IntraLogisteX 2023 conference highlights – Day One

As the excitement of the opening day of IntraLogisteX draws to a close, here are some of the highlights from today’s conferences at the event.

IntraLogisteX has two conference theatres – the Technology and Process Theatre and the Keynote Theatre – alongside the Robotics and Automation Conference Theatre, which is part of the co-located Robotics and Automation exhibition.

The day kicked off with a bang as Richard Holden MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (roads and local transport) at the Department for Transport addressed the crowd. He spoke about the government’s Future of Freight plan and the relaunch of the Freight Council, as well as the importance of encouraging more skills and diversity in logistics and of reaching net zero targets. He said: “Developing a net zero carbon energy infrastructure is one of our biggest challenges and opportunities”.

At 10:15 at the Technology and Process Theatre, Lucas Systems’ EMEA Business Development Manager James Hart spoke about how AI can be used to reduce time spent picking. He explained how AI path optimisation software can be used to optimise picking processes. Hart described how seamless this process can be, saying that often “the operative does not know that it is happening in the background”.

Later in the morning XPO’s UK Finance Director Simon Evans took the stage at the IntraLogisteX Keynote Theatre with a presentation focusing on sustainability and the move towards net zero carbon emissions. He spoke of the electrification of XPO’s fleet, noting that meeting ESG targets is “a huge focus for [XPO] as a business”. Evans shared his felling that cutting carbon tax by producing fewer emissions will be key for third party logistics companies in the very near future.

Meanwhile at the Technology and Process Theatre, Director of Marketing, Communications, and Sustainability at DPD Group Tim Jones meet its last-mile sustainability targets.  Jones went into detail about initiatives including a trial of all-electric Volta Zero fleet vehicles and 100% electric autonomous delivery vehicles.

These invaluable presentations continued throughout the day. Others included ‘How to build a successful 3PL from the ground up’ delivered by Iron Mountain’s Warehousing and Logistics Strategy Director Maria Torrent, ‘Reducing the retail return carbon footprint’ delivered by Deputy Head of the Department of Management at Sheffield Hallam University Jonathan Gorst, and ‘Strategies to turn your warehouse into a revenue generating asset’ delivered by Whistl’s Director of Business Development (Fulfilment) James Hayes.

There will be more expert speakers giving insightful presentations tomorrow, as the second and final day of IntraLogisteX gets underway.

Source: logisticsmanager.com