Labor negotiations at 29 West Coast ports are set to start this week with both sides saying they want to avoid further upheaval in supply chains that haven’t fully recovered.

U.S. productivity dropped in the first quarter by the most since 1947 as the economy shrank, while labor costs surged and illustrated an extremely tight job market.

Much has been written about AI software and robotics in the warehouse from a technology and functionality perspective. Far less has been written about the broad question of who “owns” this type of “smart fulfillment” in an organization.