By Shefali Kapadia

A truck drives out of an Amazon fulfillment center in Joliet, Illinois. Another hauls an intermodal container into a nearby BNSF’s Logistics Park. And another pulls into a Lineage warehouse to pick up a refrigerated load.

It wasn’t always like this in Joliet, located in Will County to the southwest of Chicago. About three decades ago, Will County was “pretty much a sleepy” region, said Don Schaefer, president and CEO of the Mid-West Truckers Association. But thanks to the intermodal container, the county’s proximity to Chicago and an embrace of supply chain infrastructure development, Will County has become a “thriving economic hub,” Schaefer said. 

What was once a quiet county outside Chicago blossomed into a massive freight epicenter. Today, Will County is home to the largest inland port in North America, three intermodal facilities, four interstates and service from five Class 1 railroads, according to the county’s Center for Economic Development. By one estimate, multimodal freight volumes in Will County are projected to reach 600 million tons valued around $1.2 trillion by 2040. 

Continue reading on Trucking Dive.

By Shefali Kapadia

When Karin Hoeing first joined BAE Systems, a U.K.-based global defense, security and aerospace company, nearly eight years ago, she was the only woman on the executive committee. But that wasn’t the only thing that made her stand out: She is German, unlike her mostly British and American male peers at the time, and she had come to BAE Systems from the oil and gas industry rather than an aerospace or defense company.

Hoeing, who is now the director of culture and business transformation in the company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) group, admits that her atypical background led to some awkward meetings and extra work on her part to win over her fellow leaders. But she soon felt at home. “Once you have broken down the first resistance and uncertainty about you, people are very receptive,” she says of her colleagues.

Fast forward to today, and BAE Systems’ C-suite looks very different, with five females and seven males on its executive committee. The company’s progress on this front has led to more equal representation of women across leadership roles, and it’s helped the company earn the No. 25 spot on our list of the World’s Top Companies For Women 2025.

Continue reading on Forbes.

By Shefali Kapadia

When a shipment of refrigerated or frozen goods arrives at one of Lineage’s automated warehouses, machines spring into action. Computer-vision technology scans pallets and logs data on customers, product types, and item descriptions. AI-driven algorithms combine shipment data with historical information to predict when a truck will take the goods out of the warehouse. The technology assigns pallets a spot in the warehouse based on how long they’ll remain in the facility and directs the forklift operator where to go.

This level of technology can improve efficiency in any type of supply chain, but it’s critical in cold warehouses, where goods like frozen foods, fresh produce, and pharmaceuticals are stored. A brief deviation in temperature has the potential to damage a shipment, and warehouse managers don’t want workers spending hours without breaks in sub-zero conditions. This makes accuracy and productivity imperative in the cold chain.

Refrigeration and temperature-sensor technology have been integral to cold chains for decades, but advanced versions are now permeating the industry. Cold-chain providers are ditching manual processes for AI-driven algorithms and exploring digital twins and AI agents to make highly automated operations even more autonomous.

Continue reading on Business Insider.

By Shefali Kapadia

At The Ohio State University, students attend lectures on generative AI and predictive analytics for supply chain management. At Georgia Tech, supply chain leaders can take a “Generative AI Application for Supply Chain Professionals” course. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers a summer immersive called AI in Supply Chain and Logistics Management.

With AI becoming an integral part of supply chain operations — in areas like inventory management, warehouse technology, and delivery routes — US universities and certification programs are incorporating tech-focused coursework into existing supply chain management lessons so that students can prepare to work in the sector’s up-and-coming careers.

In some cases, companies are partnering directly with universities to ensure students have the skills they need to join the workforce. Blue Yonder, a supply chain software provider, inked a two-year partnership in February with the University of Arkansas, making Blue Yonder the first-ever title sponsor for the Master of Science in Supply Chain Management Program.

Continue reading on Business Insider.

By Shefali Kapadia

When leaders at Colgate-Palmolive were ready to roll out an AI Hub for employees this past summer, they knew exactly what they wanted to avoid: a small group of people implementing an AI strategy assuming they knew the best use cases for each department and pushing an AI system onto the rest of the organization.

That kind of approach “puts a bad taste in people’s mouths” and can create “a huge amount of friction,” said Kli Pappas, the senior director of global predictive analytics and head of AI at Colgate-Palmolive.

Instead of a top-down method, the company created an internal hub through which anyone in the organization could input their natural language with instructions to build a personalized AI assistant and solve inefficient processes in their day-to-day work.

Colgate’s strategy avoided one of the biggest barriers companies face when adopting AI: employee pushback, hesitation, or resistance.

Continue reading on Business Insider.

By Shefali Kapadia

Anyone who ordered an old fashioned or whiskey sour at the Johnnie Walker Princes Street’s 1820 bar in Edinburgh last fall may have noticed something unusual. The whiskey in the drink tasted the same, but it was poured from a different kind of bottle – a 90% paper-based bottle the brand was trialing, instead of the classic Johnnie Walker Black Label bottle made of glass. 

Over the years, pilots, trials and limited launches have been an important way for brands and their packaging partners to collaborate, experiment and advance sustainable packaging efforts.

Johnnie Walker’s parent company, Diageo, developed the new packaging as part of the Bottle Collective with PA Consulting and PulPac. Dave Lütkenhaus, global sustainability and innovation director at Diageo, said the paper bottle is 60% lighter than the glass bottle. This makes it easier for bartenders to carry and use, while still retaining the brand’s signature elements, including an embossed striding man.

“We’ve been able to combine sustainability benefits with a luxury look and feel to the bottle,” Lütkenhaus said. 

CPG brands and their packaging partners are increasingly working in tandem to set goals and success metrics as they develop, test and roll out innovative packaging solutions. Both parties recognize that designing packaging to be more sustainable frequently involves tradeoffs.

Continue reading on Packaging Dive.