Most people see a Ryder truck and think “trucking company.” What they’re missing: 100 million square feet of warehouse space, 2,000 autonomous robots already deployed, and a 90-person data analytics team running behind the scenes.
Gary Allen (VP of Supply Chain Excellence at Ryder) joined me live at Manifest to talk through how one of the largest 3PLs in North America actually navigates the freight tech market — from evaluating 400+ vendors to deciding when to build, when to buy, and when to invest.
This is the honest conversation about supply chain tech selection you don’t usually get.
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CHAPTERS
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0:00 Why asset ownership doesn’t change your core tech questions
2:11 Ryder’s scale: 100M sq ft, second largest warehouse operator in North America
4:21 The tech stack reality: 30+ WMS systems across the network
6:56 KPIs that actually determine tech value
7:58 How to evaluate 400 companies in 3 years
9:56 Build vs. buy: when to partner and when to build
11:47 Navigating data complexity across verticals
15:17 Avoiding data overload: knowing what KPIs to watch
16:25 AI — what’s real vs. what’s still a demo
22:23 Ryder’s actual AI deployments (Happy Robot, labor planning, fuel routing)
25:13 Where warehouse automation is headed
26:46 The humanoid robot reality check: dexterity, wranglers, and timelines
28:29 Lights-out warehouses: how close are we, really?
31:28 Why tech deployments need a product mindset, not a project mindset
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LINKS
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□ Connect with Gary Allen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/grallen1/
□ Learn more about Ryder: ryder.com
□ Ryder Ventures: https://www.ryder.com/en-us/ryderventures
□ Search logistics tech on CargoRex: https://cargorex.io
□ Digital Dispatch (logistics marketing that actually works): https://digitaldispatch.io
□ Follow Everything is Logistics: https://everythingislogistics.com
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