In this episode of Interlinks, Patrick Daly is joined by Eoin Conway, CEO of Canary 7, a warehouse management systems software solutions provider based in Cookstown, Northern Ireland. Canary 7 services 3PLs across the U.K., U.S., Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, and specializes in integrating systems, labour and order management, and increasingly advanced AI and automated decision‑making tools.
The conversation explores how recent developments—Brexit (especially the Windsor Framework), labour scarcity, e‑commerce volatility, and advances in technology—are reshaping what it means to run efficient, resilient warehouses and logistics networks in the island of Ireland and beyond.
We dig deep into what 3PLs are getting right and where they often misstep: starting with technology first rather than process, guessing rather than defining the problem, under‑estimating internal change management, and over‑investing in automation without clear ROI. Eoin walks us through use cases already live—machine learning models for clustering and slotting, integration of automated systems with WMS, and the promise (and limits) of what might soon be “autonomous decision‑making” in the warehouse.
We also contrast the size, specialization, and flexibility challenges of smaller Irish operations versus U.K./U.S. fulfillment centres, particularly around handling demand spikes and balancing generalist versus specialist models.
From a macro‑to‑micro strategist lens, this episode illustrates how geopolitical constructs (e.g. the trade status of Northern Ireland, shifting trade barriers from Brexit) cascade down into operational realities—labour costs, warehousing location, cross‑border flows. But it’s in the micro‑decisions where competitive advantage is really made or lost: how you redesign your processes, cleanse your data, define precisely what you want to solve, choose when automation or AI makes sense, and how you build flexibility or elasticity into systems.
If you’re interested in exploring how macro-level dynamics can be translated into actionable strategies for your business, I invite you to connect with me via LinkedIn or through my website at www.albalogistics.com.
You can also join the conversation on this episode and others in the Interlinks series on Reddit at r/InterlinksPodcast.
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