robotic depalletizing, cold-chain pouch sorting, Scope-3 carbon tallies, and a new Supply Chain Resiliency playbook track. Robotics and sustainability sessions usually fill 10 minutes before start time; veterans advise using the MODEX app to reserve a seat during the 48-hour pre-show window. Startup Pavilion Awards 200-Square-Foot Pods Hall C’s glass-walled zone gives 14 young companies a three-minute pitch slot judged on scalability, energy draw, and plug-and-play ease. Last year’s winner—a drone that photographs and grades pallet damage—closed a $9 million Series A within 60 days, raising the bar so high that 2026 applicants are pitching louder and earlier. Expect standing-room-only for the Tuesday finale. Workforce Forums Address Gender Gap and Talent Pipeline Women occupy only 27 % of senior supply-chain roles, per Gartner’s 2025 census. MODEX counters with a Monday 16:00 forum offering mentorship match-ups and C-suite office hours. Student Day buses 400 undergrads from 12 Southeast engineering schools through guided tours, while recruiters from DHL, FedEx, and Toyota run pop-up interviews on the concourse. A Young Professionals mixer at the nearby College Football Hall of Fame ends Monday, handing first-time attendees a contact list before the floor reopens Tuesday. Pre-Show Planning Tips Downtown hotel blocks sell out by January; book early or consider MARTA-rail stops outside the perimeter for lower rates. Download the official app after 1 February to tag must-see booths and build an hour-by-hour map—cell reception drops once 15,000 badges tap in. Cushioned footwear is mandatory; a full-aisle lap tops six miles of concrete. Request exhibitors’ content keys on the spot; the 90-day on-demand library vanishes after three months, erasing 1,000 clips you vowed to watch later. Source: MHI

Amelia Rhodes · MODEX2026 · 2026-03-03 18:40

MODEX 2026 Supply Chain Technology Preview: 8 Key Exhibits

Global supply chain managers start 2026 juggling three non-negotiables: cut operating cost, hit sustainability deadlines, and wire every new asset for AI. The squeeze has shrunk procurement cycles from two years to as little as six months, turning equipment buys into high-speed chess. Supply Chain Tech Pressures Collide in 2026 Operational teams no longer stage roll-outs in tidy phases. Efficiency mandates, carbon-disclosure rules, and AI-readiness checks land on the same quarterly ledger, forcing buyers to compress deployment windows from 18-24 months down to 6-12. Capital budgets are being rewritten: automation that once fought for funds must now arrive pre-connected to emissions sensors and cloud analytics before the purchase order is inked. In Atlanta, March 4-7, MODEX 2026 positions itself as the one hall where hardware vendors, integrators, and compliance experts share floor space—and shoulder shared risk. Eight Technology Zones Frame MODEX 2026 Floor Organizers have split the Georgia World Congress Center into eight parallel districts, each pegged to a 2026 pain point: Packaging, Containers & Shipping Equipment – live lines erecting right-sized cartons, dunnage-on-demand systems, in-line weight/vision gates Dock & Warehouse Infrastructure – next-gen dock seals, vertical lift modules, lithium forklifts with quick-swap battery cassettes RFID & Auto-ID Systems – UHF sensor tunnels, vision barcode guns, voice-pick headsets feeding cloud WMS Material Handling & Logistics – mini-load AS/RS, AMR swarms, micro-fulfillment software Supply Chain Management & Sustainability – renewable natural-gas reefers, reusable tote pools, Scope 3 carbon dashboards Inventory Management & IT – edge controllers, MQTT brokers, 5G hand-offs for cycle-count drones Transportation, Last Mile & Logistics – electric box-truck chassis, sidewalk bots, parcel-locker grids with heat-map analytics AI & Emerging Tech – digital-twin sandboxes, AR pick lenses, generative-AI maintenance copilots Cross-zone corridors feature integrator booths where hardware, middleware, and SaaS layers are pre-bundled, underscoring the industry’s shift from stand-alone devices to subscription ecosystems. Procurement Window Shrinks, Risk Appetite Follows Buyers arriving in March carry shorter capital-approval chains than in any prior cycle. A MODEX survey of 412 operations VPs shows 61% must now prove ROI inside 12 months to secure board sign-off, up from 34% in 2022. On-floor equipment trials have become de-facto due-diligence, replacing multi-site pilots slashed to save calendar time. Demonstration lanes double as living RFPs—forklift energy readouts, AMR pick logs, and RFID inventory reports are exported on the spot for finance teams running discounted-cash-flow models back home. Stakeholder Roles Redraw Around Compliance Clock Operations executives hunt automation that lifts throughput without adding headcount, yet must also satisfy ESG auditors. Technology integrators test API hand-offs between legacy WMS tiers and new carbon-accounting modules. Sustainability officers, once peripheral visitors, now book dedicated floor walks to capture equipment-level emissions data for 2027 SEC filings. Supply-chain strategists scan the transportation zone for urban-logistics partners able to trim final-mile CO₂ grams before peak-season surcharges bite. Labor Scarcity Spurs Collaborative, Not Replacement, Robotics MHI data puts 2026 unemployment in transportation and warehousing at 2.8%, intensifying hybrid automation strategies. Vendors respond with cobot pick-assist arms, exoskeleton wearables, and vision-guided pallet jacks that augment rather than displace workers—categories that claimed 11% of 2020 floor space now occupy 28% of MODEX booths. The shift lowers union resistance and shrinks training cycles, critical when deployment windows are measured in weeks, not quarters. Useful Resources MHI Industry Report: “Innovation in Supply Chain Automation 2026” – free PDF benchmarking 250 technology deployments Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistics Institute – open short courses on Scope 3 accounting for operations managers EPA SmartWay Program – carrier-ranking database to vet modal emissions before procurement ASCM SCOR-DS model – updated framework aligning sustainability KPIs with standard supply-chain metrics MODEX 2026 mobile app – real-time booth locator and demo scheduler to compress on-site research time Source: MODEX 2026 preview materials

Nova Quinn · MODEX2026 · 2026-02-25 11:55

MODEX 2026 Atlanta: 1,000+ Exhibitors, 50,000 Supply Chain Pros

MODEX 2026, North America’s largest supply-chain trade show, runs 23-26 March at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center. The 600,000-square-foot expo will pack 1,050 exhibitors, 200 no-cost seminars, and an anticipated 50,000 buyers and engineers into four days. 600,000-Square-Foot Technology Showcase in Atlanta Building B has been re-striped into a working warehouse city. Aisles are wide enough for a forklift to travel the full hall without leaving carpet, letting visitors watch robotic palletizers, autonomous mobile robots, and 50-foot vertical lift modules run at full speed. Turnstile data from 2024 flagged congestion between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; organizers have added a second sky bridge and staggered demo slots for 2026. 200 Free Seminars Span AI to Yard Management Education director Mary Jane Huggins says the roster was built from 700 speaker submissions and favors live deployments over theory. Monday opens with “Cutting WMS Deployment Time by 40 %,” followed Tuesday by a block on generative-AI prompt libraries for slotting. Classrooms are wired for real-time data; dashboards can be downloaded on the spot. Overflow screens are being installed after 30 % of sessions hit fire-code capacity last year. 70 Product Categories Under One Roof Exhibitor tags released 15 May show 28 % robotics, 19 % warehouse software, and 12 % safety gear. A new micro-fulfillment zone lets grocery chains walk a 40-foot dark-store mockup and trigger shuttle systems by scanning SKU cards. A sustainability pavilion groups vendors of recycled totes, lithium-ion retrofits, and energy-recapture belts; each posts a QR-coded carbon sheet audited by a third party. Keynotes Target Margin Pressure and Disruption Target’s EVP of supply-chain automation, Gretchen McCoy, leads Tuesday’s opener, detailing how re-slotting 1.2 million SKUs saved 18 cents per e-commerce parcel. Wednesday brings Maersk’s ocean-network chief on Red Sea reroutes; Thursday pairs MIT’s Dr. Maria Álvarez with FedEx’s top data scientist to debate AI governance. Friday closes with three unicorn founders in a fireside chat moderated by Wall Street Journal reporter Paul Berger. Networking Events Built for Career Moves The Women in Supply Chain Forum, shifted to Monday after last year’s sell-out, adds a résumé clinic run by six executive recruiters. Young Professionals Reception caps attendance at 1,000 and uses color-coded lanyards to match engineers in the same software ecosystem. Industry Night shuts down Andrew Young International Boulevard for sidewalk beer gardens—vendors can pitch without booth noise limits. Useful ResourcesMODEX 2026 registration portal – free expo passGeorgia World Congress Center travel page – parking, EV charging, MARTAMHI Industry Report 2025 – automation adoption benchmarkAssociation for Supply Chain Management – CEU creditsWarehousing Education and Research Council – post-show white papers

