For 30 years, Carl McInerney has lived inside the supply chains of giants like Coca-Cola and Tesco. He’s seen billions invested in warehouse automation, only for that efficiency to crumble once a pallet crosses the threshold of the warehouse. As Regional Commercial Director for Connected Load Carrier, Carl explains why “visibility” often stops at the warehouse door and why collaboration without continuity quietly erodes margins.
Q: Carl, your session title mentions "The connected supply chain: when collaboration becomes an advantage." Isn’t everyone already collaborating?
A: Honestly? Most of what we call collaboration today is actually "Coordination Theatre." We have meetings, we sign the strategic agreements and we look at shared KPIs. But the moment a pallet or another load carrier leaves one warehouse and enters another, its operational data goes dark. The load carrier continues to move through the supply chain, but the data doesn’t follow. We’re all going through the motions of collaborating, but the data chain snaps at every handover. Real collaboration doesn’t happen in separate offices; it happens when everyone is looking at the same, continuous digital truth.
Q: This aligns with what Professor Richard Wilding OBE recently highlighted in his 2026 Mega-Trends, specifically that digitisation must move beyond simple efficiency. Is that what you’re seeing?
A: Absolutely. Professor Wilding is spot on with his Mega-Trend #2. He argues that technology is no longer just about efficiency; it’s about strategic adaptability. The problem is that most companies use tech to build better silos, not better ecosystems. If your "digital transformation" stops at your own warehouse door, you haven't built an agile supply chain. Instead you’ve only prepared your own internal foundation. True resilience only comes when data can finally start crossing handover points.
Q: You’ve worked with several global leaders within the supply chain industry. Where does this "theatre" you mentioned usually break down?
A: At the warehouse door. Inside your four walls, you can be a 10/10 for efficiency. But the second your goods hit a 3PL or a retailer’s DC, you lose grip. You’re left with manual reconciliations, disputes over "lost" cages, and "he-said-she-said" about delivery windows. That friction quietly destroys your margin. In my session, I’ll be showing exactly how these handover points become an advantage point instead of an operational friction point.
Q: If the data stops at the gate, but the goods keep moving, how do you actually maintain a connection to the goods in the "outside world"?
A: You look at the one thing that actually crosses every border: the load carrier. Your WMS doesn't talk to your customer's ERP and your TMS doesn't see inside their yard, but the pallet or roll cage is there at every single step! By turning that so-called "dumb" asset into a digital anchor, we ensure the history, location and status of the goods that travel with them. It’s the physical glue for a digital ecosystem.
Q: "Digital Ecosystems" can sound like a buzzword. Is this actually scalable for the average logistics manager?
A: Complexity is the enemy of scale. Most tech initiatives fail to scale because they rely on third-party parts that don't talk to each other and also because they try to do everything at once. That’s why most of our customers begin with a simple question: “Where are my assets?” From there, they build clarity inside their own operation first. Once that foundation is stable, extending visibility outward becomes a logical next step instead of a risky leap.
That’s how ecosystems scale in the real world. I’ll be unpacking this step-by-step approach at IntralogisteX!
Q: What is the one thing you want people to take away from your session on March 18th?
A: That visibility is only half the battle. The true benefit of the connected supply chain is continuity across handovers. When the data follows the asset automatically, collaboration stops being an exercise in manual reconciliation and starts being your greatest advantage.
Join the conversation
Session: "The connected supply chain: when collaboration becomes an advantage"
Speaker: Carl McInerney
Time: 10:20h – 10:40h (UK Time)
Date: March 18th, 2026
Location: IntraLogisteX, NEC Birmingham
Got a specific supply chain headache? Whether it’s asset loss, data gaps between partners or manual reconciliation nightmares, come and find Carl and the team at Booth 450. We’re there to talk through your specific challenges and find a way to make your data work for you.
