THAT’S THE provocative opening argument at Tomorrow’s Warehouse Event in Manchester on September 30, where Prof John Manners-Bell, chief executive of Ti Insight, will tell delegates that logistics operators no longer have to choose between absorbing rising employment costs and passing them to customers — because robotics and AI now offer a third way.

It’s a debate every warehouse and logistics leader is already living through, and this session puts numbers and evidence behind the instinct. Following Manners-Bell, Tim Bolam of DHL Supply Chain will show how the real battleground in WMS transformation has shifted from picking a system to actually deploying it well — drawing on DHL’s Estée Lauder rollout of Manhattan Active WMS and 6 River Systems robotics as a live case study in standardising the core while staying flexible at the edge.

Closing the session, Danielle Taylor of Speedy Hire brings the view from the floor: how a real operation flexes between night-time sortation and daytime roll-cage work while holding the line on OTIF performance.

For operators wrestling with labour costs, legacy systems and daily firefighting simultaneously, this session offers three converging perspectives — strategic, technical and operational — in one hour. A live panel Q&A lets delegates put their own transformation dilemmas directly to all three speakers.

Why attend: This is the only place in the North West this autumn where sector economics, WMS deployment reality and shop-floor resilience are debated side by side, with direct access to the people making these calls at DHL and Speedy Hire, as well expert analysis from Ti Insight.

Tomorrow’s Warehouse Manchester takes place at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground. Entry is free, with food and parking included, and CPD points on offer.

Register free at https://registration.tomorrowswarehouse.live/register