Record crowd for INTRALOGISTEX

The most successful IntraLogisteX exhibition to date has drawn nearly 9,000 attendees to the NEC Birmingham for an elite showcase of warehouse and logistics management solutions, alongside two compelling, collocated shows – the ever-popular Robotics and Automation Exhibition, and the new, highly acclaimed Sustainable Supply Chain Exhibition.

The record attendance at the two-day exhibition, held on March 19^th and 20^th, was treated to an unmissable festival of cutting-edge innovations, thought-leading presentations from more than 60 speakers, and 250-plus exhibitors.

An additional initiative at this year’s event saw the best-of-the-best on-show products included as part of an intriguing Innovation Trail. A true journey of discovery, the Innovation Trail led visitors along a designated path, giving them exclusive access to people and products that are set to revolutionise warehouse and logistics operations. Furthermore, ‘Meet the Buyer’ provided pioneering exhibitors with a unique, connective space to engage directly with solution-seeking buyers.

Hailing the overwhelming success of IntraLogisteX 2024, Stephen Brooks, Managing Director at event organisers Akabo Media, said: “We have been blown away by the industry’s incredible reaction to this year’s show. The soaraway levels of excitement and positivity generated by buyers and exhibitors alike persisted throughout the event’s two days. The Innovation Trail and Meet the Buyer programmes proved exceptional additions to this year’s show. They underline our commitment to evolve IntraLogisteX and build on its reputation as the go-to exhibition for the warehouse and logistics sector.”

Scintillating day one

As part of a packed programme that included enlightening speaker sessions spanning across multiple theatres, day one of IntraLogisteX enjoyed a scintillating start with a resounding keynote address by Matt Harling, Senior Business Development Manager at Invar Group. Titled ‘When should my business consider automation and what factors should I consider before adopting automation?’ Matt weaved a captivating path through the intricacies of automation deployment, advising attendees of key decision points and strategic considerations.

The IntraLogisteX stage was also a platform for Alex Whiting, Managing Director at enterprise mobility technology specialists MiTEQ, to host an engaging exploration into leveraging radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to foster sustainability and bolster profitability for businesses. This was followed by an overview of active safety and accident prevention in the workplace by Darren Horrigan, National Sales Manager for active safety at mesh panel solutions provider, Troax. During his encapsulating presentation, Darren highlighted technology’s pivotal role in shaping the approach to health and safety, enabling proactive measures.

Kicking off day two in style

IntraLogisteX day two kicked off in style with Emily Uwemedimo, Editor of Logistics Manager, hosting the first of two exclusive panels moderated by the magazine’s editorial team. Entitled ‘Navigating complexity: strategies for a resilient supply chain,’ the session saw Uwemedimo joined on stage by Lewe Goldmann, Supply Chain and Operations Director at CLOUD NINE, and Steve Davies, Director of Operations at Abbott Lyon, to discuss how businesses can overcome challenges in today’s world where supply chain disruptions are common and resiliency is key.

Logistics Manager’s second panel: ‘Biofuels: the future of fleet?’ at the Sustainable Supply Exhibition conference theatre saw Dr Lorenzo Bruno Prataviera, Lecturer in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at Cranfield University; Martin Cole, Logistics Development Manager at Screwfix, and Dr Polina Webb, Sustainability Principal – GHG reduction at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, debate the use of biofuels to decarbonise the logistics industry.

The industry insights continued to flow with Jonathon Buckby, UK Head of Sales in Logistic Solutions at SSI SCHAEFER, giving an enterprising presentation entitled ‘Put yourself first: what to consider when creating a business-centric intralogistics concept.’ The charismatic host urged the audience to remember that they were experts in their field and to ‘leverage that value’.

The penultimate session of the day - ‘Sustainable supply chains: branching into a greener economy’ - explored the findings of an Aurora Insights report of the same name. Covering topics such as the trends, motivations and barriers surrounding the adoption of more sustainable business practises, presenter Shannon Minehan, Research Analyst at Aurora Insights, which is dedicated to exploring supply chain, logistics, and sustainability trends and innovations, also highlighted the impact of government legislation such as the 2021 Environmental Act and the 2023 Electronic Trade Documents Act on the implementation of sustainable business practises.

Stephen continued: “We thank all our attendees and exhibitors for contributing to the incredible success of this year’s exhibition. The feedback we’ve had from everyone has been off-the-scale positive. IntraLogisteX once again provided a tantalising glimpse into the future of warehouse and logistics management, and once again people felt inspired by what they saw. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2025 for what is already shaping up to be another transformational industry event with more than 11,000 attendees and 350 exhibitors.”