Author

Andrew Woods

Published

30 April 2025

Estimated Read time

9Mins

SupplyChain Strategy descended upon Austin, Texas, to join the supply chain leaders keeping the world moving at Kinexions 2025 –…

SupplyChain Strategy descended upon Austin, Texas, to join the supply chain leaders keeping the world moving at Kinexions 2025 – Kinaxis’ flagship event spotlighting the next leap in autonomous, AI-powered orchestration.

From agentic AI to a unified data foundation accelerated through its collaboration with Databricks, Kinaxis showed how it’s turning orchestration from aspiration to execution – with the speed and certainty today’s businesses demand. 

Early morning and the sun was blazing outside the palatial Fairmont Hotel, in downtown Austin. Inside, there was a palpable excitement as a thousand attendees of Kinexions congregated for breakfast. We certainly felt honoured to be representing SupplyChain Strategy courtesy of Kinaxis. Kinaxis are the software gurus who have both transformed supply chain through their Maestro platform. They have also attracted the leading lights of the function from many of the world’s biggest companies. ExxonMobil, Eaton, Volvo Cars, Colgate-Palmolive, Merck & Co., General Motors, National Instruments, and Schneider Electric have all come to Texas.  

Kinexions started as it meant to go on. The headline ‘A Revolution’ dominating the screens behind the huge, purple-tinted stage as the keynote speakers walked on to huge applause. Bob Courteau, Interim CEO, Kinaxis, Mark Morgan, President, Commercial Operations, Kinaxis and Andrew Bell, Chief Product Officer, Kinaxis kicked proceedings off with a blistering and inspirational set of presentations. The message was clear: true orchestration, meaning a fully connected, always aware, and-able-to act-instantly supply chain – is finally within reach. This places supply chains firmly at the table as strategic value creators and, crucially, as protectors of business. 

It was a morning session that truly set the tone of this three-day event. Concerns raised by Kinaxis’ 45,000 global users – including tariffs, labour shortages, cyber-attacks and the effect of disruption on investment – were front and centre of this event with myriad symposiums, workshops and presentations that showcased how Kinaxis​’​ Maestro can orchestrate and empower fully-connected supply chains globally. Indeed, the tariffs on imported goods into the US dropped during Kinexions and so the timing of this conference, entirely devoted to the bolstering of supply chain operations during highly uncertain times, seemed somewhat inspired. In short, those who are transforming are surviving and outperforming.  

Unified data

Kinaxis is transforming too, we were informed, as the new partnership with Databricks was unveiled. Kinaxis Maestro and Databricks’ Data Intelligence Platform have combined to power faster insights, unified data and scalable AI across global supply chains, enabling organisations to unify their data, accelerate AI adoption, and respond to change with speed and confidence. This collaboration meets growing demand for more agile, data-driven supply chains and strengthens Maestro’s supply chain data fabric. In short, this move is helping companies coalesce data from core systems like inventory and procurement, alongside external inputs such as meteorological patterns and market movement, all within one single source of governed truth, ripe for innovation. As supply chains continue to evolve, this collaboration positions both companies to lead the next era of AI-powered transformation, where decisions are faster, disruptions are less disruptive, and performance is driven by unified data. 

Linked to the foundational collaboration between Kinaxis and Databricks was the second huge unveiling at Kinexions: agentic AI. Guests were shown just how easily they could create and deploy intelligent agents using an intuitive GenAI interface to enhance decision-making, respond to disruptions faster and optimise workflows, through a powerful, in-development feature of Maestro. These are agents that go beyond surfacing data to deliver real-time insights and perform actions ​like ​addressing exceptions, managing supply allocation, or adjusting safety stock. There were numerous workshops taking place over the three days where clients could get their hands on the new tools and see just how easily they could transform their supply chain operations through AI. As was stressed throughout Kinexions, this is something that is happening right now.  

A community of innovation 

Kinaxis places real value on keeping the dialogue open with its clients and that’s the core motivation behind Kinexions, North America and its APAC and EMEA sister events set to take place in Tokyo and Amsterdam later this year. Indeed, during our time in Austin, we were lucky enough to sit down with supply chain leaders from Sanofi, IBM, Qualcomm and Syensqo as well as leading lights from Kinaxis. You can read the interviews from those discussions, and more from Kinexions, in next month’s SCS. 

The quality of the guest speakers during the three days was incredible. Staale Gjervik, President, Supply Chain, ExxonMobil discussed how the giant is bringing orchestration to its multinational supply chain, solidifying ExxonMobil’s position as ​a ​global leader by establishing an enterprise-wide global supply chain organisation. Elsewhere, Global Director of Strategy and Planning for GM, Vijay Bharadwaj and Director of Supply Chain, Alexander Heavin shared how they are now able to run a global S&OP process to better serve customers and “stay on the road to success”. 

