This year brought a record-breaking number of one-to-one meetings in the history of the game-changer event: over 2,500 discussions and negotiations took place in only two days within the walls of the prestigious Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal.

 

The dawn of a new age

The chairman of the congress, Prof. Dr. Sebastian Kummer, Head of the Institute of Transport and Logistics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and Board Member of the Austrian Logistics Association (BVL) opened the conference program with an insightful keynote presentation about technological advancement and its effects on the industry.

 

High-tech innovation remained a main focus of presentations during the event: Jeroen Eijsink, President of Europe at C.H. Robinson spoke about the usage of big data in supply chain operations, a panel discussion with prominent participants from GE Lighting EMEA, Studio Moderna and P&G went into an elaborate discourse about Physical Internet Vision for a competitive and sustainable industry, and Thomas Grunau, Head of Global Marketing from Kuehne + Nagel,  together with Holger Schmidt, Head of Logistics Procurement EMEA at Johnson Controls introduced a new web technology to place airfreight orders faster than ever - just to name a few examples.

 

As one would expect, the most current regional challenges also remained a key topic, from B2C home deliveries to European supply chain network optimisation, the new EU Customs Code and beyond, with handy case studies and expert opinions.

 

Crème de la crème of solutions

Solution providers from all over Europe brought together the best they have to offer from ocean, air and inland freight transport, warehousing to combined transport systems, security and IT solutions. Participants included names like Gebrüder Weiss, Kuehne + Nagel, Raben Group, C.H. Robinson, DSV, DB Schenker, Magyar Posta, LINDE Material Handling, LIEGL & DACHSER, XPO Logistics and many more.

 

The top solutions were once again rewarded with the esteemed CEE Logistics and Supply Chain Excellence Award during the cocktail reception. Delegates raised their glasses to honour the champions: Robert Bosch Power Tools in the industry category and SECTRAN in the solution provider category.

 

“Customer orientation and a consequent usage of lean approaches are the benchmark for modern supply chain solutions” – said Prof. Sebastian Kummer – “Robert Bosch used the Lean Line Design method to restructure their logistics in a way that can only be described as best practice”. The award winning project was not only exceptional because of its result in terms of numbers, but because it gave the right answers to one of the biggest pressure on Central European manufacturers today: the competition with Asia.

 

SECTRAN, the winner for the logistics solution provider is a real Logistics 4.0 company that tackles a significant problem in the field of transportation in CEE: the shortage and the qualification of drivers. Haulers operating in this region have difficulties in finding and hiring well-qualified, motivated and reliable drivers. SECTRAN’s DIDb (Driver Identification Database) is a preventive and effective solution for these challenges.

 

This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship

Year by year, TRANSLOG Connect brings much more to the life of participants than an interesting exhibition and insightful conference program. The true power of the event lies within its strong networking focus. It is impossible to put a price tag on the connections made on one-to-one meetings, during the Mercedes or Zwack plant excursion, a coffee break or a shared drink at the cocktail reception.

 

This is the true power of TRANSLOG, one that every delegate can prosper from, until they meet again next November in 2016. (source: www.translogconnect.eu)