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Supply
Chain by the Numbers |
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Feb. 5, 2026
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Gamification in DCs to Rise. January PMI Finally Turns Positive. Gartner not Bullish on Humanoid Robots. Number of US Charging Stations Jumps
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40% |
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| That is the share of large distribution centers that will adopt so-called gamification strategies for workers by 2028. That according to Federica Stufano, senior principal analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a press release announcing the findings this week. Companies use gamification o to motivate workers with skill-building activities, rewards, and recognition. Gamification in logistics applies game-design principles—such as points, badges, leaderboards, and rewards—to operational processes to improve performance and enhance employee engagement, Stefano added. Despite the benefits, challenges remain—primarily when it comes to company culture. Stufano said introducing gamification to the workforce requires “careful consideration and will present additional feasibility challenges in highly regulated or unionized environments.” |
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| That was the level of the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for January, up a strong 4.7 percentage points from a score of 47.9 in December and putting the index above the key 50 mark that separates US manufacturing expansion from contraction for the first time in 12 months. That according to the latest monthly report from the Institute for Supply Management released thid week. What’s more, The New Orders Index expanded for the first time since August, with a reading of 57.1, up 9.7 percentage points over December’s seasonally adjusted figure of 47.0, and its highest since February 2022 (59.7), in good news for future US manufacturing activity. |
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11,300 |
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That is how many ultrafast charging cords for electronic vehicles in the US in 2025. That was up 48% from the total added in 2024, according to Paren, a data platform focused on EV infrastructure. And the high-speed buildout is only accelerating: In the fourth quarter, nearly one in four new chargers were capable of pumping at rates of 250 kilowatts or more, which can typically add 100 miles of driving range in less than 10 minutes. The time it takes to fuel an electric vehicle, long a stumbling block to EV adoption, is shrinking in the US as more capable cars and trucks plug into a rash of new, high-speed charging machines. |
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That is how many – or few depending on your perspective – of companies that will have gone live with humanoid robots going live in production for supply chain/logistics and manufacturing use cases by the end of 202. That according to the analysts at Garter, as articulated in a recent press release. “Most production deployments of humanoid robots during this time will remain limited to tightly controlled environments, rather than in dynamic and high-throughput supply chain operations,” Gartner added. Gartner says its research indicates that the hype surrounding humanoid robots is outpacing their readiness for large-scale deployment. The release promotes an alternative, “polyfunctional robots” that are optimized for flexibility without being constrained by human-like design.
