2026 Distribution Center Automation: What's Evolving and What's Trending

In our latest Zion Experience episode, Jim Shaw, Jordan Frank, and Drew Eubank talk through what shifted in 2025 and what they’re watching heading into 2026.

Spoiler Alert!

1. Systems are getting more advanced while also becoming easier to use, thanks to better interfaces and a stronger focus on the operator experience.

2. At the same time, the vendor landscape feels less chaotic than it did during the COVID wave. The market has matured, and teams are getting clearer about what’s sustainable versus what just demos well.

Explore with us how DC automation is transforming healthcare operations at St. Vincent De Paul and helping save lives through smarter, more efficient processes.

The Medication Access Program (MAP) at St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy relies on donated medication to serve patients who otherwise wouldn’t have access to it. But donations were arriving faster than they could be inspected, sorted, and made available. Even with volunteers stepping in, the process couldn’t keep up. The SVDP team had a vision to expand the program and serve more patients, which meant automating the process to increase speed and capacity.

In this conversation, we talk through:

-Why manual processes couldn’t scale, even with volunteers

-How automation shifted processing time from months to a single day

-What changes when inventory accuracy becomes immediate

Most decisions look good over 12 months. Very few still look good over 7 to 10 years.

In our Year in Review podcast, @Jim Shaw, @Jordan Frank, @Drew Eubank, and @Chuck Frank discuss a simple but challenging question:

What does it actually mean to be the choice for customers, partners, and team members over the long term?

The discussion touches on:

➡️Investing in people so they want to stay and grow with you

➡️Choosing innovation that solves real problems, not just looks impressive

➡️Building recurring, sustainable revenue that supports customers year after year

This episode offers a transparent look at how we closed out 2025 and how that perspective is shaping our 2026 roadmap.

In our latest TZE episode, our Solutions team, Tori Bennett and Christian Seymour, joined Jim Shaw and Jordan Frank to discuss designing across various industries.

Healthcare isn't retail. Aerospace isn't e-commerce. Each operates under its own set of pressures from compliance to throughput, and that’s where design discipline makes all the difference.

Tori and Christian share how they adapt engineering strategy across these environments and why listening to the operators on the floor often unlocks the smartest ideas in the room.

In our latest TZE episode, Jim Shaw sat down with Victoria Carlton, founder of Carlton Creative Co, for a conversation about what it really means to lead with care.

Victoria brings a fresh perspective on building teams that don't just execute, but thrive. She explains why the best leaders prioritize clarity over control, how small communication shifts (such as audio messages) can strengthen remote teams, and why getting out of your team's way is sometimes the most powerful move you can make.

Her approach is to lead with trust, communicate with intention, and create frameworks that empower people to own the outcome.

When teams know you care, they show up differently.

In our latest TZE episode, Jim Shaw sits down with Jake Sullivan, one of Zion’s own, to talk about leadership on the warehouse floor. Uptime is everything, and real leaders fix machines and build trust.

Jake shares how his journey from the Navy to facility maintenance shaped his approach to leading service teams:

✅ Train relentlessly

✅ Take ownership

✅ Treat maintenance as a service

In our latest TZE episode, Jim Shaw sits down with David Quintilo, Founder of Leverage Supply Chain Group, for a conversation about what it really takes to lead in supply chain.

With 36 years of experience shaping logistics for some of the world's largest brands, David brings a hard-won perspective on building trust across massive networks, fostering innovation in an industry built on predictability, and making decisions when there's no clear right answer.

His philosophy? Don't just keep score, change the game. Great leaders balance day-to-day execution with long-term vision, stay proactive instead of reactive, and inspire their teams instead of just managing them.

Because the leaders who win aren't the ones sitting on the sidelines.

In our latest TZE episode, we sat down with learning and development expert @Dr. Katherine McRae about a truth many leaders struggle with: you can't control your way to success.

The best leaders don't just manage tasks. They connect people to the bigger picture, ask the "why" questions in one-on-ones, and trust their teams enough to let go of control. Clarity beats control every time.