Key Takeaways from Manifest 2024

The CData Arc team truly enjoyed their first experience at Manifest, which wrapped up in Las Vegas last week. Almost 5,000 supply chain & logistics professionals filled the expo hall and breakout rooms, and many stopped by the CData booth to learn more about how CData Arc solves logistics challenges through simplified self-service EDI integration.

We had great conversations about EDI technology solutions, saw lots of eye-catching booths, and experienced the typical whirlwind of after-hour sponsored events in Las Vegas. Let’s talk about it!

What is your biggest EDI headeache?

The highlight of the week for us must be the quality of conversations that we shared with hundreds of show-goers at the CData Arc booth in the expo hall. We on the Arc team are in the business of making EDI less of a headache, and prompting visitors to share with us their biggest EDI pain points led to many different fascinating conversations covering the ins and outs of logistics & supply chain B2B infrastructure.

Our booth headline question – what is your biggest EDI headache? – garnered a wide range of answers. One humorously self-pitying response was: “I’m in the industry.” More commonly, we heard refrains of slow onboarding time, lack of control over integration capacities, and a desire to move away from the per-transaction cost structure that many managed services require.

Arc fills a unique role in the landscape of EDI software solutions, so it was gratifying to see the spark of intrigue in attendees’ eyes as we described Arc’s simplified self-service approach – designed to alleviate many of these problems. We were impressed by the depth of technical knowledge and keen insights embedded within our conversations on the hall floor.

We were also thrilled at the opportunity to learn more about the day-to-day details that logistics & supply chain companies experience that drive their technology priorities. We listened to an extensive list of thoughts, preferences, and ideas regarding specific integration points like various Transportation Management Systems, as well as an evolving conversation around the future of EDI and APIs in combination.

Trucks, dogs, and robots

Naturally, any conference is made more exciting by the sights and sounds available in the expo hall. While our attention was primarily on the CData booth and the productive conversations bubbling around it, a few highlights stand out from our experience wandering the floor:

· A full-size new truck from Ryder that was bigger and more intimidating than I can explain

· A puppy play pen for taking breaks from work to enjoy the more important things in life

· Automatic intelligent warehouse robots from Ocado whizzing across their tracks

The giveaways and swag available around the hall ranged from Superbowl tickets to “Get Ship Done” socks to simple bottles of water to keep everybody hydrated during the long days. CData’s Arc-branded plushie truck stress relievers were a hit, too – it seems nobody truly grows out of the toy truck phase.

Vegas golden nights

After work hours, the energy and excitement of Manifest 2024 carried onto the Vegas streets and even into some prestigious Vegas nightclubs. The welcome party on Monday night at Caesar’s Forum set a high bar for the quality of the week’s social events, but it’s hard to deny that the Wednesday night send-off at the Omnia night club stole the show.

It’s good form not to talk at length about what happens in Vegas, but the party atmosphere of after-hours events paired with the conference like a fine wine. Between the booth conversations, the expo hall attractions, and the nighttime revelry, it was a week to remember for the CData Arc team.

On to Orlando!

The CData Arc team has a few weeks to rest up before we head off to Orlando for the HIMSS conference on March 11. While we expect the finer points of conversations at a healthcare convention to differ from Manifest’s supply chain focus, our steadfast approach to alleviating EDI headaches will be as relevant as ever.