Diego Pantoja-Navajas, Managing Director, Enterprise AI Value Strategy at Accenture and Chris Reynolds, Senior Director, Digital Supply Chain Planning & Intelligence at Pfizer provided a thought-provoking discussion on how multi-agentic AI is transforming the pharmaceutical supply chain. Abhijit Pattewar, Senior Manager, Global Modelling & Network Design at Schneider Electric – the leader in sustainable energy management and digital automation – delivered an engaging talk on emerging techniques for reducing CO2 emissions without sacrificing efficiency or growth.  

Paying it forward 

One of the standout discussions at this year’s Kinexions was an inspiring lunch session hosted by Lizet Tymon, VP Supply Chain, Rehlko and Rozena Dendy, Global Sales & Operations Planning Leader, ExxonMobil designed to celebrate, empower, and connect women who are making a difference in their workplaces and communities. Candid stories of the moments when mentorship, support, and solidarity helped them break barriers and build bridges to success will resonate with the audience for years. Each participant wrote down one action they committed to taking to support another woman, as part of the Pay-It-Forward Commitment. “Let’s build a legacy of women helping women, together!” 

One woman who has long been an inspiration is real estate mogul and business expert Barbara Corcoran who presented ‘How to build your business through troubled times and prosper’. Corcoran, currently a Shark on ABC’s hit reality show, Shark Tank, knows that bad times are the best times to move ahead. Indeed, she survived and prospered amid 18% interest rates, the bankruptcy of New York, the subprime mortgage crisis, and the tragedy of 9/11. In this session, Barbara shared “lessons from the trenches” to demonstrate her leadership methodology on how to adapt quickly, pivot, and turn every obstacle into the new opportunity it really wants to be. It’s an ethos she has certainly embodied through her career, evident in the establishment and success of The Corcoran Group, started with a mere $1,000 loan. 

And the winner is… 

The winners of the 2025 Kinaxis Customer Awards were also announced in Austin, further cementing links between Kinaxis and its community. “These awards honour companies and individuals pushing the boundaries of supply chain innovation, efficiency and sustainability.” 

ExxonMobil, Sanofi, Schneider Electric, and British American Tobacco (BAT) were recognised for their excellence in supply chain transformation. Additionally, Hanu Gadila (Merck & Co.) received the Champion Award, and Jeffrey Jones (Qualcomm) was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for their industry contributions. 

2025 Kinaxis Customer Award Winners 

  • Pioneer Award: ExxonMobil 
    Recognising companies that have implemented Kinaxis within the past three years. 
    ExxonMobil is changing how the industry applies sales and operations planning. They’re leading the way in fuels, setting a new standard for Advance Planning Solution capabilities for the industry. 
  • Champion Award: Hanu Gadila, Merck & Co.  
    Honoring individuals demonstrating leadership, vision, and perseverance in supply chain transformation.  
    Hanu Gadila has enhanced Merck’s use of Kinaxis Maestro™, optimising planning capabilities and efficiency through collaboration and advocacy. 
  • Lifetime Achievement Award: Jeffrey Jones, Qualcomm  
    Recognising long-term contributions to the supply chain industry.  
    A steadfast Kinaxis advocate for nearly 20 years, Jeffrey Jones has championed Maestro, supporting industry-wide transformation. Jones stated, “It has been a privilege to work alongside such talented professionals and to contribute to the evolution of our industry. I look forward to continuing our journey of innovation.” 
  • Excellence Award: Sanofi  
    Awarded for measurable business impact through supply chain strategy.  
    Sanofi is modernising its supply chain to reach best-in-class performance for unleashing its ambition to become the world’s leading immunology company. By leveraging digitalisation and tailored Kinaxis Maestro implementations, Sanofi has enhanced agility, resilience, and efficiency, enabling faster decisions, better risk mitigation, and seamless end-to-end operations. 
  • Impact Award: Schneider Electric  
    Recognising positive environmental and social contributions.  
    Schneider Electric, the leader in sustainable energy management and digital automation, successfully conceptualised incorporating emerging CO2tools & techniques of Maestro for achieving growth and profitability with planet-friendly practices. 
  • Innovation Award: British American Tobacco (BAT)  
    Highlighting innovative applications of Kinaxis technology.  
    BAT co-developed the first-ever production wheel and interchangeability functionalities, enhancing constraint management, SKU transitions, and automation. 

