During the three days of the 5th Retail Fulfilment Summit which kicked of Australia’s inaugural Retail Week, more than 700 retailers from across Australia and New Zealand came together to be inspired by the 60+ pioneering speakers, who shared their stories on how to transform 360° fulfilment in the on demand era.
Opened by The Hon. Ben Carroll MP Minister for Industry and
Employment, day 1 was focused on c-suite leadership and covered critical
strategic issues facing retailers today such as cross boarder expansion, the
Asian opportunity and leading the workforce of the future. On day 2, opening international speaker,
Sterling Hawkins (Retail Visionary &
Co- Founder, Centre for Advancing Retail & Technology, USA) wowed the
audience with dancing robots and insights into the new realm of technology
powered retail fulfilment. What followed across 4 streams of content was a
series of engaging presentations and interactive discussions from the likes of
Rick Woods (General Manager, Costco),
Belinda Hay (Trade Start & Project
Lead Ecommerce, AUSTRADE) and Renee Gamble (Industry Lead Retail Technology, Google) to name a few. Lastly, a
candid and insightful discussion from Brittain Ladd (Former Global Head of Expansion, Amazon USA) on Amazon and the
future of retail, closed what was a content rich day.
Following day 2 of the fulfilment summit, Akolade hosted a
first of its kind Retail Fulfilment Awards night for the sector. The awards
recognised excellence across all areas of fulfilment and was judged by Andy
Powel (Managing Director, Agile Commerce
Consulting), Paul Greenberg (Chief
Operating Officer, NORA), Luke Jecks (Chief
Executive Officer, Naked Wines), Rick Woods (General Manager, Costco), Anna Forster (General Manager Operations, Lux Group), Jane Lu (Chief Executive Officer, Showpo), Sterling
Hawkins (Founder, Centre for Advancing
Retail and Technology USA), Erica Berchtold (Managing Director Rebel & Amart Sport GX Cycles) and Michael
Donnath (Country Head IKEA).
With so many incredible submissions, the judging panel had a
tough role, however the winners were agreed upon by all; Coles Liquor (Excellence in Best Store Based Fulfilment), BWS (Best Online Fulfilment
Initiative), Showpo (Excellence in
International Fulfilment), OzSale with
Seko Omni Channel Logistics (Best 3PL Retailer Collaboration), Shippit (Best Fulfilment Technology), The Nile (Best Smaller Retailer), Sendle (Best Disrupter), Williams Fashion Logistics (Best
Fulfilment 3PL of the Year) and Winning
Group / Winning Services (Retail Fulfilment Retailer of the Year).
The final day of the event was kicked off by international
speaker Bruce Harryman (Head of Network
Planning, John Lewis, UK) who inspired and amazed the audience with the
scale of John Lewis’ supply chain operations. This was followed by engaging
presentations from Margaret Bosworth (Head
of Marketing, Sealed Air Corporation) and John O'Loghlen (Director,
Australia & New Zealand, Alibaba
Group). Lastly, Martin Smith (Managing Director, Endeavour Drinks Group)
wrapped up with his insights on the evolving expectations of consumers.
The summit provided an unparalleled opportunity for networking,
benchmarking and inspired action-delegates leaving with a sense of empowerment.
Next year, the Retail Fulfilment Show and Awards will be returning bigger and
better than ever at a new location - the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition
Centre. Furthermore, due to our genuine commitment to diversity, we will be
working closely with industry leaders to continue to boost female participation
and would encourage woman in fulfilment with story to tell to please reach out
to us. We’d love to hear from you now!
It’s been a fantastic week in Melbourne and we very much
look forward to welcoming everyone back to next year.
Service:
Akolade
P: +61 02 9247 6000
For partnership enquiries, please contact
marketing@akolade.com.au
Written by: Luana Clarke
From a young age Luana wanted to become a
teacher. She would line up her teddies in a row and teach them for hours on
end. However, she eventually grew tired of their nonchalance and has ended up leading
a team of producers instead- which she finds far more fulfilling and
stimulating!
Luana comes from an experienced production
and management background. She has produced and topic generated events across
Asia and Australia.
Luana enjoys learning about emerging trends
and drivers for change and loves the notion of the 'butterfly effect'- that
change can start small but grow immeasurably through a ripple effect.
No comments :
Post a Comment