Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
An autonomous truck does not create an autonomous yard.
Without aligned decisions, data and process, smart assets become expensive distractions.
I’m joined by Matt Yearling, CEO of YMX Logistics; Chad Fox, Manager and Delivery Lead at Miebach Consulting; and Kurt Neutgens, CEO and co-founder of Orange EV. Together, they bring the software, process and equipment perspectives needed to examine a stubborn operational problem: why supply chain visibility so often stops short of better execution.
That matters now because logistics leaders are being asked to cut cost, raise throughput, decarbonise fleets and deploy AI—often across fragmented systems, stretched teams and sites that operate differently from the process maps. The yard may represent less than 5% of transportation spend, yet failures there can delay warehouse activity, disrupt transport and weaken on-time performance.
Three points changed how I framed the issue. First, the biggest failures often sit in the handoffs between inventory, warehouse, yard and transportation—not inside any one system. Second, autonomy only works when the use case is repetitive, clearly defined and boringly reliable. An autonomous truck can execute selected moves; it cannot, by itself, coordinate an entire yard. Third, electrification may already offer the more mature operational gain: moving from roughly 80% diesel uptime to 97–98% electric uptime, while removing what can be an hour of fuelling downtime per shift and asset.
The practical lesson is simple: visibility must lead to an owned decision, a clear action path and reliable physical execution. Otherwise, the dashboard is merely documenting the delay.
This is for supply chain, procurement, logistics, manufacturing and operations leaders responsible for uptime, capital decisions, automation and decarbonisation.
If you’re dealing with these handoff or ownership failures on the ground, I’d like to hear how you’re handling them.
🔗 Resilient Supply Chain Podcast: resilientsupplychainpodcast.com
▶️ Subscribe on YouTube for weekly supply chain analysis and practitioner conversations.
🎧 Follow Resilient Supply Chain on your preferred podcast platform.
⏱️ Chapters and timestamps are listed below.
Chapters / Timestamps
00:00 – Why an autonomous truck cannot automate the yard
00:24 – When smart assets become expensive distractions
05:45 – Why supply chain visibility fails without execution
08:47 – The handoffs where logistics operations break
10:44 – What electric equipment needs before deployment
12:32 – Why strong technology still meets operational resistance
14:58 – Where yard handoff failures become expensive
16:50 – What supply chain dashboards can hide
19:05 – Standardise process before scaling the technology
26:08 – What must be reliable before autonomy works
28:40 – Who owns decisions made with AI
30:26 – How electrification changes fleet uptime economics
An autonomous truck does not create an autonomous yard.
Without aligned decisions, data and process, smart assets become expensive distractions.
I’m joined by Matt Yearling, CEO of YMX Logistics; Chad Fox, Manager and Delivery Lead at Miebach Consulting; and Kurt Neutgens, CEO and co-founder of Orange EV. Together, they bring the software, process and equipment perspectives needed to examine a stubborn operational problem: why supply chain visibility so often stops short of better execution.
That matters now because logistics leaders are being asked to cut cost, raise throughput, decarbonise fleets and deploy AI—often across fragmented systems, stretched teams and sites that operate differently from the process maps. The yard may represent less than 5% of transportation spend, yet failures there can delay warehouse activity, disrupt transport and weaken on-time performance.
Three points changed how I framed the issue. First, the biggest failures often sit in the handoffs between inventory, warehouse, yard and transportation—not inside any one system. Second, autonomy only works when the use case is repetitive, clearly defined and boringly reliable. An autonomous truck can execute selected moves; it cannot, by itself, coordinate an entire yard. Third, electrification may already offer the more mature operational gain: moving from roughly 80% diesel uptime to 97–98% electric uptime, while removing what can be an hour of fuelling downtime per shift and asset.
The practical lesson is simple: visibility must lead to an owned decision, a clear action path and reliable physical execution. Otherwise, the dashboard is merely documenting the delay.
This is for supply chain, procurement, logistics, manufacturing and operations leaders responsible for uptime, capital decisions, automation and decarbonisation.
If you’re dealing with these handoff or ownership failures on the ground, I’d like to hear how you’re handling them.
🔗 Resilient Supply Chain Podcast: resilientsupplychainpodcast.com
▶️ Subscribe on YouTube for weekly supply chain analysis and practitioner conversations.
🎧 Follow Resilient Supply Chain on your preferred podcast platform.
⏱️ Chapters and timestamps are listed below.
Chapters / Timestamps
00:00 – Why an autonomous truck cannot automate the yard
00:24 – When smart assets become expensive distractions
05:45 – Why supply chain visibility fails without execution
08:47 – The handoffs where logistics operations break
10:44 – What electric equipment needs before deployment
12:32 – Why strong technology still meets operational resistance
14:58 – Where yard handoff failures become expensive
16:50 – What supply chain dashboards can hide
19:05 – Standardise process before scaling the technology
26:08 – What must be reliable before autonomy works
28:40 – Who owns decisions made with AI
30:26 – How electrification changes fleet uptime economics
