This time tomorrow, eDelivery Expo, EDX16, will be well under way at the NEC in Birmingham. If you’re coming, why not let us know by tweeting about it, using the hashtag #EDX16.
Here’s a quick recap of some of the pre-show stories we’ve run, and themes you can expect to hear about, to help feed your ‘must see’ lists.
We’ve have interviews with three great EDX16 speakers:
- Professor Jan Godsell professor of operations and supply chain strategy at Warwick University
- Walter Blackwood, independent consultant and former Mothercare logistics director.
- Dave Crellin, head of online operations at Sainsbury’s.
Added to which, we’ve got some truly world-class retail names attending and taking part, including: Alibaba, A Suit that Fits, Fruugo, John Lewis, New Look, Ocado, and Panasonic, to name just a few.
Last year was the first time we ran EDX, and it was co-located within InternetRetailing Expo (IRX) which saw a 20% increase in visitor numbers last year. Having the two expos side-by-side, yet distinct from one another, is a great reflection of how our sector functions; a fundamental part of ecommerce retail, yet with its own defined objectives and challenges.
There’s going to be plenty of opportunities to get hands on with some great technology and services from our exhibitors, such as live demonstrations of an Emba TrayTec packaging machine from Antalis, which binds items to a corrugated tray using film, doing away with the need for void-filled boxes – which is both economically and environmentally good sense.
If robots are more your thing, you’re in luck, as EiraTech will be giving a demonstration of their EiraBot automated mobile robot.
The theme for Day One of EDX16 will be Multichannel Fulfilment, and poses the question does your delivery service meet your customers’ expectations? The opening keynote on Day One will be from Walter Blackwood, formerly logistics director at Mothercare and currently an independent consultant. Walter has one of the most distinguished track records in the sector, and we’ll be running an interview with him very soon.
Day Two of EDX16 will be themed Operations in Multichannel, and the first session of the day will be a keynote from John Munnelly, head of operations at John Lewis Magna Park. John spoke at last year’s EDX and his was one of the most well-attended sessions we ran.
If I had to highlight one thing that EDX means to me, it’s that retail operations and logistics is no longer a behind-the-scenes back-room function of retail. Not that long ago, the chief consideration of delivery was ensuring shoppers got their purchases – it was functional, transactional, and little more than that. Those days are gone, and they’re not coming back. That’s great news for those in retail and delivery who appreciate the importance of the last mile in winning customers’ loyalty. I think that’s one of the keys to understanding the importance of shows like EDX and IRX, and why their co-location is fundamental to unlocking the future of retail.
If you haven’t already registered, you will need to get your skates on, but you’ll find all the information you need on the EDX website.
