Post&Parcel Live seminar highlights new developments in parcel supply chain technology
Delegates at yesterday’s (20 June) Post&Parcel Live Seminar learned how new developments in automation and tracking technologies are helping to make the parcel supply chain more efficient and transparent. Opening the proceedings at London’s Hallam Conference Centre, Professor Alan Braithwaite, the Founder of LCP, gave a glimpse into the future of logistics networks.
Drawing on the research which he has done for industry bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) and the RAC, Professor Braithwaite explained why he expected to see a greater take-up in electric vehicles in order to tackle the problem of air quality in our inner cities. He also detected a trend away from using regional distribution centres, which will be superseded by city hubs – in order to bring products closer to the consumer and reduce city congestion.
Richard Wishart of Delivery Management then looked at “disruption and opportunities”, focusing on how the “fourth industrial revolution” is changing the industry. In particular, Wishart reviewed how technologies like RFID and beacons were allowing carriers – and their customers – to track parcels’ progress through the supply chain and monitor their status.
George Hooper of Lockheed Martin and Reg Koster of Datalogic looked at how automation and data capture technology are speeding up the parcel sortation process, while Justine Clark explained how Honeywell’s AutoCube 8200 – which can instantly measure the three dimensions of an object – can be used to optimize the parcel supply chain.
In the first afternoon session, Skillweb’s Paul Ridden presented a case study on how his company has worked with Jersey Post to enhance parcel delivery in the Channel Islands; and Al Gerrie of ZigZag Global gave insights into how to manage changing consumer behaviour, with a particular focus on “serial returners”. Sebastian Steinhauser explained how Parcelly has been using a multiplicity of technology and partners like what3words and Quiqup to offer customers more “control, convenience and certainty” for their parcel journey.
The conference wrapped up with a session on enabling cross-border e-commerce, with presentations from Patrick Hollenfeltz of ECDC Logistics and Atul Bhakta of One World Express. The “elephant in the room” during the cross border discussion was the current status of the Brexit negotiations, which started this week. All the delegates agreed that the outcome of these talks could have a fundamental impact on trade within the EU – but agreed it was too early to hazard a guess as to what this might be.
Post&Parcel Live: Delivering Postal Transformation
The third seminar in our Post&Parcel Live series – Delivering Postal Transformation – will take place next Monday (26 June). The venue will again be the Hallam Conference Centre in London and the sponsors for this event will include bakergoodchild and The Delivery Group.
Confirmed speakers for this event include: Richard Orpin from Ofcom; Mark Bigley from The Delivery Group; Ian Paterson from the Mail Users’ Association; Bob Phillips of CityPOST; David Robottom of D&S Consultants; Neale Horstead of Duplo International; and David Lewis of Imprimus.
Click here for more information or to register for this seminar.
