Rapid change is presenting logistics with major challenges, Peter Ward has told guests at a House of Lords reception in his first major speech as CEO of the United Kingdom Warehousing Association.
“It is of paramount importance that we engage with decision makers in both houses, as well as with some of our larger member companies and other leading players in the industry,” he told logistics professionals, MPs and peers at the reception hosted by UKWA’s president, Lord Brabazon of Tara.
“The logistics sector is taken for granted. It is a little bit like the electricity supply – unfortunately people only tend to think about us when there is a power cut and the supply fails. Thankfully, due to the great people and talent in the industry, such power cuts are few and far between.”
High speed, high velocity logistics is breaking away from the ‘old’ notion of warehouses, placing the sector under a new light. Ward said UKWA must reflect this change, and posed the question: In a sector increasingly about fulfilment, is the term ‘Warehouse’ still valid?
