Guest: Amanda Hedberg of Aspire on training workers with disabilities for warehouse jobs; The commercial real estate market; Turning uncertainty into an advantage

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Oct 10, 2025

Amanda Hedberg, Vice President at Aspire, sheds light on the importance of training people with disabilities for warehouse jobs. She discusses how tailored roles like distribution specialists enhance employment opportunities while showcasing Aspire's innovative training methods. Additionally, the hosts explore the vast availability of unused logistics space in the U.S. and the rise of agentic AI transforming the workforce. The conversation emphasizes adapting to industry changes and the benefits of hiring diverse talents in supply chains.

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ANECDOTE

Grant-Funded Training Pilot

Aspire received a U.S. Department of Education grant and launched its first training class in January 2025.
The grant funds salaries, curriculum development, and paid internships so employers get risk-free trial employees.

INSIGHT

Neurodivergent Strengths Match Routine Roles

Aspire trains people for high-turnover, routine warehouse roles like distribution specialist and warehouse associate.
Neurodivergent trainees can excel at repetitive tasks and sometimes outperform peers on speed and accuracy.

ANECDOTE

Nonverbal Trainee Excels With Tech

Aspire avoids focusing on limitations and evaluates candidates case-by-case to find fit and accommodations.
One non-speaking trainee used an iPad to communicate and became one of the fastest warehouse employees.

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Our guest on this week's episode is Amanda Hedberg, vice president of Strategic Initiatives at Aspire, a Chicago non-profit organization that works to place people with disabilities into the labor market. October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. This yearly event began in 1945 and is now commemorating 80 years of acknowledging the good work that people with mental and physical disabilities bring to their jobs, including work within our supply chains. Hedberg shares how t Aspire trains people with disabilities find meaningful work, including employment in warehouses.

Our DC Velocity editorial staff spent the week at CSCMP EDGE conference in National Harbor, Maryland, near the nation’s capital. On today's podcast we will talk about what we learned there:

Ben shares about a session on the market for industrial real estate, which includes warehouses and fulfillment centers. According to the speakers, the U.S. right now has more unused logistics space available for rent in the industrial real estate market than at any time in U.S. history. We explained how the market got to that point and what is being done to better utilize the abundant space.

Ben also shares about another session on the rise of the “synthetic workforce,” which is a term for increasing applications in artificial intelligence, and specifically agentic AI. Speakers stressed that the Synthetic Workforce is not just on the horizon but is already here.

Victoria shares about a session presented by Per Kristian Hong, a global lead at management consulting firm Kearney. His talk was titled “Harnessing Uncertainty: Global Supply Chains in an Era of Geopolitical Disruption.” His central message was that these turbulent times we’re experiencing are the norm and that supply chain leaders need to recalibrate and move from forecasting to foresight.

Supply Chain Xchange also offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane. It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. A new series is now available on Top Threats to our Supply Chains. It covers topics including Geopolitical Risks, Economic Instability, Cybersecurity Risks, Threats to energy and electric grids; Supplier Risks, and Transportation Disruptions Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe and to listen to past and future episodes. The podcast is also available at www.thescxchange.com.

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

This podcast episode is sponsored by: Duravant Integrated Solutions

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