The coronavirus pandemic has laid bare the inadequacies of many supply chains when it comes to ensuring the safe, secure and rapid delivery of drugs and other critical supplies in a health crisis.

Supply-chain executives in North America have a lot on their plates these days, to say the least.

Although the transportation industry was among the earliest adopters of mobile technology, upgrades have been lagging for the last decade.

Automation was proceeding at a rapid pace in many factories and warehouses before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Now, however, concerns over worker health, the need for social distancing, and the relentless push for cost-cutting are accelerating the progress of robots for order fulfillment.