The coronavirus pandemic has made it clear that humans make supply chains vulnerable to failure. Greater reliance on automated solutions will be a given from here on out.

Automation is impacting warehouse operations in multiple ways, promising dramatic efficiencies in labor, hardware, software and order fulfillment, says Chris Arnold, president and chief operating officer of Trew.

Many worry that the much-ballyhooed gig economy is merely a stepping stone to a time when all of those jobs will be performed by robots. But don’t tell that to Brett Helling.