Instead of chasing automation hype, they focus on the foundational work required to make AI deliver real ROI: standardized processes, unified data models, and structured system design. The conversation breaks down how fragmented WMS taxonomies, poor data architecture, and overreliance on LLMs create costly inefficiencies. 

For operators under pressure to adopt AI, this episode offers a practical lens on where to invest first, and how to turn data complexity into a measurable operational advantage.

Dr. Muddassir Ahmed is the Founder and CEO of SCMDOJO and a globally recognized expert in supply chain digitalization, strategy, and capability building. With nearly two decades of international leadership experience across organizations such as Bridgestone, Eaton, Doncasters, and Volvo Cars, he has worked across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, driving end-to-end supply chain transformation.

He is widely known for his focus on making digital transformation practical, while emphasizing the role of standardized data, structured processes, and measurable ROI in successful AI adoption. Through SCMDOJO, he has built one of the industry’s largest learning platforms, reaching thousands of professionals and organizations with training, tools, and best practices.

Today, he advises companies on how to build supply chain capabilities, implement AI-driven systems, and align digital initiatives with real operational and financial outcomes.

The Performance-Driven Warehouse is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so 

Previous guests include: Dwight Klappich & Lora Cecere

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

Many organizations feel pressure to adopt AI tools before clearly defining the operational problems they need to solve.. 

Dan and Dwight challenge this approach and explain why the most valuable AI applications start with workflow visibility, labor analytics, and cost transparency, and why emerging technologies like humanoid robotics remain decades away from meaningfully displacing warehouse labor. They also explore how agentic AI may significantly accelerate tasks such as WMS configuration and operational analysis.

Dwight Klappich is Principal at DK Advascent and a former Research Vice President and Fellow at Gartner, where he spent 25 years advising global enterprises on supply chain, logistics, and fulfillment technology. He is widely regarded as one of the industry’s leading authorities on warehouse operations, intralogistics, and automation strategy.

During his tenure at Gartner, Dwight shaped how executives evaluate and invest in logistics technology, including launching Gartner’s intralogistics smart robotics research coverage. His work has influenced how organizations think about automation not as a technology project, but as an operational and financial decision tied to process design, labor economics, and service performance.

Today, through DK Advascen, Dwight advises companies on how to align warehouse processes, labor strategies, and automation investments to drive measurable business outcomes. He is particularly known for helping operations leaders avoid costly automation mistakes by grounding decisions in data, workflow reality, and economic impact.

The Performance-Driven Warehouse is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so 

Previous guests include: Dwight Klappich & Lora Cecere

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

Lora explains how activity-based costing at the customer and SKU level enables faster decision-making, stronger alignment between sales and operations, and more disciplined customer management. This discussion goes beyond warehouse labor management and into strategic pricing, supply chain profitability, and disciplined customer management. If you're looking to improve warehouse margins, strengthen 3PL pricing models, or implement cost-to-serve analysis in your supply chain, this episode provides a clear framework.

Lora Cecere is the Founder of Supply Chain Insights, a research firm focused on advancing thought leadership in supply chain excellence. With more than 35 years of experience spanning practitioner, software executive, and industry analyst roles, she brings a rare end-to-end perspective to enterprise strategy. Lora is the author of the blog Supply Chain Shaman and co-author of Bricks Matter and Metrics That Matter. A former analyst with Gartner and AMR Research, she now advises leaders on digital transformation, predictive analytics, demand shaping, and market-driven value networks.

The Performance-Driven Warehouse is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so 

Previous guests include: Dwight Klappich & Lora Cecere

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

In this episode, host Dan Keto, Co-founder and President of EasyMetrics, slips into the guest chair and chats with Lora Cecere to explore why you should unify your warehouse data across multiple WMS platforms and third-party operations, how you can implement true activity-based costing to track cost-to-serve at the transaction level, and the key strategies to leverage labor management data as your foundation for AI-driven optimization. Whether you're wrestling with SKU variability, fragmented automation data, or the challenge of calculating true profitability by customer and workflow, this conversation is packed with actionable insights, from 30-day time-to-value implementations to identifying hidden inefficiencies that can immediately drive 5% cost reductions. Tune in to uncover why a unified data model isn't just a nice-to-have, but the critical foundation that separates operations leaders who are making smart, ROI-backed decisions from those throwing money at technology with no results.


What You’ll Learn:

Lora Cecere is the host of the Supply Chain Insights podcast and Founder of Supply Chain Insights, a research and advisory firm specializing in supply chain performance optimization and operational excellence. With over 35 years of industry experience, including nine years as an industry analyst at Gartner, AMR Research, and Altimeter Group, plus 15 years building supply chain software and 20 years as a practitioner at companies including Procter & Gamble, Kraft, and Clorox. She brings unmatched depth to warehouse operations and cost-to-serve modeling. 

The Performance-Driven Warehouse is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so 

Previous guests include: Dwight Klappich & Lora Cecere

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

Dwight breaks down how engineered assumptions, siloed reports, and inconsistent data lead teams to optimize the wrong problems. He explains why monetizing labor costs exposes waste hiding in plain sight, why consistency across facilities is required to scale best practices, and how poor data leads to misguided automation investments. For operations executives evaluating labor strategies, automation, or network-wide improvement initiatives, this episode delivers a pragmatic, financially grounded playbook for making better decisions with real business impact.

Dwight Klappich, retired Research Vice President and Fellow, is a 25-year veteran of Gartner Inc. Mr. Klappich is a leading authority on supply chain technology, most notably in logistics and fulfillment. With decades of insight into emerging technologies and logistics innovation, Dwight has played a pivotal role in shaping industry discourse and guiding enterprises through digital transformation in logistics, warehousing, and fulfillment operations.

His thought leadership continues to influence automation strategies across global supply chains. Dwight also launched Gartner’s intralogistics smart robot research coverage and continues to be a leading authority on how logistics operations can exploit smart robots to support business transformation.

The Performance-Driven Warehouse is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so 

Previous guests include: Dwight Klappich & Lora Cecere

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

The discussion explores why warehouse performance management is fundamentally different from traditional system reporting, the role unified data models play in aligning operations, finance, and IT, and why technology-first data consolidation efforts often fail. Drawing on real-world examples, Dwight and Dan outline what leaders should prioritize before investing in platforms, BI tools, or AI initiatives, and how disciplined data structure enables scalable, network-wide performance management.

Dwight Klappich, retired Research Vice President and Fellow, was a 25-year veteran of Gartner Inc. Mr. Klappich is a leading authority on supply chain technology most notably in logistics and fulfillment. With decades of insight into emerging technologies and logistics innovation, Dwight has played a pivotal role in shaping industry discourse and guiding enterprises through digital transformation in logistics, warehousing and fulfillment operations.

His thought leadership continues to influence automation strategies across global supply chains. Dwight also launched Gartner’s intralogistics smart robot research coverage and continues to be a leading authority on how logistics operations can exploit smart robots to support business transformation.

The Performance-Driven Warehouse is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so 

Previous guests include: Dwight Klappich & Lora Cecere

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

From 3PL providers and retail distribution to manufacturing logistics, we feature practical conversations with warehouse operations leaders, technology partners, and data transformation experts who share proven strategies for optimizing labor costs, improving productivity, and building the data foundations necessary for successful automation. 

Whether you're consolidating multiple data systems, implementing performance management solutions, or preparing for AI transformation, our expert guests and real-world case studies help you solve warehouse data complexity, streamline operations, and achieve measurable results.

The Performance-Driven Warehouse is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so 

Previous guests include: Dwight Klappich & Lora Cecere

Check out our three most downloaded episodes: