Yale to Present Expert Panel on Closing the Warehouse Labor Gap

Yale Lift Truck Technologies announces its panel discussion on talent acquisition at the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) 2025 Annual Conference, June 8-11 in New Orleans. Attendees can join the panelists on Tuesday, June 10, from 9:45-10:45 a.m. in the Grand Couteau ballroom of the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel.

The panel, titled “Close the warehouse labor gap with an expanded workforce,” will examine the labor landscape, including sizeable segments of the population that operations often overlook. The five panelists will share their unique perspectives on how operations can tap into these underutilized groups of individuals outside of the traditional pool of mainstream candidates. In addition to practical recommendations, they will also share firsthand experience applying these tactics, and how doing so has helped to fill warehouse job openings and improve operational performance.

The panelists are experts in industrial labor trends, disability consulting, warehousing and human resources. The panelists include:

• Brad Long, Global Activation Manger, Yale Lift Truck Technologies: With nearly 15 years of marketing expertise and six years in warehousing and powered industrial trucks, Long focuses the brand on addressing key industry challenges of labor, productivity and safety;
• James Emmett, Founder and CEO, James Emmett & Company: The founder of one of the most recognizable companies in disability consulting, Emmett is a global leader in implementing hidden talent hiring initiatives within the logistics industry;
• Brian Devine, President and CEO, Ignite Industrial Professionals: The leader of a warehouse recruiting firm, Devine started the largest survey of hourly associates in the U.S., has nearly three decades of supply chain staffing experience and is on the Advisory Roundtable for WERC and MHI;
• Julie Smith, Director of Human Resources, Kitchen Cabinet Distributors: An HR leader for a national wholesale distributor, Smith has extensive experience in retail sales and operating functions, and a deep understanding of the unique challenges and solutions of distribution center staffing; and
• Edward Crowe, VP of Talent Acquisition, HR Strategy and Effectiveness, KeHE: An HR executive for a national food and beverage distributor, Crowe has direct experience with the warehouse labor gap and securing executive and organizational support for hiring initiatives.

In conjunction with the Annual Conference, WERC will release its DC Measures Annual Survey & Report. The report, which is sponsored by Yale, identifies the operational metrics distribution and supply chain professionals find most critical to help benchmark operations, understand industry trends and make informed decisions. Yale will also publish an update to its companion white paper.

For more information, visit https://www.yale.com.