In this episode, Tee sits down with Aaron Prather, Senior Advisor for the Technology Research and Planning Team at FedEx Express, to talk about how to set a team up for success in an automated workplace and how small companies can grow into being partners with international companies.

Topics in this conversation include:

• What Aaron and his team are doing at FedEx (1:46)
• How FedEx encourages other companies to adopt new technologies (3:27)
• How FedEx is adopting automation (5:35)
• How FedEx is preparing their employees for an automated shift in the workplace (9:16)
• The technical makeup of Aaron’s team and how to build your network of experts (11:52)
• The importance of networking (14:27)
• How COVID changed the supply chain (16:23)
• Software and hardware companies that are driving the FedEx supply chain (19:57)
• At what point small businesses could start working with FedEx (23:14)
• How FedEx builds and buys different aspects of their company (25:26)
• What FedEx’s customers are asking for (26:47)
• Where FedEx is growing (29:33)
• What Aaron is excited about in the future of the global supply chain (32:20)

Automating The Chain bridges the learning gap between business executives and their technical counterparts. In each episode, we learn from CTOs and experts in industrial automation as they explain their technology in an accessible way. For more information, or to subscribe, please visit https://www.automatingthechain.com/.