Guest: Dan Gilmore of Softeon on how WMS systems are ready for complex automation: The White House releases a report on America's supply chains; National Forklift Safety Day emphasizes safe forklift operations; Funding for Mississippi River transportation

In this episode, guest Dan Gilmore, chief marketing officer at warehouse software company Softeon, discusses how today's warehouse management software systems are being developed to handle the huge surge in robotics and other warehouse automation systems. Today's WMS and WES systems must monitor and direct many warehouse functions in real time to keep products flowing. They also must be easy to integrate with all of the technology placed into DCs today. Are these software systems up to the challenge? This week the White House released its anticipated report on our nation's supply chains, focusing on the four key areas of semiconductors, large-capacity batteries, critical materials and minerals, and pharmaceuticals and active ingredients. Will the suggestions in the report help to alleviate the bottlenecks in these critical supply chains, and will these actions affect the supply chains of other products?This past Tuesday, the industry celebrated National Forklift Safety Day. Presented by the Industrial Truck Association, this annual day to recognize the importance of forklift safety was held virtually again this year due to the pandemic. Hear our report on the highlights and trends discussed.There is new funding for what's being called a SmartPort and Resilience Center for managing transportation and port operations on the lower Mississippi River. The grant from the U.S. Commerce Department combines with funds from the state of Louisiana and other partners to create infrastructure and monitoring capabilities to improve traffic flow and forecasting on this important waterway.Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:SofteonNational Forklift Safety Day information on DCVelocity.comRegister to watch NFSD 2021 on demandIndustrial Truck AssociationWhite House report lists steps to strengthen critical supply chainsCommerce Department awards $16 million grant for Louisiana SmartPort projectVisit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected] sponsored by Honeywell IntelligratedOther linksAbout DC VELOCITYSubscribe to DC VELOCITYSign up for our FREE newslettersAdvertise with DC VELOCITYTop 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts