Our very own Raul Garcia, Head of Operations, attended the ACS Summit 2018 at The Vox, Birmingham to network with major players in the industry and keep the Parcelly brand flying strong.
The annual summit is an exclusive event for individuals and businesses in the retail and logistics space, 'bringing together hundreds of retailers, suppliers and industry experts from around the globe to look at the future opportunities within the sector and provide essential key insights' to take home and implement in their stores. Taking place at the The Vox in Birmingham, the conference attracted an extensive range of delegates from over 20 countries, ranging across e-commerce, technology and logistics and proving a great platform to network and listen to powerful presentations from high-profile speakers.
The agenda of the day was packed with inspiring keynote sessions and panels, with Parcelly picking up great insights and networking opportunities throughout the event. We summed up our personal key highlights below:
MOST CAPTIVATING SPEAKER: Lord Mark Price, Former Minister of State for Trade and Investment on the importance of workplace happiness and how to achieve it. "It's better to train nice people than to train people to be nice."
MOST INTERESTING PANEL SESSION: 'Innovation in the Convenience Store sector' chaired by Mike Igoe, Commercial Director at Heron Foods; featuring Jeremy White, Executive Editor of Wired Magazine; Paul Dobson, Head of Wholesale Convenience at Morrisons and Paul Chamberlain, Commercial Director at ACS on the panel. Topics discussed ranged from the latest in-store technology and on-demand delivery to social media in the sector and future trends/opportunities.
FAVOURITE QUOTES OF THE DAY:
Debbie Robinson, Managing Director at SPAR UK: "We need to find sustainable ways to help deliver last mile logistics."
Mike Igoe, Commercial Director at Heron Foods: "Technology is advancing in lots of different areas of the store, but it can't be fully effective until it's all connected."
Paul Dobson, Head of Wholesale Convenience at Morrisons: "Being a true convenient business means meeting the demands of modern consumers, using in-app technology to provide local deliveries within the hour."
Jeremy White, Executive Director at WIRED Magazine: "There is a significant amount of companies that don't have a clear social media strategy or don't know how to embrace it successfully."
BIGGEST LEARNING OF THE DAY: Embracing technology and innovation is key in the Convenience space as in any other sector. The same applies to customer engagement and building conversations with the end consumer. For example, stores making efficient use of social media and on-demand delivery are already seeing the results. However, more traditional aspects like employee satisfaction still are of utmost importance. When employees are happy, recognised and feel like part of the business, the result is greater customer satisfaction!
We had a fantastic time at the event, picking up key insights for Parcelly as well as networking with great people. Thank you for hosting us ACS and we look forward to further growing our Parcelly network of locations and business partnerships. #parcellove
