This is the day you've been waiting for -- when it all starts coming together. It is also the day that kicks off with the highly anticipated 2018 MHI Annual Industry Report Keynote Panel with George W. Prest, CEO, MHI, and Scott Sopher, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Supply Chain Practice. And, right after lunch (cleverly planned!), the infamous "Dirty Jobs" host Mike Rowe will be taking to the stage to talk about the importance of skilled labor, teamwork, success, humor, humanity and – of course – dirty jobs! Today, the CMAA Overhead Crane Safety Conference will be in full swing, too, from 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Tonight will be MHI Industry Night with Jim Gaffigan and that extra-special door prize: Trip of a Lifetime!

On Monday, April 9, finalists will present their unique solutions to a panel of judges on the show floor at MODEX 2018. The winners in each category will be announced at MODEX 2018 on April 11 during MHI Industry Night with Jim Gaffigan.

Wednesday, April 11 • 8:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
2018 MHI ANNUAL INDUSTRY REPORT KEYNOTE PANEL
George W. Prest, CEO, MHI
Scott Sopher, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Supply Chain Practice

This is your opportunity to be the first to have access to this new report on the supply chain trends and technologies that are transforming supply chains. Scott Sopher, the principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Supply Chain practice will join George W. Prest, CEO of MHI in presenting the findings and moderating a panel of manufacturing and supply chain leaders on the report’s findings. They will be joined by a panel of manufacturing and supply chain professionals to discuss the real-world significance of the report findings.

Wednesday, April 11 • 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
WHY DIRTY JOBS MATTER
Mike Rowe, Founder of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation

In this talk, Mike Rowe gives an illuminating account of the true nature of skilled labor, and why it’s being devalued by the media, advertising, and even the government. What lessons can we learn about teamwork, determination, efficiency and our definition of success? With conviction, humor and humanity, Mike Rowe reminds us of the enormous but forgotten benefits of hard, honest work and how it affects everything from our national identity to our infrastructure to the economy.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018 Classroom Day Rooms B313 & B314 For the 15th consecutive year, the College Industry Council on Material Handling Education (CICMHE) will sponsor the popular Classroom Day. This event provides students with the opportunity to visit the show floor and meet with exhibitors on guided tours, led by experts in their field. Over 200 students participate in Classroom Day each year and come away with a real world understanding of the products, services and technologies that enable the supply chain.

This year at MODEX we’re introducing the MODEX Backyard. Basically, the concept is to bring some of the outside inside. It’s gonna be a backyard! It will be populated with entertainment like games, giveaways, music and more. There will also be real fake grass and food trucks! Outside inside, all day long. Plus you could win a $1,000 American Express gift card! Also, check out the options at the on-floor MODEX Bistro.

See where everything will be located at the Georgia World Congress Center for MODEX 2018 and the Georgia Logistics Summit, being held April 9-12, 2018. Check out the Show Floor Map too!

EXPO HOURS: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
ON-FLOOR EDUCATION SEMINARS: Starting at 10:30 a.m.    

TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS THEATERS
CONFERENCE SESSIONS, located in C Hall

10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.:  Women in Logistics
10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.:  Challenges in the Logistics Workforce (Theater 2)

Sponsored by Georgia Logistics Summit. 

SMART CITY LOGISTICS & CONNECTED SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS THEATERS 
CONFERENCE SESSIONS, located in C Hall

10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.:  AI-based Robots Deliver Flexibility at Speed for Order Fulfillment
11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.:  Rethinking Last Mile Delivery: How Retailers Can Compete in the Age of Amazon (Theater 2)
11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.:  Connect the Human Worker to IIoT with Wearable Technology
12:00 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.:  Cartonization: the Key to Reducing Unexpected Dim Fees & Waste (Theater 2)
2:30 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.:  Workshop: Advancing Your Workforce with Wearables and AR (Theater 2)

The Q2 2018 issue of MHI Solutions focuses on the supply chain workforce, including finding, retaining and unleashing the talent that is out there. To tackle the growing challenge of securing the right talent to effectively implement new technologies, firms must collaborate with industry associations, universities and career and technical education programs to develop the next generation supply chain workforce. This workforce will look very different as supply chains increasingly require purple people—those with business acumen (blue) and technical (red) skills—to leverage digital technologies and take full advantage of the business opportunities they offer.

This year at MODEX 2018, 900 exhibitors from industry, commerce and government will display their supply chain solutions and innovations on the 280,000-square-foot show floor. To help you get to know the MODEX exhibitors, we’ve given them one minute to connect with you! These one minute to connect videos range from serious to comical, each with their own personality and strategy to get you to visit their booth. The video with the most votes wins!

Connect with other MODEX attendees, and get the lastest show news, information and developments. Use the hashtag #MODEXShow when tweeting and follow @PoweredbyMHI for show information, photos and specials.

From HIPPOs to geeks, core to crowd, Go to Quant and Apple to Airbnb to algorithms, Andrew McAfee captivated the audience with an upbeat look at how and where we are headed with technology – and how it is rewriting the business playbook. The co-founder and co-director of the Initiative on the Digital Economy and a principal research scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management, McAfee probably has more intellect and brainpower than most of us. So, it was interesting to hear the reasons why he thought an "alternative" to humans might be a better route for businesses.

The session, "Is Your Distribution Evolving to Manage the Last Mile?" led by Bill Denbigh of TECSYS addressed the question, "Why are distributors becoming couriers (and often doing it badly)?" Simply, because they are trying to satisfy customer expectations. But, the "doing is badly" part does not have to be the case – if you approach the problem from a solution standpoint and turn it into an advantage. Before tackling it, though, make sure you have a solid understanding of the basics.

Doug Schuchart from Beckhoff Automation, Vijay Chhabria from JBT Corporation and John Ashodian from SICK Inc. were panelists in the "Industry 4.0 & IoT Panel Discussion" expertly moderated by James Brehm from James Brehm & Associates, who kept the panelists on their toes with his questions – including one "controversial" question that was not on the agenda.

If seeing is believing, then there will be a lot of truth being shared during the course of MODEX. Each day, a video crew will be interviewing keynotes, talking to exhibitors, getting feedback from attendees and sharing their view of the action at MODEX.

The videos will be emailed out daily or you can access this link to catch up on what you missed or to see the latest clips.