“The future of supply chain and logistics is here” was the tagline of Manifest Vegas 2025. And this year’s event certainly lived up to that billing.
Hosted at The Venetian for the very first time after outgrowing Caesars Forum, over 6,000 attendees arrived from more than 50 countries, with over 400 high-level speakers taking to the stage. Held over three days from February 10-12th, 2025, supply chain leaders, logistics service providers, innovators and investors all gathered to network and learn. Manifest is an event unlike most trade shows – it unites the entire ecosystem and brings everyone together under one roof.
Manifest Vegas 2025
Given the nature of today’s supply chain and logistics environment, a big focus was around data and how the likes of AI and automation are changing the way goods are moved around the world. A short look around the large expo hall would give attendees an insight into everything they needed to know, advanced technologies are beginning to have a real impact on the industry. From Dexory’s 46-foot autonomous robot to drones flying in the air and robotic dogs wandering the floor and everything in between, automation and its capabilities were in full view to excited attendees.
The true spirit of Manifest is its aim to shine a light on the problems of the day and provide advice on how to tackle them. Now in its fourth year, Manifest has grown bigger and bigger. Its 2025 conference offered more than 150 conference sessions which covered a range of aspects within the supply chain ranging from robotics and AI to nearshoring and sustainability. Big names were speaking on stage too with the likes of Patrick Kelleher, CEO of North America at DHL Supply Chain, Sandeep Desai, EVP, Chief Supply Chain Officer (Ice Cream) at Unilever and Gretchen McCarthy, EVP, Chief Supply Chain and Logistics Officer at Target, among many others, all providing world-class insights into the latest topical issues.
Rise of Manifest Vegas
The conference also offered an innovation stage in the expo hall where some 40 companies presented and demonstrated their latest technologies, while a startup area also hosted 100 startups. Overall, the expo hall was filled with something for everyone to enjoy. Indeed, there was a plethora of networking opportunities available at Manifest Vegas 2025. Across the space were coffee bars, a beer garden and a mocktails area. There was a puppy pen where long queues awaited their chance to greet a dog, there were mini golf stands, a blackjack stand and even arcade games to play such as Pac-Man.
It has been quite the rise for an event which was founded during one of supply chain’s most troubling times – COVID-19. Indeed, given the pandemic’s impact, the Manifest leadership team had a two-year wait before they could even host a launch event.
That debut event in January 2022 was the culmination of a significant amount of work by Manifest President Courtney Muller and her team. Indeed, it could have been seen as something of a risk considering the uptake of virtual events in the wake of the pandemic. But fast forward to today and Manifest has become one of the most influential and largest supply chain and logistics events in the world. “It was a blessing in disguise,” Muller told us late last year. “We had a two-year lead up to build the first Manifest. This is very unusual for a conference but it enabled us to penetrate the industry, not just in the United States but globally.”
Setting the standard
Elsewhere this year, a new exciting element that Manifest introduced was mentorship. As part of the invitation to the Manifest Women’s Lunch, conference organisers asked C-suite level attendees whether they would like to be a mentor or mentee. Anyone who showed interest was added to the event networking app for matchmaking before being paired up. Speaking exclusively to SupplyChain Strategy following the conference, Pam Simon, Conference Chair and EVP of Programming at Manifest told us she was pleased with its response. “It was received unbelievably well. When we first sent the email out, we were inundated with people of all different ages, and sizes of companies wanting to be both mentors and mentees. We have so many leaders in this industry who are looking to give back and foster the next generation. It was a natural progression to have it at the show.”
Promising future
And following the action-packed conference, Grammy-nominated and global megastar Flo Rida performed exclusively for Manifest Vegas on the Official After Party stage at the nearby Brooklyn Bowl. Attendees got the opportunity to get up and close with the ‘Low’, ‘Right Round’ and ‘My House’ singer, with some even being invited on stage to perform with the man himself for what was a truly captivating end to a spectacular conference.
And despite such success from 2025’s event, Muller, Simon and co. have no intention of slowing down. The future of Manifest is in a positive place with the leadership team already considering plans to expand onto an international stage. The Manifest team hopes to one day host an event in Europe, but there are yet to be confirmed plans for when or where that will happen. However, one thing that has been decided is that Manifest Vegas will take place once again at The Venetian in Las Vegas on February 9th-11th, 2026. And if 2025’s edition was anything to go by, next year is set to be unmissable.
- Digital Supply Chain
