To say MODEX 2018 was a success would be a vast understatement based on the official attendance number: 30,944. That is a 25 percent growth in attendance over 2016! To see some of the action that took place this year, check out the articles below, the feedback from the exhibitors and also the MHI Blog.

During the course of MODEX, our video crew was interviewing keynotes, talking to exhibitors, getting feedback from attendees and sharing their view of the action at MODEX.

The videos were emailed out daily, but you can also access them at this link to catch up on what you missed.

PROMAT 2019: April 8-11, 2019, Chicago • promatshow.com

ProMat 2017 has been named to Trade Show News Network's (TSNN) list of Top US Trade Shows. ProMat is ranked as the 44th largest exhibition in the U.S. for 2017. The list represents the top trade shows held last year in the U.S. ranked by net square footage.

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.

Logistics Management—The new technologies on display last week at MODEX were exciting, promising and confounding for an industry faced with a new set of distribution challenges.

Logistics Viewpoints— "Technology adoption and acceleration" was a common thread that captured the overall messaging and vibe at MODEX 2018.

Modern Material Handling—Thirty thousand people from 110 countries walked the show floor of MODEX 2018 in Atlanta, spread across 280,000 square feet of exhibition space occupied by 900 vendors, showing every type of material handling solution imaginable, from bins, pallets and shelves to drones, robots and artificial intelligence-based systems. The following pages offer a brief glimpse at some of the highlights from the show floor as well as the keynote addresses.

Robotics Business Review—Mobile platforms for factories and warehouses were everywhere at this year’s MODEX.

The MHI 2018 Annual Industry Report was officially released Wednesday morning at MODEX 2018. This report details the trends and technologies that are transforming supply chains so we can better understand the critical shift toward next-generation (NextGen) digital supply chains – and the real-world impact of 11 key innovations on supply chain operations and strategies. Scott Sopher, the principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP's Supply Chain practice, joined 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 were joined by a panel of manufacturing and supply chain professionals to discuss the real-world significance of the report findings.

Innovation cannot stop. Ever. It is an integral part of the competitive, disruptive, relevant and technology-driven culture that should be part of every company. And, after listening to Juan Perez’s keynote speech, "Anticipating Tomorrow’s Support Chain Challenges — Today," during which he succinctly and precisely outlined and illustrated this point, the attendees had pages of proof – first-hand experiences shared by Perez. "We have to remain competitive and relevant," he stressed, even in how they innovate. If we didn’t change, we would have been out of business years ago, said Perez, who is the chief information and engineering officer at UPS. "We have had to change our approach to innovation."

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 Honorable Governor Nathan Deal, governor of Georgia for the past eight years, welcomed attendees and exhibitors to MODEX 2018 and the Georgia Logistics Summit with a callout to everyone in the room: "That progress, in large part, is due to many of you!" The progress he referenced was an achievement proudly shared by Pat Wilson, commissioner at the Georgia Department of Economic Development, just prior to introducing Gov. Deal to the stage. "For the fifth year in a row, Georgia is the number 1 state to do business," according to a ranking by Site Selection.

"If the message we deliver isn’t fun, sticky and engaging, we are just talking to ourselves." While this comment from Mike Rowe wasn’t the introduction, but rather the wrap up to his hilarious and enlightening keynote, it sure helps you understand why pixilation, poo and coins were part of his stories. Anyone who attended will likely remember these comments made by Rowe, which means they "stuck" and means Rowe certainly was not talking to himself! "It was like I hit a button..." and "When you talk about the coin, do you only talk about the tail and not the head?" and "What if it was more than one pixel?"

If your cheeks were sore when you left MHI Industry Night, it was probably because Jim Gaffiigan kept an almost constant smile on your face with his enormous number of incredibly funny jokes. Almost more amazing was he managed to stay clear of politics, religion and sex – though embarrassing bodily fluids, not so lucky. He even took a twist down American history lane, though "forgot the Alamo." Some of the other topics that had the crowd laughing ranged from discussions about Florida to diarrhea to marathons to castles and cheese.