Agentic AI was a recurring theme at Manhattan Exchange 2026 in Milan, sparking conversations about how technology can make supply chain operations smarter, simpler, and more responsive.
Peter Hinssen’s Never Normal talk highlighted how the pace of change continues to accelerate, leaving businesses less time to adapt. Manhattan Associates CEO Eric Clark brought this to life with an airplane analogy: just as technology has reduced the complexity of operating modern aircraft, it can help supply chain teams manage increasingly complex operations. Tim Heijsman, VP Supply Chain of Foot Locker Europe, added an important reminder that technology works best alongside experienced people who understand their processes and know when judgment matters.
Together, these perspectives raise an important question: how can technology take more complexity off people’s hands without taking people out of the process?
Connecting Intelligence Across the Operation
In a warehouse, resolving an exception can mean checking multiple systems, identifying affected orders, investigating the cause, and coordinating the response. Agentic AI offers the potential to connect these steps, helping teams understand issues and act faster rather than spending valuable time piecing information together. Manhattan ActiveAgents and Agent Foundry are part of this evolving landscape, bringing new possibilities for AI-supported operational workflows while keeping people involved where their oversight is needed.
At VCO Systems, this connects with our work across intelligent supply chain technology. MatrixHub helps orchestrate workflows across enterprise systems and AI agents, while LumiRover brings Physical AI into warehouse operations, combining autonomous mobile robots with light-directed picking to help teams move work more efficiently between picking zones. Together, these solutions connect digital intelligence with physical execution, helping make supply chain operations more coordinated and efficient.
As agentic AI and Physical AI continue to evolve, their value will depend on how effectively they fit into real operations, connect existing systems, and help people make better decisions. The conversations at Manhattan Exchange 2026 offered a compelling reminder that the real opportunity is not simply to do more with technology, but to make everyday work easier for the people who keep supply chains moving.
Thank you to Manhattan Associates, Peter Hinssen, Tim Heijsman, and everyone who shared their perspectives in Milan.