In this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, Kevin Lawton chats with Naveen Chandra, Director of Distribution at EssilorLuxottica. Chandra oversees strategy across labor planning, slotting, and real-time operational control for a complex, high-SKU distribution network.

EssilorLuxottica is best known for eyewear brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley, but its footprint spans eyewear, wearables, retail, and vertically integrated supply chains. The conversation explores how the company approaches automation, forecasting, and slotting while keeping human workers central to warehouse design. Rather than chasing lights-out operations, Chandra emphasizes resilience, safety, and reducing cognitive load for human-centered warehouse automation.

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Welcome back to The New Warehouse Podcast. In this episode, Kevin chats with Blake Chroman, Principal at Sitex Group. They discuss how warehouse power infrastructure is reshaping industrial real estate decisions. Drawing from Sitex Group’s portfolio across New Jersey, New York, and South Florida, Chroman explains how electrical capacity, utility timelines, and total occupancy costs now influence leasing and development strategy.

The conversation explores why power has moved from a background consideration to a front-line requirement, how older buildings are being repositioned, and what tenants should evaluate when selecting their next facility.

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The results are in. We polled the material handling community, and the verdict was overwhelming: 45% of you say Thought Leadership and Content is your #1 marketing priority for 2026.

The "Old School" way of selling in the warehouse—relying solely on spec sheets and cold calls—is fading. As new generations enter the workforce and high-tech solutions like AI and robotics become the norm, the way we build trust has fundamentally changed.

Buyers don’t just want a product; they want a partner who understands the future of the supply chain.

Kevin went live with Ashton Maxfield of Master Plan Communications to discuss these results and how to develop a thought leadership plan for your marketing strategy. Enjoy this previously live episode.

Learn more about Master Plan Communications here: https://masterplancommunications.com/

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