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UKWA National Conference: Why Digitalisation & Automation are Tools for Tough Times

When: 7-8 March 2023

Where: Crowne Plaza, Stratford-upon-Avon

At IMHX last year, the UKWA hosted a crucial panel discussing how to harness solar power to make use of underutilised space on warehouse rooves. The conversation highlighted the urgency of reducing the energy consumption of industrial property in the UK, and provided the audience with essential knowledge of the steps they can take to harness the power of solar energy – especially with automation technology moving to the forefront of supply chain strategy.

The automation boom in the warehousing sector has been fuelled by market forces that saw 17,145 high street shops close last year, with soaring energy costs, wider inflation and, of course, the impact of e-commerce on traditional shopping habits. Warehouses have become sophisticated order fulfilment centres, offering complex value-add services, and managing ever larger numbers of SKUs with omnichannel inventory. The expectation is for fewer errors, faster response times and higher visibility, both for the consumer and the retailer.

Clare Bottle, UKWA CEO, says: “This new landscape and the fresh set of challenges it brings is driving a predicted surge in digital transformation over the next decade, bringing fundamental changes to the warehouse operations of the future. For warehouses to survive these tough times and thrive in the longer term, there is no longer a choice but to embrace digitalisation and automation.”

At this year’s UKWA National Conference, sponsored by Nulogy, delegates will hear from leading experts in Digitalisation & Automation within the warehousing industry, learn what is possible, what is affordable and what the latest technology can do to support success.

Speakers will include an impressive line-up of industry experts, including Richard Potter, CTO of Microsoft Service UK, Wincanton CEO James Wroath and Rueben Scriven of Interact Analysis, one of the warehouse automation industry’s foremost analysts. As usual, major figures from the world of logistics users, such as Lydia Warren, Senior Director Planning – EU Packing at LEGO and Stephen McGuirk, Head of Warehouse Operations for Vitabiotics,  will join the conference to share their experiences of the changing digital world on interactive panels.

Dr. Walter Boettcher, Head of Research & Economics at Colliers, Chris Southworth, Secretary General of the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) and Will Laing, Logistics Analyst, Commercial Research at Savills will deliver key note speeches,  with industry insights and updates.

The two-day event includes networking opportunities and a conference dinner, with speaker Edwina Currie, former MP, Strictly contestant and Telegraph columnist.

Book now to find out more about robotics, automation, and digitalisation, how these technologies can benefit your business, optimise your operations and secure your future.

Join us at The Crowne Plaza, Stratford-upon-Avon, 7-8 March 2023. Visit ukwa.org.uk to register.