The 2018 Leaders in Logistics: E-Commerce Delivery Conference brought leading market and logistics experts together, who presented thought leadership and case studies on the most innovative approaches to delivery options and customer service excellence.
The event took place at the Radisson Blu Portman Hotel in the heart of London’s West End, and provided an excellent opportunity for brands, retailers and logistics providers to discuss the future of the industry as well as implications on eCommerce, supply chains and sustainability within the sector.
With the aim of driving big changes in delivery logistics and providing a platform to discuss operational challenges as well as develop new strategies, 250+ key decision makers from the likes of Amazon, ASOS, Tesco, eBay, Nike, Orange, Lego - to name just a few - enjoyed a busy day of presentations, panel sessions and strategic discussions.
Parcelly (making it front row of course again), presented our take on 'Strategic implications of digital innovation - Digitalisation and the Supply Chain' in a very well received session, and also joined a panel discussion with Doddle, PhotoBox and what3words on 'Maximising the opportunities of technology: seeing past the hype'.
Sebastian Steinhauser, CEO & Founder of Parcelly, presenting at the Leaders in Logistics: E-Commerce Delivery conference 2018 in London
‘Hyper-local fulfilment and delivery is the future in urban logistics’ quotes Sebastian Steinhauser, CEO & Founder of Parcelly in his presentation on ’Digitalisation and the last mile - where are we and what’s next?’. 'The changing supply chain in the digital age is impacted by number of key trends in society, logistics and emerging technologies'.
Sebastian highlighted how 'Digitalisation is changing consumer demands, as an example influenced by innovative technologies and an ever broader range of retail services and delivery models. With a booming E-Commerce as one of the key trends in logistics, the changes in society and technology are already influencing how products are stored and distributed.' He further explained that'the key capabilities of the supply chain of the future will include: storing products ever closer to consumers, customising products locally and achieving an end-to-end, omni-channel support.'
Followed by a case study detailing Parcelly’s ground breaking last- and first-mile service that includes consolidation, local logistics hubs and 'PUDO 2.0', Sebastian reinforced the opportunity retailers and logistic players have right now to improve and reinvent their in- and outbound distribution in terms of operational, but also social and environmental impact: ‘Retailers have to decide whether they want to choose the traditional route of using Digital as an enabler of better customer service and greater operational efficiency, or if they want to leverage Digital as possibility to orchestrate a retail eco-system as a network of suppliers with the long term objective of maximizing customer lifetime value. Retailers can amplify their platform capabilities by collaborating with the right technologies, suppliers and start-ups.' Sebastian further stated that ‘The cost of integration has never be lower, the opportunity never bigger’.
The all-day agenda was packed with high-profile keynote sessions, panel talks and industry case studies, whereby our name kept popping up throughout the day, contributing not only live on stage with both presentation and panel session, but also via our partnerships with Quiqup, what3words and Stuart, the latter presenting a Nike case study of their latest return proposition, powered by Parcelly. Below are some of our personal highlights of the day:
MOST CAPTIVATING SPEAKER (obviously not quoting our own...):
Patrick Gallagher, CEO of CitySprint Group
MOST INTERESTING PANEL SESSION (excluding Parcelly!):
Leaders Forum: 'Spoilt for choice? Assessing the merits of emerging delivery options'
MOST SURPRISING STAT OF THE DAY:
Luke Lloyd, International Post Corporation: “62% of consumers said their most recent cross-border purchase had free delivery.”
FAVOURITE QUOTES OF THE DAY:
Jon Ford, Head of Delivery Experience eBay: “Solutions that are carrier agnostic will win the race.”
Patrick Gallagher, CEO of CitySprint Group:“Basket value goes up when you offer delivery convenience.”
Pierre Francois, Senior Partnerships Manager what3words: “6 million people in the UK are not able to buy online due to a missing ‘functional’ delivery address.”
Michel Kaloustian, Vice President Quiqup: “79% of online shoppers would choose one retailer over another if they don’t find the expected delivery options” as “The delivery experience IS the customer experience.”
Thomas Brook, Citizens Advice: “70% of UK only shoppers have reported a problem with their delivery last year.”
BIGGEST LEARNING OF THE DAY:
It was interesting to see how dominant the four main e-tailers are in the cross-border market, accounting for two-thirds of the cross-border delivery market share. - Mark Harrison, Head of Markets at International Post Corporation joining a panel session on 'Supporting customers cross-border delivery experience; excellence in logistics and returns'. - He also stated that the most important aspects for consumers when it comes to delivery, are "free returns" and "a simple and reliable returns process" which was a big topic in 2017 and will continue to grow in importance in 2018.
We also enoyed that almost all of the presentations and panellists highlighted the need for more collaboration between all stakeholders in the market: 'Industry giants, suppliers and Startups need to work together' stated Elena Cinquegrana, Group Product Director at PhotoBox.
For additional conference insights, check our Twitter feed for snippets of the day (#ECOM18)!
Our Head of Sales Alex Pallin and CEO Sebastian Steinhauser at the event
Parcelly had a fantastic time at the event, discussing the future of logistics whilst networking with the Leaders in Logistics. Thank you for hosting us Marketforce #ECOM18, and putting on quite the show! We look forward to future events sharing our thought leadership and tech innovation on stage.... #parcellove
