Ben Hackett, principal at Hackett Associates and former managing director of Global Trade & Transportation at Global Insight is the latest executive to join the speaker line-up at the 2nd Cool Logistics conference, which takes place on 28-30 September 2009 at the InterContinental Hotel in Hamburg, Germany.
Mr Hackett, who has been providing economic analysis of the global maritime and transport industries for over 25 years, will join speakers from the retail and export sectors in the opening session on 29 September to review the global economy and the movement of perishables. His presentation will address seaborne perishables transport and the reefer container sector and will also draw conclusions relevant to airfreight.
The consumption of perishables has remained largely unaffected by the economic downturn. Latest forecasts from Mr Hackett, to be expanded in detail at Cool Logistics 09, show that the global reefer container trades are currently outperforming dry freight container traffic and are expected to remain in the ascendency through to 2015.
International cold supply chains do not tend yet to be driven by transport economics. However, the longer that container ships and airplanes suffer from poor utilisation, the more the pressure (and competition) between different carriers will mount to secure reliable, paying cargo. Could fruit and other perishables play an even greater role in the future of both maritime and air transport?
Conversely, with reefer containers now emerging as the dominant transport mode for seaborne perishables, is the precarious financial state of liner shipping giving shippers cause for concern about carrier sustainability, service levels and choice? Can the specialised reefer vessel sector continue to provide a genuine alternative given recent consolidation and current limited investment in new tonnage?
Presenting a view on logistics and transport from the retail perspective will be Hermann Sievers, former marketing director of leading German food retailer Edeka and now a consultant to the food retail industry. Mr Sievers will provide a unique insight into how consumer behavior is changing, what this means for supermarkets and the discounters, and how this will reverberate up and down the food supply chain.
His presentation will cover the whole spectrum of products and analyse the impact of differences between regional and local products on the global logistics chain. Mr Sievers will also discuss the evolving role of the trucking community in fresh produce distribution as part of the maritime logistics chain.
The changing dynamics of global transport and other critical issues driving the future of logistics for demanding perishable cargoes will be debated by speakers from all sides of the business during the focused two-day conference. Key sessions will address shipping trade lane and capacity management; growth markets – with presentations on South Africa, South America, intra-Asia and Russia; shipper, carrier and logistics strategies; and achieving excellence in shipping and distribution.
A pre-conference workshop on 28 September will explore new approaches to improving cost, produce quality and environmental management in the distribution of perishables, including advances in vessel, airplane and reefer container design and technologies to enable better control and visibility along the cold chain.
For full details of the conference programme and speakers and online registration visit www.coollogisticsconference.com. Alternatively, contact Helen Coffey at Tel +44 20 8977 0530 Email helen@nextlevelinfo.com
