Patrick Daly Interlinks Podcast

Welcome to another episode of the Interlinks Podcast. In this episode, I talk to Jake Fisher, Business Development Manager for AutoStore in the UK, and Conor Mannion, Business Development Manager for AutoStore in Ireland.AutoStore is a Norwegian technology company specializing in advanced automated storage and retrieval systems designed to significantly enhance warehouse efficiency. The company has revolutionized warehousing with cube-based storage solutions, utilizing a modular grid system where autonomous robots rapidly retrieve and deliver inventory bins to order-picking stations. This approach optimizes warehouse space and streamlines order fulfillment, transforming operations across a variety of sectors.In our conversation today, I discuss with Jake and Conor a range of critical topics, including:What exactly is an AutoStore, how it's designed, and how it works in practice.Typical applications and ideal business environments for AutoStore systems.Why companies invest significantly in automated solutions instead of traditional manual methods.The broad range of business benefits driving companies toward automated storage solutions—such as labor efficiency, quality assurance, consistency, control, and accuracy.How businesses can effectively determine whether an automated solution like AutoStore is right for their specific stock profiles, product types, and throughput requirements to ensure strong ROI.The role of human operators at pick stations today and the potential future of fully robotic picking automation.AutoStore’s strategic choice of operating through OEM partnerships with integrators rather than directly with end-users.Insights into the future of AutoStore, including ongoing enhancements, improvements, and potential new product innovations.Join the ongoing conversation about this topic and all other episodes on the Interlinks Podcast on Reddit at r/InterlinksPodcast. For more regular supply chain insights, you can follow me on TikTok @thesupplychainadvisor.Enjoy the episode!Patrick

In this episode of the Interlinks podcast, we talk to three special guests in relation to an exciting new European project that is currently underway sponsored by CEDR (the Conference of the European Directors of Roads) that is focused on developing recommendations for policies in relation to Intelligent Access to the road networks of Europe.Our guests today are:Paul Davison, Associate Director at AECOM, based in Stockport, United KingdomStefan Jacobsson, Research Manager at Consenso Engineering, based in Gothenburg, SwedenVardhman Lunkar, Transport Planning Consultant and Researcher at TRT in Milan, ItalyWe explore the concept of Intelligent Access—a forward-thinking approach aimed at aligning the capabilities of road freight vehicles with the conditions and limitations of specific road segments to ensure safer, more efficient transport across Europe.This vital work is being carried out by a specialist consortium known as ISAC (Intelligent Access Surface Community), which brings together leading experts in road transport, logistics, infrastructure, and supply chain management. The initiative is backed by five European countries: the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Ireland. The consortium is led by global engineering firm AECOM, and all of our guests are directly involved in this pioneering effort.In our conversation, we dive into what Intelligent Access really means, its potential to transform road freight and infrastructure use across Europe, and how emerging technologies like automation and digitisation are shaping the future of transport policy. We also look at the practical challenges of implementing IA schemes across borders and jurisdictions.If you're interested in the future of mobility, transport innovation, or how smart policy can reshape Europe’s road networks, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss. Tune in now to hear directly from the experts driving this change.

In this episode of the Interlinks podcast I talk to Keith Smith, President and CEO of Vonco Products, LLC located in Trevor Wisconsin in US. Vonco is a contract manufacturing company or CMO operating in the strategically critical medical devices sector with signicant business both inside and outside the US.Keith is an industrial engineer by profession and an entrepreneur by vocation with 25 years of industry experience with a fascinating story of learning and adaptation, some of it through pain and disappointment, to tell. He acquired Vonco in 2012 having had a life’s dream to own his own company.Prior to this and from 2005 Keith was General Manager of Carbonless Rolls and Security Papers for Appleton Papers, the largest division of that $1BN paper company.Keith also helps other aspiring entrepreneurs, through one-on-one coaching, to reconcile some of the competing challenges that the entrepreneurial life presents to people and he contrasts what he calls the Path of Force with the Path of Power which we will explore with him in our conversation today together with his insights into some of the challenges and opportunities facing exporting manufacturers in the US today.

In this episode of the Interlinks podcast I talk to Jesper Brandin, Chief Marketing Officer at Nowaste Logistics, based in Helsingborg, Sweden. Nowaste Logistics is a Swedish third-party logistics service provider headquartered in Helsingborg one of Sweden's major ports on the Oresund, the narrow stretch of water that separates Sweden from Denmark and joins the Baltic Sea to the North Sea. Nowaste Logistics specialises in tailored logistics solutions for a range of customer across a multitude of business sectors.Nowaste originated as the logistics department of Everfreash AB one of the leading suppliers of fresh fruits and vegetables in Sweden which then became an independent entity in a strategic move that has enabled Nowaste to provide tailored logistics solutions across various industries while maintaining a strong connection to its parent company.Both companies are part of Dole plc the world’s largest provider of fresh fruits and vegetables, which itself was formed through a merger of the US based Dole Food Company and the Irish company Total Produce that completed its acquisition of Dole in 2021. Dole plc in headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.Jesper has been with Nowaste for nearly 15 years and was with Everfreash for almost 4 years prior to that. He has had a fascinating career path rising from fork truck operator to Chief Marketing Officer within an innovative logistics services company that views applying automation technology and robotics to its operations as a key strategic competitive advantage in the market.

In this episode of the Interlinks podcast I talk to Michel Sprujit, President of Brain Corp International. Brain Corp is a San Diego-based technology company specializing in the development of intelligent, autonomous navigation systems for everyday machines focusing on machine learning and computer vision systems for self-driving robots such as autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).Applications range across various industries, including retail, warehousing and logistics, healthcare, and hospitality. Brain Corp is fundamentally a software system and works with robotics OEMs to provide the operating system or “brain for the robot” which in effect is a platform called BrainOS.This Brain OS platform enables the automation of tasks such as floor cleaning and inventory management, transforming manual operations into automated workflows.In his role as President of Brain Corp International, Michel Spruijt oversees partner support, team expansion, and operations across EMEA, APAC, and LATAM regions, driving business development and fostering collaboration with industry leaders. Michel is based in the Netherlands from where he joined me to talk about the various applications of these technologies across multiple sectors.

In this episode of Interlinks I talk to Stephen Stynes, entrepreneur, coach, facilitator, soon-to-be published author, and a life-long student of human behaviour and potential. Stephen is an Irishman, originally from Dublin, now based in Barcelona, Spain from where he works with his clients through both Spanish and English. I have known Stephen for about 25 years, having met initially around the time of the dotcom bubble, and our paths crossed because we both have a long-running, personal and professional, connections to Spain. For all the time I have known him, and indeed more by his own admission, Stephen has been obsessed with people and how we can best grow and contribute, both personally and professionally. What Stephen says that he has learned in all this time is that while self-improvement is essential, real growth lies in the deeper realms of self-discovery and self-acceptance, and he now sees his purpose as being to accompany courageous business founders and leaders on that journey. It is this and other topics that Stephen and I chat about in this episode of the show.