Parting thoughts 

As a veteran to many events such as Kinexions, it was refreshing to feel a jolt of genuine excitement at an event that was showing how things can actually change today, rather than in the future. This wasn’t an exercise in hypothesis, it was a call to action. If you want to harness what AI can do in orchestrating your supply chains in these unpredictable times, then act. Now. 

As the four floors of symposiums, workshops and speeches were wrapping up, there was no time for rest for the guests, as it was left to none-other than the three-time Grammy-award-winning and Austin-born, Nelly to finish things off to a rapturous reception from the crowd. Hot In Herre boomed around the room, Nelly spraying the crowd with water, as another highly successful Kinexions drew to a close. It was an event that will live long in the memory. And as we departed the hospitable Austin and the incredible team behind Kinexions, it was clear that we would have to return. 

Kinexions 2025 is made possible by its platinum sponsors Accenture, Capgemini and Scott Sheldon; and gold sponsors 4flow, Genpact, Microsoft, Google Cloud and Spinnaker SCA. For more information about Kinexions, including Kinexions EMEA 2025 and Kinexions APAC 2025, please visit www.kinexions.com. 

  • Events
  • Host Perspectives

Author

Sean Galea-Pace

Published

25 March 2025

Estimated Read time

5Mins

At Manifest Vegas 2025, we chat with leaders to uncover how the conference has become one of the leading industry events globally.

Rishma Khimji, Chief Technology Officer, Harry Reid International Airport

“Manifest Vegas is a great place to meet different types of technologies, whether that is in supply chain, logistics and indoor or outdoor usage of technology. Being in the airport space, we need to make sure that we take part in these events and work out where it is going to affect our business. We have a baggage handling system at the airport and you see that a lot in manufacturing. What are they using to make that system that much better, robust and secure?

“We want to ensure that we are using the right technology so when we are processing a passenger’s baggage, we are getting it to their plane. We are giving the customer the data of when it got on the plane and they feel safe and secure that their baggage went through the system in a way that allowed it to get to the plane on time. 

“There is a lot of translation of services between the airports and other types of manufacturing and logistics that are here at Manifest Vegas. We are here to make sure that we are all being more collaborative and figuring out ways to leverage some of the same technologies but for different uses.”

Karoline Dygas, Global Supply Chain Executive, Nordstrom

“It’s actually my first time attending and I was surprised about how big Manifest Vegas really is. The event has exploded in the past few years and it’s easy to see why. It’s a good aggregation of shippers of innovative new startups and some of my supplier partners are here so it’s a really great opportunity to network and learn from each other to be ready for whatever problem is around the corner. Perhaps there’s already someone here that can help you solve it.”

Todd Greener, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Tupperware

“My peer group is here in a big way so that’s always important to network with them and other companies. A lot of us are dealing with the same things so that’s really important. Just from a provider standpoint, existing providers, startups, the mix of tech and operational and investment partners, it’s a really easy way to check all the boxes on what leaders like myself are looking to get out of one of these events.”

Shauna Gamble, Chief Procurement Officer, Bombardier

“I love the diversity of the commodities. I come from aerospace, but I used to come from high tech. You get to hear the view of your peers across such a broad platform and number of commodities or product solutions, be they hardware or software, and you understand their challenges. Supply chain leaders generally have the same problems.

“Maybe the level or the complexity of the problem is different, but to come to an event like this and hear the creativity of driving solutions and trying to be proactive both through the use of tools and applications such as AI or digitalisation, but also through their people and their learnings, it’s very important to take the time to hear others. You can’t have all the answers yourself.”

Judy Webb-Hapgood, former Chief Supply Chain Officer, University of Miami

“Last year I was one of only two healthcare customers in all of Manifest. It was great to have the opportunity to speak and then also to be given that chance again this year.

“I introduced the people at Manifest to some of my peers within the healthcare space because I feel like the industry is behind when it comes to best practice of supply chain and Manifest brings together a lot of the greatest innovators and leaders in manufacturing, logistics and distribution. I like to encourage people to learn from other industries. Don’t get pigeonholed in simply healthcare. Don’t get pigeonholed in academia. Look at Amazon, they’re very innovative. Can we do that on our side too? Manifest gives that opportunity for those that may not know about DHL or XPO and all these other manufacturers great practices that I can take back to my organisation and implement.”

Pam Simon, Conference Chair and EVP of Programming, Manifest

“Watching the growth of the show and how it is scaling every year has been amazing. From the last time I checked, over 120,000 connections have been made at the show. That’s a lot of new business, investments and partners or potential customers. I feel like anyone who is here is going to walk away with something that they can take back to their business financially and otherwise. It’s been really exciting to see.”

  • Collaboration & Optimization
  • Host Perspectives

Author

Sean Galea-Pace

Published

24 March 2025

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Pam Simon, Conference Chair and EVP of Programming at Manifest, reflects on a successful fourth conference and how Manifest Vegas has become one of the hottest events in the supply chain calendar.

The largest global supply chain and logistics technology event in the world. 

Manifest Vegas brings together the most comprehensive ecosystem of those innovating and transforming end-to-end supply chain and logistics. Now in its fourth edition, the 2025 offering was its biggest yet. And it did not disappoint. With over 6,000 attendees coming from more than 50 countries, Manifest Vegas 2025 certainly made some noise.

Bringing the supply chain back to Vegas

Pam Simon is the Conference Chair and EVP of Programming at Manifest. Speaking exclusively to SupplyChain Strategy at the end of this year’s conference, Simon is full of praise for the event her team created. “It’s been an incredible experience,” explains Simon. “Watching the growth of the show and how it is scaling every year has been amazing. From the last time I checked, over 120,000 connections have been made at the show. That’s a lot of new business, investments and partners or potential customers. I feel like anyone who is here is going to walk away with something that they can take back to their business financially and otherwise. It’s been really exciting to see.”

Held for the first time at The Venetian in Las Vegas, having made the move from Caesar’s Forum, one of the biggest advantages was having everything across one large floor. “I am so unbelievably happy to be here at the Venetian. While we had an amazing time at Caesars Forum and the space is great, we’ve been growing and we truly had maxed out every square inch of that building,” she reveals. “From a running around perspective, there are so many different events and activities that are happening and it’s so easy to bump into other speakers and attendees and even by walking around you’re connecting and meeting people. To be able to be at The Venetian and have everything in this vicinity has been a game changer.”

Introducing mentorship

A new exciting element that Manifest introduced this year 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. Reflecting on the launch, Simon was pleased with its response. “It was received unbelievably well,” she affirms. “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.”

Unique approach

Manifest Vegas is truly unique. Manifest is designed for innovators at the forefront of changing the entire supply chain landscape. The event offers complete visibility over the end-to-end supply chain, which is not typically the case within industry tradeshows. “I believe there is no other show out there that covers the end-to-end of supply chain like we do,” explains Simon.

“Typically you’d have to go to an event for air, road or ocean separately. But here, we have everything in one place. We have over 400 different funds here, so from an investment standpoint you’re able to walk away with a GP or an LP for your fund as well as portfolio companies. We have shippers of all different sizes, and because we are end-to-end, many of these companies are bringing their full executive teams to the show. You’re able to divide and conquer and discover lots of different things that will help a variety of areas within your business – it’s a great place to be. Your partners, vendors and suppliers are all over the place. Getting everyone together in one place and having those in-person meetings is so valuable.”

Meeting supply chain’s challenge

In today’s world, supply chain leaders need to be versatile and agile. The landscape is littered with complexity amid ever-changing geopolitical problems and ‘black swan’ events. The past decade in supply chain has demonstrated the importance of having a ‘just in case’ mindset and operating with a plan B to guard against potential disruptions. “As a Chief Supply Chain Officer, you need to know what’s happening in all aspects of your business,” explains Simon. “It’s not just the warehouse, not just the last mile – you need all of it. For shippers, we have closed round table conversations so they can build a peer-to-peer network with other shippers to understand what they are going through and be able to tackle any of the problems that are being faced as well as prevent any bottlenecks from happening in different parts of the supply chain.”

And organisers are keen to improve and make changes where necessary too, as Simon explains. “We listen to everyone,” she notes. “I try and have conversations with as many people as I possibly can, in order to understand what they are looking for, the problems they are trying to solve and how we can help them do that. It’s about listening to our audience and delivering on what they want.” 

Embracing the future

The future of Manifest looks bright 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 already been revealed is that Manifest Vegas will take place once again at The Venetian on February 9th-11th, 2026. With this in mind and an eye on the future of the sector, Simon is full of optimism about what the next few years for supply chain and logistics could look like. “One of the reasons that I love this industry so much is just because there’s still so much room for transformation and disruption across all areas of it,” she reveals. “It makes it really fun for me personally. The future is very exciting.”

Check out our Manifest Vegas Takeover Edition in SupplyChain Strategy here.

  • Digital Supply Chain
  • Host Perspectives

Author

Sean Galea-Pace

Published

19 March 2025

Estimated Read time

5Mins

SupplyChain Strategy reflects on one of the world’s leading supply chain and logistics conferences – Manifest Vegas 2025.

“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
  • Events
  • Host Perspectives