Skylar Lawrence · MODEX2026 · 2026-02-22 11:53

MODEX 2026 Atlanta: Dates, Hours, Exhibitors and Automation Highlights

MODEX 2026 opens 13 April at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center for a four-day showcase of warehouse automation, AI inventory tools, and zero-cobalt robots. More than 1,100 suppliers and roughly 40,000 logistics executives, engineers, and investors are expected. [IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER_0] Show Hours, Floor Plan, and New-Visitor Tips The expo fills three connected halls: Hall A for WMS/TMS and analytics, Hall B for conveyors, AMRs, and robot arms, Hall C for storage and ergonomic gear. Badges are ready at 08:00 inside GWCC Building B lobby; security and the walk to the last aisle take about 20 minutes total. Exhibit hours run until 17:00 Monday-Wednesday and 13:00 Thursday so vendors can power down cells before the drayage cutoff. Tompkins Robotics Booth B16127: 40,000 Items, No Fixed Conveyor A 90-by-90-foot island will run two linked tSort fleets—one routing poly-bags, the other shoe boxes—feeding 6,048 chutes. The cube-based layout lets workers re-slot a zone overnight without cutting steel; a Phoenix fashion site recently logged 38,700 sorts per hour at 99.6 % accuracy. Attendees can tap an induction tablet to watch AI wave-balancing keep chutes clear during returns spikes. [IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER_1] AI ROI Sessions and Labor Modeling Tracks Monday’s 09:15 keynote in the Thomas Murphy Ballroom pairs Home Depot’s CFO with MIT’s Dr. Maria Alvarado to release data showing predictive slotting trims overtime 11 % in one quarter. Tuesday’s slate spotlights “software-defined automation,” including BlueYonder plug-in simulators that stress-test robot counts against peak-week order curves. Wednesday closes with investors explaining why venture checks are shifting from fixed steel to flexible, lease-based fleets. Sector-Specific Visitor Playbook C-suite guests should book the 90-minute “Capital Approval Toolkit” (Tuesday, 11:00) where MHI economists fold energy inflation and carbon-tax credits into payback math. Plant engineers can size up KUKA’s LBR iisy cobot, OMRON’s HD-1500, and three rival HMI stacks within a 400-foot radius in Hall B—bring a USB-C drive; most booths hand over native CAD files. Deal scouts can circle the southeast corner of Hall C: twelve Series-A firms displayed there last year, and three were acquired within nine months. [IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER_2] Free Badge Perks and Evening Events Exhibitor-search Wi-Fi, shuttles from the Omni and Hilton, and the 15 April “Industry Night” reception at the College Football Hall of Fame (18:30-21:00) are bundled with the no-cost expo pass. Register online before 31 March to avoid the $50 on-site fee; mobile QR codes speed turnstile entry. Pre-Show Checklist Reserve a GWCC-footprint hotel—block rates end 1 March. Lock in booth meetings through the MODEX Connect app; calendars fill two weeks out. Download the MHI Economic Report (free after registration) to prep for ROI talks. Pack a 32 GB flash drive—hall Wi-Fi saturates fast when CAD files and white papers drop. Source: MODEX 2026 press kit

Layla Delgado · MODEX2026 · 2026-02-15 11:27
8 of 4 articles