Austin, Texas, USA, October 30, 2026 / PRNewswire / -- The Smart Supply Chain Execution Platform LeanDNA today announced the winners of the second APEX Awards. The winners were selected from 26 finalists across six categories and were unveiled on stage at the 2026 LeanDNA Manufacturing Excellence Summit in Austin, to honor manufacturers and individuals who have driven measurable transformation in their supply chains through people, processes, and technology.

APEX rewards AI driving experts with LeanDNA platform naming, in recognition of those customers and teams that have moved beyond fragmented, passive supply chain management to take proactive, AI driven decision-making. This year, the award categories have been expanded to six, with three new awards added: APEX Architect, APEX Synergy, and The First Ascent. For the first time this year, nominations are also open to the customer community, in addition to LeanDNA's own employees.

LeanDNA Chief Marketing Officer Jordan Slabaugh stated: "This year's APEX award winners demonstrate the tremendous potential that can be achieved when customers leverage the full capabilities of the LeanDNA APEX platform to elevate their supply chains and material coordination to a new level. This year, we have established a one-time award – the First Ascent Award – to recognize someone who has helped shape LeanDNA from the outside: The MSA Safety's Eric Blanton and their team not only adopted our platform but also helped us ensure that we are advancing the profession and practitioners in the supply chain. Congratulations to all the winners and to each of the finalists who have optimized inventory and material coordination through the LeanDNA."

The awards for each category and the winners in 2026 APEX are as follows:

• APEX Architect Award – Husky Technologies Global Supply Chain – Head of the Machinery Department Procurement Team Max Denton. This award recognizes leaders who use APEX to “save the day” every day, enabling them to prevent major production line disruptions or identify hidden inventory opportunities. The award is intended to honor those strategic executors who bring APEX to its fullest potential.
• APEX Synergy Award – Johnson Controls. This award recognizes a company that breaks down departmental barriers, proactively manages change, overcomes adoption obstacles, and adopts APEX as the sole source of truth. It honors the collective efforts of a team that not only installed the software but also transformed the entire culture to work in complete synergy.
• Trailblazer Award – Daikin Applied Senior Director of Digital Supply Chain and Quality Praveen Kanagaraj. This award is nominated by LeanDNA's customer-success-focused team, recognizing those who continuously push boundaries, advocate for new capabilities, and collaborate strategically to create value from LeanDNA. It honors true innovators and collaborators who are not afraid to blaze new trails.
• APEX Impact Award – Astec. This award is nominated by the customer-facing teams and selected by the management of LeanDNA to honor those customers who embody the LeanDNA spirit. They create measurable business value, empower their teams, and transform the supply chain from a cost center into a strategic driver.
• Peak Performance by Site Award – The NC1 factory of Cirtec Medical. This award is given to sites that have achieved the most significant and measurable improvements in LeanDNA key indicators over the past 12 months, recognizing those customers who have truly utilized LeanDNA to reach new heights in supply chain performance.
• Peak Performance by Company Award – Daikin Applied. This award is given to companies that have achieved the most significant and measurable improvements in the key indicators of LeanDNA over the past 12 months, recognizing those customers who have truly utilized LeanDNA to reach new heights in supply chain performance.
• The First Ascent Award – to the Eric Blanton and MSA Safety teams. This is a new, one-time recognition to pay tribute to a customer partner who has collaborated for over four years; their honest feedback has shaped the LeanDNA platform, and after committing to participate in the LeanDNA Academy certification project pilot, this team became the first to receive the LeanDNA certification.

LeanDNA Congratulations to all this year's winners and finalists, and thanks to the customer community and team for their outstanding collaboration on every achievement.

Relevant links:

• LeanDNA Announces the Finalists for the 2026 APEX Awards, with Two New Categories Nominated by Customers
• LeanDNA will host the Third Annual Manufacturing Excellence Summit (2026)
• LeanDNA Announces the Winners of the First APEX Awards (2025)

About LeanDNA

LeanDNA provides a single source of truth for the global discrete manufacturing industry, enabling factory-centric material coordination and inventory optimization. AI, launched by LeanDNA, drives an expert execution platform APEX that transforms data into optimized decisions and actions. LeanDNA helps manufacturers in aerospace, HVAC, industrial, automotive, and medical fields improve on-time delivery and working capital levels. Leading manufacturers, including Caterpillar, Daikin Applied, Radius Aerospace, and Siemens, are using APEX for supply chain coordination to gain visibility into current and in-transit materials, take action based on inventory priorities, collaborate with suppliers in real time, and track progress towards inventory optimization goals. For more information, please visit LeanDNA.com.