“The crisis has shown that logistics is a critical link for every e-commerce business”
This article was originally published in Le Journal du Net in French. You can find the original version of the interview here.
JDN: Apart from the postponement of the date of the event, initially scheduled for June, what was the impact of the coronavirus on DELIVER?
Stéphane Tomczak: Like the entire industry, we first had to organise ourselves, adapt a crisis management mode and redesign the post-coronavirus event. Health and safety measures will be put in place, including the mandatory wearing of masks and maintaining a certain distance between people. We are in the process of taking stock of the situation with the Dutch authorities. Logistics and e-commerce players have reacted well and confirmed their presence in October, a sign of confidence and trust in DELIVER. To find out their expectations on the content of the event, we launched a study in May on the impact of the crisis on the sector. It was striking to note that retailers took advantage of the period to rethink the fundamentals of their business and refocus their approach to customers. In addition, 75% of participants want to learn how to strengthen their supply chain in 2021 and 64% want to know how their peers are dealing with the crisis situation. At the event in October, we will look back at the long-term impact of the health crisis and macro trends, how their supply chain has responded and how their roadmap is evolving. We will also look at whether there are benefits to be gained from relocating production.
JDN: How has the event evolved since its creation?
Stéphane Tomczak: DELIVER, which aims to enhance the value of the logistics sector, has been growing steadily since its creation in 2015. After Luxembourg, Berlin, London and Lisbon, we have chosen Amsterdam for this fifth edition as a central European e-commerce hub. We had 250 visitors for the first edition, 1,000 last year and we were aiming for 1,500 for this one. In order to guarantee the distance measures in the building where we are located, we will unfortunately have to limit access to a total of 1000 visitors. For the 2020 edition, we will therefore be more demanding in terms of recruiting participants, ensuring that we can offer qualified meetings between participants. This is what makes the event so valuable. Global key players like Zalando and Veepee, for example, don’t have many other opportunities to meet each other. These exchanges are essential because the crisis has shown that logistics is a critical link that has allowed to maintain the activity of e-commerce.
JDN: What new features are you planning specifically for this fifth edition?
Stéphane Tomczak: Now more than ever, the key players of the e-commerce and logistics industry need to exchange best practices, listen to the market, learn about the latest innovations and meet each other face to face to benefit from practical information helping them in their decision-making. The content of the event will be based on feedback. We don’t think that the event should only focus on Covid-19, it will also address fundamental issues, such as sustainable development. Retailers are asking a lot of questions about how to reduce their packaging. Speakers will explain how they have dealt with certain difficulties and the ROI of the solutions implemented. Sustainable development is also a theme that is dear to us, and we are making sure to organise a carbon neutral event.
JDN: Is the deployment of IoT projects a priority in logistics?
Stéphane Tomczak: IoT is a major issue, especially as it could contribute to the zero waste objectives of global decision makers, but it has not yet been manifested in the supply chain. The most classic use concerns traceability, with the container tracking system. Companies are starting to implement solutions at the parcel level. However, there are still problems of miniaturisation. In the food industry, this could be a future revolution to avoid any break in the chain. This is only the beginning of a story that will surely grow into something big in the future.
Stéphane Tomczak, the founder of DELIVER, looks back on over 15 years of experience in international e-logistics.
After graduating in political sciences and business from Sciences-Po and HEC, Stéphane led several years the global multichannel distribution of one of the largest e-commerce players in Europe (Pixmania), before spearheading the logistics activities of leading e-commerce associations in Europe (Fevad & Ecommerce Europe).
In 2016, Stéphane launched DELIVER, which quickly became Europe’s flagship event for e-commerce and logistics.
